Adjunct Faculty
Adjunct faculty typically have an academic or research appointment at another institution and contribute or collaborate with one or more School of Medicine faculty members or programs.
Adjunct rank detailsAlex Kwan, PhD
Associate Professor Adjunct of PsychiatryDownloadHi-Res Photo
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Associate Professor Adjunct of Psychiatry
Biography
Alex Kwan is an Associate Professor in the Meinig School of Biomedical Engineering at Cornell University. Before moving to Cornell in 2022, he was an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine.
He received a B.A.Sc. in Engineering Physics from Simon Fraser University and a Ph.D. in Applied Physics from Cornell University. At Cornell, he developed nonlinear optical microscopes in the laboratory of Watt Webb. In 2009, he went to the University of California, Berkeley to work in the laboratory of Yang Dan, where he studied cortical microcircuits.
Research in the Kwan lab focuses on the mouse medial frontal cortex. We are interested in how dendritic plasticity may underlie the actions of psychiatric drugs and how cortical circuits enable flexible decision-making. Our expertise lies in developing and applying optical methods to record and control neural activity in behaving mice.
Last Updated on April 07, 2025.
Appointments
Psychiatry
Associate Professor AdjunctPrimary
Other Departments & Organizations
- Abraham Ribicoff Research Facilities
- Division of Neurocognition, Neurocomputation & Neurogenetics
- Kwan Lab
- Psychiatry
- Yale Ventures
Education & Training
- PhD
- Cornell University (2009)
- MS
- Cornell University (2007)
- BS
- Simon Fraser University (2003)
Research
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Overview
Medical Research Interests
Antidepressive Agents; Decision Making; Dendrites; Depressive Disorder; Electrophysiology; Microscopy, Fluorescence; Optogenetics; Prefrontal Cortex
ORCID
0000-0003-2169-1667
Research at a Glance
Yale Co-Authors
Frequent collaborators of Alex Kwan's published research.
Publications Timeline
A big-picture view of Alex Kwan's research output by year.
Research Interests
Research topics Alex Kwan is interested in exploring.
Pasha Davoudian
Neil K. Savalia
Clara Liao, BA
Alfred Kaye, MD, PhD
Quan Jiang
Former YSMAlicia Che, PhD
28Publications
1,920Citations
Decision Making
Dendrites
Prefrontal Cortex
Optogenetics
Microscopy, Fluorescence
Antidepressive Agents
Publications
2026
α2-Adrenergic receptor modulates 5-HT2A-mediated behavioral effects of MDMA and psilocybin in mice
Rosado A, Yu A, Yang J, Rondeau J, Floris G, Basu A, Staszko S, Dibbs M, Feng J, Li Y, Warner-Schmidt J, Kelmendi B, Krystal J, Pittenger C, Kwan A, Kaye A. α2-Adrenergic receptor modulates 5-HT2A-mediated behavioral effects of MDMA and psilocybin in mice. Molecular Psychiatry 2026, 1-12. PMID: 42414551, DOI: 10.1038/s41380-026-03713-1.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricDorsal Raphe Revisited: A Systems Neuroscience Lens on Psychedelic Drug Action
Kwan A. Dorsal Raphe Revisited: A Systems Neuroscience Lens on Psychedelic Drug Action. Psychedelic Medicine 2026 DOI: 10.1177/28314425261429232.Peer-Reviewed Reviews, Practice Guidelines, Standards, and Consensus StatementsAltmetric
2025
Psilocybin triggers an activity-dependent rewiring of large-scale cortical networks
Jiang Q, Shao L, Yao S, Savalia N, Gilbert A, Davoudian P, Nothnagel J, Tian G, Hung T, Lai H, Beier K, Zeng H, Kwan A. Psilocybin triggers an activity-dependent rewiring of large-scale cortical networks. Cell 2025, 189: 659-675.e22. PMID: 41352354, PMCID: PMC12695013, DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2025.11.009.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricAutism-associated Scn2a haploinsufficiency disrupts in vivo dendritic signaling and impairs flexible decision-making
Wu H, Shen L, Indajang J, Savalia N, Johnson T, Qu J, Bender K, Kwan A. Autism-associated Scn2a haploinsufficiency disrupts in vivo dendritic signaling and impairs flexible decision-making. Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences Of The United States Of America 2025, 122: e2508836122. PMID: 41264237, PMCID: PMC12646510, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2508836122.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricPublisher Correction: Psilocybin’s lasting action requires pyramidal cell types and 5-HT2A receptors
Shao L, Liao C, Davoudian P, Savalia N, Jiang Q, Wojtasiewicz C, Tan D, Nothnagel J, Liu R, Woodburn S, Bilash O, Kim H, Che A, Kwan A. Publisher Correction: Psilocybin’s lasting action requires pyramidal cell types and 5-HT2A receptors. Nature 2025, 646: e33-e33. PMID: 41023408, DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-09671-y.Commentaries, Editorials and LettersAltmetricPsychedelic studies in nonhuman primates: Past and future
Masthay J, Kwan A, Chang S. Psychedelic studies in nonhuman primates: Past and future. Molecular Psychiatry 2025, 31: 514-525. PMID: 40940559, PMCID: PMC12709594, DOI: 10.1038/s41380-025-03240-5.Peer-Reviewed Reviews, Practice Guidelines, Standards, and Consensus StatementsCitationsAltmetricThe ABCs of psychedelics: a preclinical roadmap for drug discovery
Kwan A, Mantsch J, McCorvy J. The ABCs of psychedelics: a preclinical roadmap for drug discovery. Trends In Pharmacological Sciences 2025, 46: 1224-1240. PMID: 40877079, PMCID: PMC12404667, DOI: 10.1016/j.tips.2025.07.017.Peer-Reviewed Reviews, Practice Guidelines, Standards, and Consensus StatementsCitationsAltmetricPsilocybin’s lasting action requires pyramidal cell types and 5-HT2A receptors
Shao L, Liao C, Davoudian P, Savalia N, Jiang Q, Wojtasiewicz C, Tan D, Nothnagel J, Liu R, Woodburn S, Bilash O, Kim H, Che A, Kwan A. Psilocybin’s lasting action requires pyramidal cell types and 5-HT2A receptors. Nature 2025, 642: 411-420. PMID: 40175553, PMCID: PMC12188471, DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-08813-6.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricFrontal noradrenergic and cholinergic transients exhibit distinct spatiotemporal dynamics during competitive decision-making
Wang H, Ortega H, Kelly E, Indajang J, Savalia N, Glaeser-Khan S, Feng J, Li Y, Kaye A, Kwan A. Frontal noradrenergic and cholinergic transients exhibit distinct spatiotemporal dynamics during competitive decision-making. Science Advances 2025, 11: eadr9916. PMID: 40138407, PMCID: PMC11939063, DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adr9916.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsCould psychedelics be fine-tuned to relieve anxiety but skip the ‘trip’?
Knox C, Kwan A. Could psychedelics be fine-tuned to relieve anxiety but skip the ‘trip’? Nature 2025, 639: 45-46. PMID: 39966585, DOI: 10.1038/d41586-025-00454-z.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetric
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