We are pleased to announce that the Zanos Lab at the University of Cyprus is an integral part of the newly awarded COST Action “PSY-NET: Psychedelic renaissance: turn on, tune in and drop in” (OC-2024-1-27517).

This collaborative network brings together 83 leading researchers from 21 European countries to advance psychedelic research across multiple disciplines. The PSY-NET initiative aims to address the current challenges in developing novel treatments for mental disorders through coordinated research on psychedelic compounds and their therapeutic applications.

Dr. Panos Zanos contributes his expertise in neurochemistry and neuropharmacology to this interdisciplinary effort. As a secondary proposer in the network, Dr. Zanos will particularly focus on elucidating the mechanisms of action underlying the rapid antidepressant effects of ketamine and other psychedelic compounds.

The PSY-NET COST Action will focus on several key areas including chemistry and biophysics for the development of novel drug candidates and delivery systems; preclinical research to understand the neurobiological mechanisms of psychedelics; clinical applications through designing and implementing trials for depression, anxiety, addiction, and existential distress; advances in neuroimaging by standardizing data collection and analysis methods; data sharing through creation of open access databases for research collaboration; and policy regulations by working toward regulatory frameworks that enable clinical use.

This collaborative initiative represents a significant step forward in addressing treatment-resistant mental health conditions. As part of the PSY-NET COST Action, the Zanos Lab will contribute to developing recommendations and guidelines for psychedelic use in therapy, identifying neurobiological biomarkers and predictors, and establishing a regulatory framework to enable future clinical applications.

The involvement of the Zanos Lab in PSY-NET aligns with our ongoing research on ketamine’s rapid-antidepressant mechanisms of action, recently presented at the University of Bern’s Neuroscience Lecture Series. We look forward to this opportunity to collaborate with European research leaders and contribute to this rapidly expanding field of neuroscience and mental health treatment.