Cosmo is a drug development entrepreneur dedicated to unlocking the medical potential of psychoactive substances in order to help patients in need. Cosmo has worked closely with the Beckley Foundation for over 10 years and, in 2016, he co-founded Beckley Research & Innovations to develop ethical business models focused on scientific research into medical cannabis and psychedelics. Cosmo subsequently served as Co-Founder and Managing Director of Beckley Canopy Therapeutics, a cannabis-based drug development company, and Spectrum Biomedical UK, a medical cannabis distribution company. In 2019, both of these companies were acquired by Canopy Growth Corporation, the world’s largest medical cannabis company.

Dr. Rob Conley is the Chief Scientific Advisor at Beckley Psytech. He previously served as Senior Vice President at Eleusis and Chief Science Officer, Neuroscience at Eli Lilly and Co. Prior to that he had a long academic career, first at the University of Pittsburgh and then at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. He remains an Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry and Psychopharmacology at Maryland. Rob holds an MD from the University of Maryland School of Medicine and a BA from Johns Hopkins University. He completed a Psychiatry residency at the University of Pittsburgh, where he served as the Chief Resident. Rob is also a Fellow of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology.

Frank is a German-trained neurologist and neuroscientist who joins us after a 21-year career with Johnson & Johnson, where he most recently was the VP of Global Medical Affairs, Neurosciences. Over his 2 decades in the biotechnology industry, Frank has worked on more than 30 different new molecular entities across multiple neurological and psychiatric indications and most recently contributed significantly to the development and approval of Esketamine as a treatment for Treatment-Resistant-Depression (TRD) and suicidality, the first true advancement in the psychedelics field. Frank has held positions of increasing responsibility in Marketing & Sales with Janssen-Cilag in Germany, in Global Strategic Marketing, Medical Affairs, Market Access as well as R&D functions, and his broad experience will serve Beckley Psytech well. Dr. Wiegand received his M.D. and PhD. from the Heinrich Heine University of Düsseldorf and completed his fellowship training as a Neurologist at the University of Essen in Germany. He also obtained extensive additional training in neuropharmacology, specifically cerebral ischemia, from the Humboldt University Berlin, where he worked as post-doctoral fellow with funding from the German Stoke Research Foundation. In 2002 he received a Postgraduate Certificate in Business Administration from the Herriot Watt University, Edinburgh, Scotland. Frank is a member of several scientific societies and associations, published multiple peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters about translational medicine and achieved numerous business and leadership awards.

Fiona Dunbar is a Pharmaceutical Physician and the former Vice President of Global Medical Affairs and Patient Engagement at Janssen (the pharmaceutical division of Johnson & Johnson). During her 29-year career at Janssen, Fiona held positions of increasing responsibility within Research & Development and Medical Affairs. She contributed to drug development across a range of therapeutic areas including neurosciences, immunology, oncology and infectious diseases, and was involved in the development of Esketamine (Spravato), the first psychedelic-based psychiatric drug to be licensed by the FDA (2019). A native Zimbabwean and dual citizen of Canada and Great Britain, Fiona brings an international perspective to her work. Prior to joining the pharmaceutical industry, she was a Medical Officer at the South African Institute of Medical Research. She holds an MB BCh from the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa and is a Fellow of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine.

Becky is an engineering graduate who holds an MBA and has worked for more than 18 years in the pharmaceutical industry. Holding executive positions at regional and local operating company level within Johnson & Johnson, Becky is an experienced commercial leader who has lead teams working across multiple therapy areas, with an in depth knowledge of market access, commercial strategy and go to market models. Becky has experience in digital transformation in healthcare and a passion for the opportunity that this presents to optimise outcomes for both patients and the healthcare system.

Experienced CFO with a demonstrated history of working in public markets and private equity. Skilled in Fundraising, IPOs, Turnarounds, Business Planning, Mergers & Acquisitions and with a sector focus on eCommerce, Technology and Biomedical. Strong entrepreneurial background and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants.

Shlomi is Chief Business Officer at Beckley Psytech. He was previously the founder and Chief Executive Officer of clinical-stage life sciences company, Eleusis. Prior to founding Eleusis, Shlomi was a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs, and held a similar role at JPMorgan where he began his corporate career. Shlomi holds an MA in psychology from New York University and a BS in finance from Georgetown University.

Matt Hartley is an experienced strategy and operations executive, having held senior positions at a number of biotech startups working across modalities (small molecule, gene therapy, medical devices) and therapy areas (CNS, ophthalmology, oncology). He also has experience as founder and CEO of a technology startup where he spent 6 years developing and running globally deployed patient companion platforms for MNC pharma clients such as Bayer. A stint as a pharma analyst at Morgan Stanley and Citibank at the beginning of his career keeps him sensitive to commercial considerations.

A science and business graduate, Tim is a pharmaceutical professional with over 18 years’ experience working with both small start-ups and large pharmaceutical companies. Tim has a keen passion for integrating naturally derived medicines with evidenced based clinical development. Having formerly served as Head of Clinical Development for Beckley Canopy Therapeutics and as an advisor to the Beckley Foundation, Tim is an experienced cannabis and psychedelic-based drug developer with a strong focus on efficient delivery of projects from preclinical to commercialisation.

Professor Jo Neill is Chair of the Medical Psychedelics Working Group at Drug Science and a scientific advisor for Heroic Hearts UK, the Conservative Drug Policy Reform Group, Beckley Psytech, Albert Labs and Octarine Bio. She is co-founder of b-neuro, a university-based Contract Research Organisation developing new treatments for mental illness through animal models. Jo is past President of the British Association for Psychopharmacology (President 2016-2018). She served on the Research Excellence Framework panel for Unit of Assessment 3 (Allied Health Professions, Dentistry, Nursing and Pharmacy) in 2014. Jo is working with Policy at Manchester to educate the public about the urgent need for drug law reform and suspension of Schedule 1 restrictions to enable research into the medicinal properties of currently illegal drugs.

Dr. John McCorvy studies G Protein-Coupled Receptors (GCPRs) and their functional selectivity, which refers to the differential signaling pathways activated by various drugs at a specific receptor. Dr. McCorvy investigates this phenomenon exhibited by psychedelic, antipsychotic, and antidepressant drugs to inform the development of safer pharmaceuticals that avoid undesired side effects.

Before moving into research, Frederick Reinholdt MA had a 30-year clinical career as a psychotherapist in a community setting. After 15 years with the Johns Hopkins Community Psychiatry program, he transitioned to the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine where he served as lead therapist in multiple research studies on the efficacy of psilocybin-assisted therapies. He is senior therapist in Psychedelics at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience King's College London.

Dr Robin L. Carhart-Harris is the Ralph Metzner Distinguished Professor of Neurology and Psychiatry at the University of California. He is also the Director of the new Psychedelics Division within the translational neuroscience centre, Neuroscape, also at the University of California. Prior to this, he founded the Psychedelic Research Group at Imperial College London in 2015. In this capacity, he has worked closely with Beckley Psytech’s strategic partner The Beckley Foundation on a series of groundbreaking brain imaging studies into the effects of psilocybin, MDMA, LSD and DMT, as well as clinical trials of psilocybin for treatment resistant depression. He holds a PhD in Psychopharmacology from the University of Bristol and an honorary position at the University of Oxford.

Professor Matthew Johnson is one of the world’s most published scientists on the human effects of psychedelics. Working with psychedelics since 2004, he published psychedelic safety guidelines in 2008 which helped resurrect psychedelic research, before publishing the largest ever study of psilocybin in treating cancer distress in 2016. In psychedelic research he also published the first blinded research showing effects of salvinorin A, and research examining psychedelic effects on mystical experience, personality change, meditation and naturalistic addiction recovery. He is President of the International Society for Research on Psychedelics.