David E. Olson is an American

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a graduated scientist trained in the study of chemistry, or an officially enrolled student in the field. Chemists study the composition of ...

and

neuroscientist A neuroscientist (or neurobiologist) is a scientist specializing in neuroscience that deals with the anatomy and function of neurons, Biological neural network, neural circuits, and glia, and their Behavior, behavioral, biological, and psycholo ...

. He is a professor of

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

biochemistry Biochemistry, or biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology, a ...

and molecular medicine at the

University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Davis, California, United States. It is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University ...

, and is the founding director of the UC Davis Institute for Psychedelics and Neurotherapeutics. Olson is best known for his work investigating

neuroplasticity Neuroplasticity, also known as neural plasticity or just plasticity, is the ability of neural networks in the brain to change through neurogenesis, growth and reorganization. Neuroplasticity refers to the brain's ability to reorganize and rewir ...

promoting compounds, especially the potential of

psychedelic drugs Psychedelics are a subclass of Hallucinogen, hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger psychoactive drug, non-ordinary mental states (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips") and a perceived "expansion of consciousness". Also ...

, including

ketamine Ketamine is a cyclohexanone-derived general anesthetic and NMDA receptor antagonist with analgesic and hallucinogenic properties, used medically for anesthesia, depression, and pain management. Ketamine exists as its S- (esketamine) a ...

and

serotonergic psychedelics Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary mental states (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips") and a perceived "expansion of consciousness". Also referred to as classic hallucin ...

, to alter brain structure and function. Olson also coined a term to refer to small molecules that are fast acting, durable neuroplasticity promoting compounds: psychoplastogens. Psychoplastogens are being developed to treat a wide variety of

neuropsychiatric Neuropsychiatry is a branch of medicine that deals with psychiatry as it relates to neurology, in an effort to understand and attribute behavior to the interaction of neurobiology and social psychology factors. Within neuropsychiatry, the mind i ...

and

neurodegenerative diseases A neurodegenerative disease is caused by the progressive loss of neurons, in the process known as neurodegeneration. Neuronal damage may also ultimately result in their death. Neurodegenerative diseases include amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, mul ...

, including depression,

PTSD Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental disorder that develops from experiencing a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, warfare and its associated traumas, natural disaster, traffic collision, ...

, and

substance use disorders Substance use disorder (SUD) is the persistent use of drugs despite substantial harm and adverse consequences to self and others. Related terms include ''substance use problems'' and ''problematic drug or alcohol use''. Along with substance-ind ...

, among many others.

Early life

Olson received his B.S. from

Union College Union College is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York, United States. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the s ...

in 2006 with a major in chemistry and a minor in biology. He then worked briefly at Albany Molecular Research Inc. before completing a Ph.D. in chemistry at

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

in 2011, where he worked in the laboratory of Justin Du Bois, developing a variety of methods for synthesizing nitrogen-containing compounds. Olson undertook postdoctoral research in neuroscience at the Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard where he focused on the therapeutic potential of

HDAC inhibitors Histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDAC inhibitors, HDACi, HDIs) are chemical compounds that inhibit histone deacetylases. Since deacetylation of histones produces transcriptionally silenced heterochromatin, HDIs can render chromatin more transcrip ...

Career

In 2015 Olson started his independent career at the University of California, Davis, with a joint appointment in the department of chemistry (college of letters and science) and the department of biochemistry and molecular medicine (school of medicine). He is also an affiliate member of the Center for Neuroscience and the UC Davis Memory and

Plasticity Plasticity may refer to: Science * Plasticity (physics), in engineering and physics, the propensity of a solid material to undergo permanent deformation under load * Behavioral plasticity, change in an organism's behavior in response to exposur ...

Program. Olson was promoted to associate professor with tenure in 2021 and full professor in 2024. In 2019, Olson co-founded

Delix Therapeutics Delix Therapeutics is an American biotech company based in Boston, Massachusetts. The company develops novel neuroplasticity-promoting therapeutics for central nervous system (CNS) diseases such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder ...

—a biotech company focused on developing novel

-promoting therapeutics for central nervous system diseases (CNS). Olson served as the company's chief scientific officer until 2021, when he transitioned to the roles of chief innovation officer and head of the scientific advisory board.

Awards

* 2023 Mahoney Institute for Neurosciences (MINS) Rising Star Award * 2023 UC Davis Chancellor’s Fellow * 2022 Sacramento Business Journal's 40 Under 40 * 2021 Sigma Xi Young Investigator Award * 2021 Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar * 2021 Life Young Investigator Award * 2020 Jordi Folch-Pi Award from the American Society for Neurochemistry

Other activities

Currently, he serves on the editorial advisory boards of the journals

ACS Chemical Neuroscience ''ACS Chemical Neuroscience'' is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the American Chemical Society. It covers research on the molecular underpinnings of nerve function. The journal was established in 2010. The founding editor- ...

and ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science.

Published works

Olson has published numerous scientific publications. Several of his key contributions to the field are cited below: * * * * * * * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Olson, David E. American neuroscientists American chemists Living people Psychedelic drug researchers University of California, Davis faculty Year of birth missing (living people)