Research Abstract

Yvan Beaussant, MD, MSc is a hematologist and palliative care physician, serving as an Instructor of Medicine in the Department of Psychosocial-Oncology and Palliative Care (POPC) at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) and Harvard Medical School. He completed a Master's degree in Medical Ethics and graduated from the Certificate Program in Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies and Research (CPTR) at the California Institute of Integral Studies, where he now serves as a mentor. Dr. Beaussant's research focuses on psychosocial and existential distress in patients with serious illness, with a specific focus on developing and assessing psychedelic-assisted therapies (PAT) to improve distress and promote quality of life in patients with cancer and at the end of life. He has expertise in a wide array of research methodologies including retrospective analysis and propensity scores, systematic reviews, survey studies, qualitative and mixed methods research and clinical trials. During his post-doctoral research fellowship, Dr. Beaussant's research informed a concerted and integrative roadmap to develop and assess PAT in patients with serious illness, within the context of evidence-based psychosocial and palliative care delivery. Dr. Beaussant’s lab now investigates different protocols of psilocybin- and MDMA-assisted therapy to address depression, adjustment disorder, pain, and existential distress in this population.