Dr. Friederike Holze
Member of the ALPS Foundation’s Scientific Advisory Board
Friederike Holze is a Swiss researcher in the field of psychopharmacology, with a particular focus on psychedelics. Her work has significantly advanced our understanding of these compounds and their potential therapeutic applications. Dr. Holze's career in psychedelic research began in 2017 when she joined Prof. Matthias Liechti's research group at the University Hospital Basel. There, she conducted her doctoral studies, concentrating on the pharmacology of psychoactive substances, with a primary focus on LSD. During her PhD, which she completed in 2021, Dr. Holze conducted several Phase I and Phase II studies. These investigations included the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of LSD, establishing a comprehensive dose-effect relationship for doses ranging from 5 to 200 µg. This work has been crucial in understanding how different doses of LSD affect the human body and mind. Her research has also included detailed comparisons of the acute pharmacological effects of various psychoactive substances, including LSD, MDMA, psilocybin, and d-amphetamine. This comparative approach has helped to elucidate the unique properties of each substance and their potential therapeutic applications. During her postdoc at the Neurobiology Research Unit at Rigshospitalet Copenhagen under the supervision of Prof. Gitte Knudsen, she started investigating psychedelic compounds using state-of-the-art neuroimaging techniques such as PET and fMRI. Dr. Holze's has extensive experience in overseeing psychedelic experiences in controlled settings. She has personally supervised more than 200 psychedelic sessions with healthy test subjects, providing valuable insights into the acute effects of these substances. Dr. Holze's expertise in psychedelic research has been recognized with multiple awards, including the prestigious 2023 NEATOR Award from the ACNP for her study comparing the effects of LSD and psilocybin in healthy individuals, the 2024 Sommerfeld-Ziskind Award from the SOBP for her Phase II study investigating the potential therapeutic effects of LSD in patients with anxiety disorders, and two Young Investigator Awards: one from the Mind Foundation, Germany (2019) and another from the Swiss Society of Biological Psychiatry (2024), among others.