Matthew W. Johnson

Professor of psychedelics

Matthew W. Johnson, Ph.D., is The Susan Hill Ward Endowed Professor of Psychedelics and Consciousness Research at Johns Hopkins. Working with psychedelics since 2004, he is one of the world’s most widely published experts on psychedelics. He has published research on psychedelics and mystical experience, personality change, tobacco smoking cessation, cancer distress treatment, and depression treatment. In 2021 he received as principal investigator the first grant in 50 years from the US government for a treatment study with a classic psychedelic, specifically psilocybin in treatment of tobacco addiction. He is also known for his expertise in behavioral economics, addiction, sexual risk behavior, and research with a wide variety of drug classes. He’s been Interviewed by Anderson Cooper on 60 Minutes, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, CNN, NPR, Fox News, Fox Business News, BBC and in Michael Pollan’s book How to Change Your Mind.

Everything Videos

A man in a suit sits on a chair in front of a white door, surrounded by a vibrant, abstract swirl of red, pink, blue, yellow, and green colors.

2 min

Full Interview

How one psychedelic trip can alter an entire lifetime

“Psychedelics crosscut so many interesting domains. They've been used for time immemorial by indigenous cultures. In our own Western cultural history, they really exploded on the scene in the 1960s, and were associated with radical changes to society.”

Matthew W. Johnson

Close-up view of mushroom gills with overlaid chemical structure diagrams, including molecular formulas and lines, set against a blue-tinted background.

6 min

Perception Box

3 experts reveal how psychedelics can expand the walls of perception

What happens when the boundaries of “you” disappear? James Fadiman, PhD, Jamie Wheal, and Matthew Johnson, PhD explore how supported experiences with psychoactive drugs can dissolve identity and reveal a deeper reality.

Jamie Wheal

Unlikely Collaborators