Wu Tsai Neuro Seminar w/ Alex Kwan – SRP Livestream Locations

Good morning SOM Stanford Research Park Community,

We invite you to join us for today’s Neurosciences Seminar. The seminar will be held in-person on the main Stanford campus with 3 satellite viewing locations in Stanford Research Park.

🗓️ Mar 5, 2026

Making synapses with psychedelics
Alex Kwan, PhD

Cornell University | Host: Austen Casey (Heifets Lab)

This seminar is co-presented by Psychiatry Grand Rounds | Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

Numerous drugs have the ability to alter our perception, cognition, and mood. Some of these compounds, such as ketamine and serotonergic psychedelics, have also shown promise as treatment for mental illnesses. The behavioral effects are often long-lasting, presumably because the drugs act on synapses and dendrites to induce plasticity in the brain. In this talk, I will describe a series of studies from my lab aimed at understanding the mechanism of action of psilocybin, using subcellular-resolution two-photon imaging, in vivo electrophysiology, rabies viral tracing, and other molecular and behavioral approaches in mice. The results provide insights into the drug action of psychedelics on neural circuits.

⏰ Time: 12:00-1:00 PM (PT)
Come 15 minutes early (11:45 AM) to enjoy coffee, cookies, and conversation with the speaker and your colleagues (main campus location only)

📍 Locations:

• Main Campus (in person): Gunn Rotunda (E241), Stanford Neurosciences Building
• Stanford Research Park satellite locations:
  • 3172 Porter Drive, Room 253
  • 3174 Porter Drive, Room 140
  • 1070 Arastradero Road, Room 211

Learn about the SRP satellites »

Learn more and get involved:

• Nominate speakers for the 2026-2027 seminar series
• About the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Seminar Series »
• Sign up to dine or meet with the seminar speakers »
• See all upcoming and past seminars »
• Sign up for Wu Tsai Neuro’s mailing list »
• Join the #neuroscience slack channel »

📅 Want to add all of the seminars to your calendar?
Download the calendar here or, for live updates, copy this link and use these instructions for subscribing to a public calendar: Outlook, Mac, Google Calendar.

Best regards,

Emily Elrod (she/they)
Programs Associate | Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, Stanford University