With neuroscience entering a new era of mainstream investment and policy attention, Frontiers of the Mind: Brain Interfaces, Psychedelics, and the Next Era of Mind Science brought together leading scientists, investors, and entrepreneurs advancing innovation at the intersection of mind and technology. We heard from Marcus Gerhardt, Co-Founder and CEO of Blackrock Neurotech, Dr. Heather Berlin, Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Dr. Jerry Rosenbaum, Psychiatrist-in-Chief Emeritus, Director, Center for the Neuroscience of Psychedelics, and Stanley Cobb Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, and Dr. Jonathan Sporn, CEO of Gilgamesh Pharmaceuticals each illuminating how new ventures can harness the unprecedented momentum driving neuroscience forward. The evening featured a special performance from world renowned pianist and polymath Arsha Kaviani. This private salon highlighted both the opportunities and responsibilities shaping the next generation of neuroscience innovation.
Speakers
Co-Founder & CEO, Blackrock Neurotech
Marcus is CEO of Blackrock Neurotech. He is on the advisory board of various disruptive technology companies including fin-tech Deposit Solutions (US). Marcus has an MPhil from Oxford University and an MA from St. Andrews. He is an entrepreneur focused on innovative technologies and alternative investment markets. In 1999, Marcus helped set up his first start-up, Mondus, a pioneering e-commerce platform. Subsequently, Marcus founded BBI, which advised technology companies on funding, commercialization, and growth strategies. In 2003, he co-founded one of the leading frontier market asset managers in the Middle East. With Blackrock, he is hoping to improve the patient impact as it relates to the final frontier of the human body – the brain. He is all too aware of the limits of his own body when it comes to riding and hiking up and down the Wasatch mountains, but that does not stop him from trying to push that frontier too.
Psychiatrist-in-Chief Emeritus; Director, Center for the Neuroscience of Psychedelics; Stanley Cobb Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School
Jerry Rosenbaum, MD is the Stanley Cobb Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and served as Chief of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital for two decades, leading more than 600 clinicians and researchers. A recognized leader in mood and anxiety disorders, he has authored over 400 scientific papers and edited 20 books. Dr. Rosenbaum is Director of the Center for Neuroscience of Psychedelics at MGH, where his team investigates how psychedelics alter brain function to uncover new mechanisms for treating psychiatric illness. He has received numerous honors for his contributions to research and education, including the C. Charles Burlingame Award and the Ellis Island Medal of Honor. In addition, he co-founded Psy Therapeutics and Sensorium Therapeutics, both dedicated to advancing novel psychiatric and neurologic therapeutics.
Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Heather Berlin, PhD, MPH is a neuroscientist, clinical psychologist, and Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Her research explores the neural basis of impulsivity, compulsivity, and consciousness to inform new treatments for psychiatric disorders. A committee member of the National Academy of Sciences and AAAS, she bridges science and the public as host of PBS’s Your Brain and the Science of Perception Box podcast, and through appearances on StarTalk, BBC, and Netflix. Berlin also co-wrote and starred in the off-Broadway show Off the Top on the neuroscience of improvisation. She earned her PhD from Oxford, MPH from Harvard, and completed clinical training at Weill Cornell Medicine.
CEO, Gilgamesh Pharmaceuticals
Jonathan Sporn, MD is a board-certified psychiatrist and seasoned biopharmaceutical executive with deep expertise in neuropsychopharmacology. He trained at Tufts, Harvard, and Massachusetts General Hospital, later joining the NIH intramural program before moving into industry roles at Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer. Dr. Sporn founded Perception Neuroscience, leading it through the first exit in the psychedelic medicine space to ATAI Life Sciences, where he remains a board member and major shareholder. He is currently Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Gilgamesh Pharmaceuticals, a Y Combinator-backed company developing next-generation psychedelic therapeutics. In addition, he mentors with the NSF’s I-Corps program and has consulted in digital medicine at Click Therapeutics.
Featured Artist
Hosts
Diana Saville
BrainMind
Michael Brotherton
D44 Ventures
Memories
