The Addiction & Pharmacology Research Laboratory (APRL) uses the tools of psychology, pharmacology, and cognitive science to understand the impact of non-medical drug use on people and to try to find better treatments for addiction. We develop innovative methods for conducting clinical trials and measuring the effects of drugs on the human mind and body. Our research is primarily funded by the National Institutes of Health.The Laboratory is located in St. Luke’s Campus of California Pacific Medical Center in the Mission District of San Francisco.
Current Projects
Ongoing studies investigate the effects of stimulants, opiates, and psychedelics (such as Salvia divinorum and ecstasy) in people. Ongoing clinical trials evaluate novel treatments for methamphetamine and cocaine addiction.
Methamphetamine Treatment Research
Methamphetamine abuse is a widespread problem that has killed and hurt many people. We are focused on developing new treatments for methamphetamine abuse and improving scientific methods of identifying which potential treatments are actually helpful. This research integrates clinical trials, biological markers, pharmacokinetic modeling, and computerized data collection and management.
MDMA (‘Ecstasy’) Research
MDMA (also called ‘Ecstasy’) is a widely used drug with poorly understood effects. We seek to better understand this drug by administering it in controlled settings to experience volunteers. One of our past studies investigated the role of alpha-one noradrenergic receptors in the effects of MDMA. Current studies are investigating how MDMA affects men and women differently and how mood and concentration are changed in the day or two after taking MDMA.
Salvinorin A (Salvia Divinorum) Research
Salvia divinorum is an emerging plant intoxicant with novel pharmacological properties. We are currently studying the effects of the main active ingredient, Salvinorin A, in healthy volunteers. This drug is different from most other drugs that are used illicitly in that it acts on kappa opioid receptors. As such, it has the potential to provide important new insights into the function of these receptors in the brain and may lead to new therapeutic approaches to disease.
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APRL Scientists
John Mendelson, MD is a board certified Internist who has performed human pharmacologic studies with methamphetamine, MDMA, cocaine and buprenorphine. His clinical research involves the pharmacology, physiology, and psychology of commonly abused drugs and development of treatments for drug abuse and associated medical and psychiatric complications. In his research, pharmacologically active doses of abusable drugs are studied under controlled conditions. All studies are performed at or above FDA GLP standards and his clinical research unit is equipped to ethically and safely conduct studies in licit and illicit drug users.
He has successfully conducted NIH funded studies with methamphetamine, MDMA, cocaine, methamphetamine enantiomers, marijuana, opioids, and other addictive drugs in populations that are often difficult to deal with (including untreated cocaine and heroin addicts). He has studied the cardiovascular effects of MDMA, cocaine and methamphetamine. He has performed studies on interactions between ethanol and the stimulant drugs cocaine and methamphetamine and has developed novel cocaine self-administration paradigms. He has used stable isotope methods to define the pharmacokinetics of cocaethylene formation and elimination and measure the bioavailability of intranasal methamphetamine. Dr. Mendelson performed many of the basic pharmacokinetic and abuse liability studies used to support FDA approval of Suboxone (a combination of buprenorphine and naloxone), the first new primary pharmacotherapy for opiate addiction introduced in more than 30 years. Dr. Mendelson has extensive experience working with the many regulatory bodies that oversee research with addictive drugs, including the CPMC and UCSF Institutional Review Boards, the FDA, the UCSF General Clinical Research Center, and the California Research Advisory Panel.
Click here for List of publications by J Mendelson, MD in PubMed.
Email: john.mendelson@cpmcri.org
Gantt Galloway, Pharm D has over 20 years of research and clinical experience with alcoholics and other addicts. He has worked in a number of treatment settings, such as the Haight-Ashbury Free Clinic. He has succeeded in designing and conducting clinical research with NIH funding in challenging clinical settings. His research interests also include genetic contributions to the development of paranoia in methamphetamine users.
Click here for list of publications by Gantt Galloway, PharmD in PubMed.
Email: Gantt@cpmcri.org
Keith Flower, MD is a recent graduate of the CPMC Psychiatry Residency program. He is interested in methamphetamine-associated psychosis and in the relationships between drug use and psychopathology. His work in addiction pharmacology includes investigating treatments for methamphetamine and cocaine dependence, and looking at the effects of MDMA and Salvinorum A. He is interested in the integration of pharmacology and psychotherapy in drug dependence treatment, medical sequelae of drug abuse, public health policy, and what nonmedical drug use tells us about the mechanisms of mind.
Email: flowerk@sutterhealth.org
Matthew Baggott is a PhD candidate in neuroscience at the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California Berkeley. He is interested in the mechanisms and effects of MDMA and hallucinogens and what these pharmacological tools can tell us about the working of the brain and consciousness. His on-going research includes measuring the cognitive, social, and emotional consequences of MDMA, LSD, and methamphetamine in humans.
Email: matthew@baggott.net
Click here for List of publications by M Baggott in PubMed.
Other Staff Members
The research at APRL is made possible by an able team of people with years of experience conducting intelligent, careful clinical trials. A few key players are listed here. Jeremy Coyle studied cognitive science at UC Berkeley and oversees many aspects of our data management. Kathleen Garrison has been conducting psychopharmacology and methamphetamine drug abuse research for over a decade. Juan Carlos Lopez studied cognitive science at UC Berkeley and has been conducting research for over 4 years. Jennifer Siegrist has been conducting psychopharmacology and drug abuse research in animals and humans for over ten years. Michelle Salinardi is our project manager and attempts to keep our studies on track and on budget.
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Senior Scientist in Addiction and Pharmacology Research