Leah Mayo

I will be presenting much of the cannabinoid work I have been doing in the Mental Health and Addiction Program Rounds. My talk "Pharmacological Manipulation of the Endocannabinoid System" ties together my work with @mayoonthebrain.bsky.social and my current work with @brainsbeesbikes.bsky.social

EBPS2023 special issue: Stress, trauma and cannabinoids - Psychopharmacology Psychopharmacology -

Excited to share the Psychopharm Special Issue on Stress, Trauma & Cannabinoids 14 papers examining how the endocannabinoid system shapes stress & trauma responses.

Guest edited with @connorhaggarty.bsky.social, @mayoonthebrain.bsky.social & Christelle Baunez.

link.springer.com/article/10.1...

I'm so happy this is finally out! My first empirical paper from my postdoc, and my first time wading into fMRI in a clinical sample.

See inside: FAAH inhibition may not have done anything beyond exposure CBT in PTSD, but the DLPFC may play more of a role in treatment response than we thought...? 🤔

Congrats to @pact-lab.bsky.social postdoc @ryanntansey.bsky.social on her recent paper looking at the impact of elevated anandamide via FAAH inhibition on brain function in patients with PTSD

What does it do?

Well....not much 😬

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

EBPS2023 special issue: Stress, trauma and cannabinoids - Psychopharmacology Psychopharmacology -

What an undertaking this was. So proud of the collection @mayoonthebrain.bsky.social , @brainsbeesbikes.bsky.social , @cbaunez.bsky.social and I collected for the “Stress, Trauma and Cannabinoids” special issue in @psychopharmacology.bsky.social
Editorial: link.springer.com/article/10.1...

First ACNP is going to be tough to top! Thanks to everyone who stopped by to learn about @dpn-journal.bsky.social 🫶🏻🧠💻 #ACNP2026

🙏 for contributing to the amazing #ACNP2026! What'd you love? how was the Program? what'd you love for next @acnporg.bsky.social? @sbilbo.bsky.social @thebalelab.bsky.social @ahmarilab.bsky.social @madrelabutd.bsky.social @mayoonthebrain.bsky.social @cannabrain.bsky.social @jaredwyoung.bsky.social

#ACNP2026 was one for the books!

Grateful to have been promoted to @acnporg.bsky.social Full Member this year, and feeling even more fortunate to have a network that truly supports me (even when that sometimes entails entertaining my kiddos) 💗

Congratulations to Harriet De Wit, Ph.D., for being awarded the Barbara Fish Memorial Award! ☺️ #ACNP2026

Please click here ➡️tinyurl.com/2ndexz5k to watch the nominator video by Abraham Palmer, Ph.D.

Congrats to @pact-lab.bsky.social postdoc @ryanntansey.bsky.social on receiving an @acnporg.bsky.social Travel Award! 🎉
#ACNP2026

So excited to be a part of this stellar group of travel awardees this year!! See you at #ACNP2026 🏝️☀️🔬

Leah Mayo | Top 40 Under 40 2025 - Avenue Calgary Leah Mayo’s groundbreaking work developing therapeutic applications of psychedelics and cannabis-related drugs as the first research chair in psychedelics in Canada is advancing mental health care.

🎉 Congratulations to our Social Media Editor, Dr. Leah Mayo, on being named to Avenue Calgary’s Top 40 Under 40!
Her research on stress, cannabinoids, psychedelics, and mental health continues to make an impact - in and beyond the lab.
🔗 www.avenuecalgary.com/top-40-under...

K-Pop Demon Hunters slayed the Dash of Doom 👹🎃🏃‍♀️🥈

“Come play with us Maggie, come play with us forever”

Maggie got to play Danny Torrance from the Shining with the perfect Shining twins played by @mayoonthebrain.bsky.social adorable girls for a Dog Halloween costume party.

The effect of methamphetamine and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine on peripheral endocannabinoid concentrations: a study in healthy adults - Psychopharmacology Rationale Stimulant drugs such as methamphetamine (MA) and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) can impact neurobiological systems implicated in stress, reward processing, and drug use. Although recent preclinical evidence implicates the endocannabinoid (eCB) system in these processes, little is known about the acute effects of stimulants on eCB levels in humans. Objectives The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of acute administration of the prototypical psychostimulant MA and the psychostimulant-empathogen MDMA on circulating eCB levels in healthy adults. Methods Using a within-subject, double-blind design, this study assessed the acute effects of MA (20 mg), MDMA (100 mg), and placebo on plasma eCB levels in healthy human participants (N = 22) during three separate sessions. Blood samples assessing concentrations of the eCBs anandamide (AEA) and 2-Arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) were collected between 150- and 180-minutes post-drug administration, and subjective measures of drug effects were collected at regular intervals. Results MA, but not MDMA, was associated with significantly lower 2-AG plasma concentrations compared to placebo. Neither drug impacted AEA concentrations. However, during the placebo condition, higher AEA concentrations were correlated with disliking the ‘drug effects’, suggesting a possible relationship between AEA levels and negative expectations of subjective drug effects. Conclusions These findings provide novel insights into how stimulant drugs act on the eCB system and may help to develop treatments for SUDs.

Congrats to @pact-lab.bsky.social PhD student @anadeutsch.bsky.social on her 1st first-author paper from the lab! 🎉

She explored how MDMA & methamphetamine impact cortisol, endocannabinoids, & BDNF levels in healthy humans and how this relates to the subjective drug experience 💊👇

I had the pleasure of attending a psychedelics masterclass this afternoon chaired by Harriet de Wit with talks from Kathryn Cunningham, Chuck Nichols, @drfriid.bsky.social & @mayoonthebrain.bsky.social. From molecules to behaviour and practical steps in trial design #EBPS2025

Assistant Professors - Sociology, Faculty of Arts in Calgary, AB, ... Assistant Professors - Sociology, Faculty of Arts in Calgary, AB, ...

JOB ALERT FOR #SOCIOLOGIST: Come work with me. We have FOUR Assistant Professor positions in the Sociology Department at the University of Calgary.

careers.ucalgary.ca/jobs/1672106...

I remember when maps wanted to legalize mdma and all psychedelics before they became a for profit pharma company and wanted to only legalize mdma through their indication and therapy manual

Sad to see, especially when access can be had with legal regulated supply for all

a man is holding a checkered flag and says the level of unprofessionalism far too much . ALT: a man is holding a checkered flag and says the level of unprofessionalism far too much .

Am I allowed to call psilocybin 'pharmacologically promiscuous' in a grant, or is that...unprofessional?

New paper in TIPS: ABCs of psychedelics a preclinical roadmap for drug discovery.

This was a fun piece to write for @cp-trendspharma.bsky.social

“The ABCs of Psychedelics: A Preclinical Roadmap for Drug Discovery” with John McCorvy and @jmantsch.bsky.social

www.cell.com/trends/pharm...

Search Jobs - University Affairs

UCalgary is recruiting!

We are recruiting for the Novartis Research Chair in Schizophrenia Research (MD required)

See more info in the ad below, and feel free to reach out w/ questions about the institute, city, etc.,.

Please share!

universityaffairs.ca/search-job/?...

Incredible time at the Cannabinoid GRC! @drjkhokhar.bsky.social & Cece Hilliard knocked it out of the park! It was an honor to be discussion lead for the GRS session on therapeutics. As always, proud of my friend/mentor @mayoonthebrain.bsky.social, chosen as 2029 chair w/ @ryanmcpickle.bsky.social

Thanks to @drjkhokhar.bsky.social & Cece Hillard for another fantastic Cannabinoid GRC!

The #cannabinerd crew is unparalleled & I couldn't be more excited for the opportunity to organize the 2029 meeting with @ryanmcpickle.bsky.social

He was too busy doing pull-ups to join for the photo

There are few reasons to miss the start of classes but making sure I get to attend #cannabinoidgrc2025 is one of the few VERY GOOD reasons! #blackincannabinoids

Flex off with the lifting crew at #CannabinoidGRC @ryanmcpickle.bsky.social @lcornelas.bsky.social @mayoonthebrain.bsky.social & Carrie Cuttler

a man says you really are a dream team in front of a microphone ALT: a man says you really are a dream team in front of a microphone

Wishing all the #Cannabinerd trainees a Happy Cannabinoid GRS kickoff!

Grateful to see @pact-lab.bsky.social well represented w/ talks from @ryanntansey.bsky.social & @abby-lunge.bsky.social, @marcdferger.bsky.social as a discussion leader, & Gavin Petrie as co-Chair (& later speaker at the GRC) 💪

Sex differences in the acute effects of cannabis on human cognition: A systematic review Acute cannabis exposure can transiently impair cognitive performance, increasing the risk of accidental injury and potentially disrupting activities o…

Thrilled to share a new systematic review where we examined sex differences in the acute cognitive effects of cannabis in humans

Overall, not much evidence of sex diffs (6/29 studies, 8/216 variables found sex diffs)

BUT...

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Realizing now that I never advertised my FIRST first author publication of my postdoc here... shared first authorship with @marcdferger.bsky.social of course! 💫

Very proud of this review that perfectly branches between the developmental work I did in my PhD & what I've been doing in the PaCT Lab! 🧠

THRILLED to share @acnporg.bsky.social news x2!

1) Our study group “Centering Lived Experience in Psychiatric Neuroscience Research” @ericjnestler.bsky.social @mayaschumer.bsky.social @deffinger.bsky.social @viscidula.bsky.social @noelvest.bsky.social @cahill-lab.bsky.social=ACCEPTED! 🤩 #ACNP2026