Our team is committed not only to helping our patients, but to furthering the field of therapeutic psychedelics for the benefit of communities around the globe. Our team is committed not only to helping our patients, but to furthering the field of therapeutic psychedelics for the benefit of communities around the globe. Learn more about our entire Center team.
Leadership Team
Rachel Yehuda, PhD
Director, Endowed Professor of Psychiatry
Rachel.Yehuda@mssm.edu
Dr. Yehuda is the Chemers Neustein Family Professor of Trauma and Resilience. Dr. Yehuda is a recognized leader in the field of traumatic stress studies, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and intergenerational trauma. In 2019, Dr. Yehuda was elected to the National Academy of Medicine for her seminal contributions to understanding the psychological and biological impact of traumatic stress. She was the former Director of Mental Health at the James J. Peters Veterans Affairs Medical Center (now managing a research portfolio at VA). In 2020, Dr. Yehuda established and now directs The Parsons Research Center for Psychedelic Healing at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
Amy Lehrner, PhD
Associate Director, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry
Amy.Lehrner@mssm.edu
Dr. Lehrner is a licensed clinical psychologist, with an appointment in the PTSD clinic at JJP VAMC, an academic affiliate with Mount Sinai. She has been conducting mental health research since 2011, and has experience designing and managing clinical trials, including trials of MDMA-AT and other psychedelics. She has been a Principal Investigator of a clinical trial for a novel psychotherapy for veterans with moral injury, a study of sexual dysfunction associated with PTSD in combat veterans, and a long term follow up study of outcomes in veterans following MDMA-AT. She has been an investigator on multiple psychedelic psychotherapy studies, and with Dr. Yehuda, has conducted research on treatments and biomarkers for PTSD in veterans, and on the effects of the Holocaust and PTSD on second-generation survivors. Dr. Lehrner is certified as an MDMA-AT therapist and trainer. She also supervises psychology interns and provides trauma-informed individual and couples therapy.
Mustafa Mehmet Haznedar, MD
Medical Director, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry
Mehmet.Haznedar@mssm.edu
Dr. Haznedar is also a clinician at the Outpatient Mental Health Clinic at JJP VAMC. After treating veterans with PTSD in clinical settings for more than 10 years, Dr. Haznedar joined Dr. Yehuda’s lab in 2019 with an interest in the development of novel treatment strategies for PTSD. Dr. Haznedar has been a co-investigator in numerous neuroimaging and clinical studies; his research focus is the effects of psychopathologies on the limbic structures, specifically the cingulate gyrus and their behavioral correlations. His clinical research interest is prediction of response to clinical and pharmacological interventions through neuroanatomical and neurophysiological properties of the affected individuals with various psychiatric disorders.
Heather Bader, BS
Operations Director
Heather.Bader@va.gov
Heather Bader is a senior research health scientist at the JJP VAMC and the Director of Operations at The Parsons Research Center for Psychedelic Healing. Her role encompasses program and project management and administration, grant submission and management, regulatory reporting and oversight, financial management and budgeting, strategic planning, and employee hiring and supervision. She received her Bachelor of Science in biology with a concentration in neurobiology and behavior from Cornell University. Ms. Bader joined the Yehuda Lab in 2011 and has advanced in career within the research team, serving as a co-investigator on several PTSD-related research studies.
Miryam Sperka, PhD
Training Director, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry
Miryam.Sperka@va.gov
Dr. Sperka is the Training Director for The Parsons Research Center for Psychedelic Healing, an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and a clinical psychologist in Trauma and Readjustment Services at JJP VAMC. She received her PhD in clinical psychology from Hofstra University and joined the Yehuda Lab as a postdoctoral clinical research fellow in 2017, where she continues to serve as a study psychologist and diagnostic evaluator on several research projects. As training director of The Parsons Research Center for Psychedelic Healing, Dr. Sperka runs the MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD Education Program, which focuses on clinician training and curriculum development to address the specific needs of military and veteran populations. At the VA, Dr. Sperka provides trauma-focused therapy, including evidence-based treatments such as prolonged exposure, cognitive processing therapy, and treatments for moral injury. She also trains and supervises psychology interns and postdoctoral fellows within the PTSD clinic.