Rick Doblin

Doblin says he first learned about MDMA in 1982 and has since devoted his life to developing MDMA-assisted psychotherapy into an FDA-approved prescription treatment.⁠[1]

In 1985 the Drug Enforcement Administration overruled its own judge and placed MDMA in Schedule I, its most restrictive category; in direct response, Doblin founded MAPS in 1986.⁠[2]

In June 2001 he received a PhD in public policy from Harvard UniversityHarvard UniversityHarvard University is a private research university in Massachusetts, established by the Massachusetts Bay Colony legislature in 1636 and named in 1639 for early benefactor John Harvard. Its principal campuses are in Cambridge and the Allston and Longwood neighborhoods of Boston. It includes Harvard College, graduate and professional schools, and the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. Two governing boards share oversight. Alan M. Garber was president as of October 2026, and the endowment stood at $56.9 billion at the end of fiscal 2025.Open the full entry’s Kennedy School of Government with the dissertation Regulation of the Medical Use of Psychedelics and Marijuana.⁠[3]

His master’s thesis surveyed oncologists on smoked marijuana versus the oral THC pill for nausea; his undergraduate thesis at New College of Florida was a 25-year follow-up to the Good Friday Experiment, and he also conducted a 34-year follow-up to Timothy Leary’s Concord Prison Experiment.⁠[4]

In 2014 MAPS established the MAPS Public Benefit Corporation to pursue FDA approval of MDMA.⁠[2]

In March 2017 he submitted testimony to the US Sentencing Commission on the MDMA sentencing guideline, noting that he had testified in 2001 only to see penalties increased on risk estimates he regarded as excessive.⁠[1]

On August 16, 2017, the FDA granted MDMA a Breakthrough Therapy Designation for PTSD; on July 28 that year MAPS and the FDA had reached a Special Protocol Assessment agreement on the Phase 3 trial design.⁠[5]

In 2019 a participant in a MAPS-sponsored Phase 2 trial in Canada went public with allegations; MAPS issued a statement acknowledging that a study therapist had had an “inappropriate and unethical” sexual relationship with her and cutting ties with the therapists involved. After session videos were released in 2022, MAPS said it had provisionally determined that the two therapists had substantially deviated from the treatment manual on several occasions.⁠[6]

On May 10, 2021, Nature Medicine published the first Phase 3 trial of MDMA-assisted therapy; MAPS said that of the 90 patients with severe, chronic PTSD, 67% of those who received three MDMA-assisted sessions no longer qualified for a PTSD diagnosis.⁠[7]

He appeared on episode 202 of the Lex FridmanLex FridmanLex Fridman is a Soviet-born, US-raised computer scientist and podcast host who works as an MIT research scientist on human-AI interaction and autonomous driving. His Lex Fridman Podcast is known for hours-long conversations with guests including heads of state and technology leaders.Open the full entry Podcast, whose description calls him a psychedelics researcher and the founder and executive director of MAPS; topics included what psychedelics do and how they differ, ego dissolution, MKUltra, Timothy Leary, the Good Friday Experiment, the forming of MAPS, MDMA medical trials and big pharma.⁠[8]

MAPS said that in January 2023 its board appointed Doblin, after nearly 37 years as executive director, to the role of president, with deputy director Kris Lotlikar becoming executive director, and that Doblin continued to serve as chief executive.⁠[9]

On January 5, 2024, MAPS announced that its public benefit corporation had closed a Series A financing of more than $100 million and been renamed Lykos Therapeutics; MAPS kept some governance rights, including appointing six of the eight board members.⁠[10]

On May 14, 2024, the independent Institute for Clinical and Economic Review published its revised evidence report, concluding that because of functional unblinding and other trial design and conduct concerns the public evidence was insufficient to assess the therapy’s balance of benefits and harms.⁠[11]

Lykos said in its comments that ICER had not included meaningful input from patient, caregiver and provider groups and that it had sought and received FDA feedback throughout development.⁠[12]

On June 4, 2024, the FDA’s Psychopharmacologic Drugs Advisory Committee voted 9 to 2 that effectiveness had not been shown and 10 to 1 that benefits did not outweigh risks; Lykos CEO Amy Emerson said the company was disappointed and would keep working with the FDA.⁠[13]

On August 9, 2024, the FDA sent Lykos a complete response letter declining for now to approve MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD and asking for another Phase 3 trial; an FDA spokesperson pointed to significant limitations in the data, and Lykos called the request “deeply disappointing” and sought reconsideration.⁠[14]

The day after the FDA decision, the journal Psychopharmacology retracted three papers, two of which listed Doblin as an author, over undisclosed “unethical conduct” at the Canadian site and incomplete competing-interest declarations; Lykos disagreed, saying corrections would suffice, and filed a complaint for third-party review.⁠[15]

In August 2024 Lykos announced it would cut about 75% of its staff and Doblin left its board; MAPS also cut a third of its 42-person staff to focus on drug decriminalization and global access to MDMA.⁠[16]

Lykos chairman Jeff George called him a “trailblazer” in the field, and Doblin said leaving the board would let him work more closely with MAPS toward its goals.⁠[17]

In January 2025 Lykos announced that five board directors had left, and MAPS named two new directors to its designated seats; former CEO Amy Emerson had announced her resignation in September 2024.⁠[18]

In August 2025, after a $50 million recapitalization involving Chris Hohn and Antonio Gracias, Lykos was renamed Resilient Pharmaceuticals; Doblin called it “an inspiring name.”⁠[19]

In September 2025 MAPS named Betty Aldworth and Ismail Lourido Ali co-executive directors; MAPS said donors and grantors had given more than $150 million since its founding.⁠[20]

In December 2025, writing as MAPS founder and president, he said that although FDA approval had been delayed, MAPS, Resilient Pharmaceuticals and others continued working to make the treatments available, and noted that MAPS’ 40th anniversary would fall on April 8, 2026.⁠[21]

X: Public account: https://x.com/RickDoblin (opens in a new window)⁠[8]

Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies: Official website: https://maps.org/ (opens in a new window)⁠[8]