Dr. Lynnette A. Averill is the daughter of a US Marine who died by suicide after years of struggling with ineffective treatments. His life – and subsequent death – shaped Dr. Averill personally and professionally. She grew up very aware of the effects of stress and trauma, including war and combat, not only on the individual who experiences those things firsthand, but also the family, friends, and communities that experience so much in parallel. Since the mid-80s when he died, there have been great strides in understanding and treatment of trauma-related concerns; however, available treatments fall significantly short and do not work for many individuals. The focus of Dr. Averill’s work is on studying and supporting novel, rapid-acting interventions with potential to save lives.

She is a expert in the psychoneurobiology of chronic stress pathology – namely posttraumatic stress, suicidality and rapid-acting interventions. Her research focuses on the fine-grained understanding of mechanisms underlying psychedelic medicines, the effects of chronic stress and trauma, and treatment response. She has co-authored multiple recent manuscripts reporting positive outcomes of ibogaine and 5-MeO-DMT treatment among Special Operations Forces Veterans and has published widely on studies of ketamine for stress- and trauma-related concerns. She has received honors and funding for her work from premier organizations including the Fulbright Association/US Department of State, Dept. of Veterans Affairs, Brain and Behavior Foundation (BBRF), the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), American College for Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP), Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA), International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS), and the International Society for Clinical Trials and Methodology (ISCTM).

Dr. Averill is an Associate Professor at Baylor College of Medicine’s Menninger Department of Behavioral Sciences, Clinical Research Psychologist at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center in Houston, maintains a faculty appointment at Yale School of Medicine and the National Center for PTSD and is a clinician and innovation expert advisor at NPSYT, PLLC.

She is a founding board member for Source Research Foundation and Reason for Hope ~ Hope for Reason, two psychedelic medicine-focused non-profit organizations – supporting early career investigators and supporting thoughtful policy for safe, equitable and ethical use of psychedelic medicines respectively. She served as subject matter expert for TX House Bill 1802 that passed with near unanimous bipartisan support and funds a clinical trial of psilocybin for Veterans with PTSD, which Dr. Averill will lead. She has served as a subject matter expert for Connecticut’s Psilocybin Work Group as well as testifying in special briefings at the state and federal level in the US and Canada on matters relating to thoughtful legislation around psychedelic medicine and assisted therapies.