Lea Mertens is a clinical psychologist and researcher. She received her M.Sc. in Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience with a specialization in Neuropsychology from Maastricht University. During her Master’s she worked at the Centre for Psychedelic Research, Imperial College London. For her PhD she has joined the Department of Molecular Neuroimaging, headed by Prof. Gerhard Gründer, at the Central Institute of Mental Health (CIMH) in Mannheim, where she is primarily conducting clinical and neuroimaging studies. Her main research interests lie in the therapeutic potential as well as biological and psychological mechanisms of psychoactive substances, with a particular focus on psychedelic drugs. She is currently study coordinator, therapist and researcher in the German randomized controlled trial investigating the “Efficacy and Safety of Psilocybin in Treatment-Resistant Depression” (EPIsoDE).