Collaborators and partnerships
Scientific progress depends on collaboration. PsykForsk works closely with academic institutions, hospitals, clinical research networks, industry, and international experts to develop, evaluate, and implement innovative psychiatric treatments. These collaborations strengthen our clinical trials, expand research capacity, and facilitate the translation of research into clinical practice.
National Collaborations
PsykForsk has a long-standing collaboration with the University of Oslo, particularly through Professor Ole A. Andreassen and colleagues working in translational psychiatry, severe mental disorders, and clinical neuroscience. This collaboration forms the scientific foundation for several ongoing and completed clinical trials.
PsykForsk collaborates closely with the Psychedelics Research Group at the University of Oslo, an interdisciplinary network that brings together researchers from psychology, psychiatry, medicine, neuroscience, and the social sciences. Several PsykForsk members contribute to the group's research, which includes national population surveys on psychedelic use, experiences with psychedelics, and public and healthcare professionals' attitudes toward psychedelic-assisted therapies. The collaboration complements PsykForsk's clinical research programme by strengthening epidemiological, psychological, and public health perspectives on psychedelic treatments.
PsykForsk coordinates the Norwegian Rapid-Acting Antidepressant Network (NORAAD), bringing together clinicians and researchers from hospitals across all four Norwegian health regions. The network facilitates multicentre clinical trials, standardized treatment protocols, implementation research, and education in rapid-acting antidepressant treatments. (See the dedicated NORAAD page for more information.)
Through NORAAD and the PreKET study, PsykForsk collaborates with psychiatric departments across Norway in investigator-initiated multicentre clinical research. The network currently includes participating hospitals from all four regional health authorities and supports national implementation of innovative psychiatric treatments.
International Collaborations
PsykForsk collaborates with several leading international research groups within innovative psychiatric treatments, psychedelic medicine, and precision psychiatry.
Current academic collaborators include:
- University of Oxford
- King's College London
- Aalborg University Hospital
- Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin
- Sheppard Pratt Health System (USA)
- Umeå University
These collaborations include scientific advisory roles, protocol development, statistical support, biomarker research, doctoral supervision, and participation in international grant applications.
More Information
PsykForsk collaborates closely with several organizations that support high-quality clinical research, including:
- Clinical Trial Unit, Oslo University Hospital
- Hospital pharmacies
- Clinical laboratories
- NORSMI Biobank and Registry
- Regional research support services
These collaborations provide regulatory support, trial monitoring, data management, biobanking, laboratory analyses, and Good Clinical Practice (GCP)-compliant trial infrastructure.
PsykForsk works with international academic experts in psychiatry, psychopharmacology, statistics, pharmacology, and implementation science.
Current collaborators include expertise from:
- Eva Henje (Umeå University)
- René Ernst Nielsen (Aalborg University Hospital)
- Dimitris Repantis (Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin)
- Scott Aaronson (Sheppard Pratt Health System, USA)
- Vigdis Vindenes (clinical pharmacology)
- Morgan Elizabeth Scarth (biostatistics)
These collaborations support clinical trial design, biomarker research, pharmacokinetics, statistical analyses, and scientific quality assurance.
PsykForsk collaborates with pharmaceutical and biotechnology partners to conduct clinical trials and develop innovative psychiatric treatments.
Current collaborations include:
- MAPS Public Benefit Corporation (now Resilient Pharmaceuticals): International industry-sponsored Phase 2 clinical trial of MDMA-assisted therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The collaboration also included therapist training, treatment fidelity monitoring, and clinical supervision. In addition, Resilient provided the investigational medicinal product for PsykForsk's investigator-initiated proof-of-principle study of MDMA-assisted therapy for major depressive disorder.
- Compass Pathways: Industry-sponsored clinical trial of COMP360 psilocybin therapy for treatment-resistant depression.
- Gilgamesh Pharmaceuticals: Collaboration on innovative psychiatric drug development and preparation for future clinical research.
Janssen: Participation in industry-sponsored clinical research evaluating esketamine for treatment-resistant depression.These partnerships primarily support investigator-initiated and industry-sponsored clinical trials through access to investigational medicinal products, training, and scientific collaboration.
Norrsken Mind
Norrsken Mind supports PsykForsk's clinical research programme through funding of the EMPATHY trial, an investigator-initiated randomized pilot study of MDMA-assisted therapy for chronic treatment-resistant depression in young adults. This collaboration enables the development of innovative treatments within the framework of publicly sponsored clinical research at Sykehuset Østfold.