David Luke

Professor of Exceptional Experience

Data updated

Papers

19 publications

Trials

0 clinical trials

Research Footprint

David Luke appears in 19 tracked papers (2013–2026), most studied alongside LSD, DMT and MDMA, across Anxiety Disorders, Personality & Trait Factors and Adolescents.

Most-cited paper: The effects of microdose LSD on time perception: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial (167 citations).

Frequent co-authors: John Evans, Devin Terhune and Robin Carhart-Harris.

Background & Research

David Luke is Professor of Exceptional Experience at the University of Greenwich and a long-standing researcher in the psychology and phenomenology of altered states of consciousness. He has held honorary and guest academic positions related to psychedelic research, including affiliation with the Centre for Psychedelic Research at Imperial College London and teaching posts in UK psychology departments. His work spans academic articles, book chapters and public-facing scholarship on anomalous and psychedelic experiences.

Luke specialises in naturalistic and mixed-method investigations of short-acting tryptamines (notably DMT), thematic and content analyses of extraordinary experience reports, and qualitative survey and interview studies of post-psychedelic adjustment, coping and support strategies. Key contributions include thematic analyses of DMT encounters (often framed as "encounters with the other" or "the self"), empirical studies of extended difficulties following psychedelic use, and research on predictors of nature relatedness after psychedelic exposure. He is known for emphasising careful qualitative methodology, the study of harms and aftercare, and translational considerations for harm minimisation and clinical practice.

Affiliations

Institutions, companies, and organisations David Luke is associated with.