David Luke
Professor of Exceptional Experience
Data updated
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.
Key Impact
Noted for rigorous qualitative and naturalistic research into DMT and other exceptional psychedelic experiences, and for advancing study of extended difficulties, aftercare and harm reduction in psychedelic use.
Collaboration Network
32 collaborators· click a node to visit their profile
Full network →Compounds
Topics
Top Collaborators
Affiliations
Institutions, companies, and organisations David Luke is associated with.
University of Greenwich
academicThe Psychedelic and Exceptional Experience Laboratory (PEEL) operates within the Institute for Lifecourse Development at the University of Greenwich. Led by Prof David Luke, Professor of Exceptional Experience, the lab brings together a team of faculty, alumni, and affiliates who have collectively been researching and publishing peer-reviewed papers on psychedelic and exceptional experiences. PEEL is one of the few research groups specifically looking at exceptional experiences alongside psychedelics, and welcomes postgraduate research opportunities.
View stakeholder →Imperial College London
academicThe Centre for Psychedelic Research, led by Professor David Nutt and Dr. David Erritzoe, focuses heavily on the action of psychedelic drugs in the brain and their clinical utility as aides to psychotherapy. Thanks to their extensive neuroimaging studies, this group has proposed vital mechanisms for how psychedelics work, including the Entropic Brain Theory and REBUS (RElaxed Beliefs Under Psychedelics).
View stakeholder →