Dina Burkitbayeva is a serial entrepreneur and a co-founder at PsyMed Ventures, venture fund focused on cutting edge mental health treatments including psychedelic therapeutic, neurotechnology, precision psychiatry and digital therapeutics. Dina holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and is working towards her PhD in East West Psychology with a focus on psychedelic therapy at California Institute of Integral Studies.

Dr. John Krystal is best known for the discovery of the rapid antidepressant effects of ketamine in patients (2000) and the invention of Esketamine, which directly led to FDA approval of Jannsen’s Spravato Esketamine spray, the first novel antidepressant in 50 years (Esketamine, 2019). John is also one of the top experts in the neurobiology and treatment of alcoholism and PTSD. Most recently, he co-founded the National PTSD Brain Bank and co-led the first transcriptomic studies of PTSD.

Dr. Whitaker brings nearly three decades of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, following eight years of experience in academic medicine.

His pharmaceutical industry experience includes a number of senior clinical leadership roles across multiple biotech companies and global pharmaceutical organizations, including serving as CMO of three different Biotech companies.

Dr. Berra Yazar-Klosinski is Chief Development Officer at Freedom Biosciences, where she leads clinical development, regulatory strategy, and translational research across the company’s pipeline of neuropsychiatric therapeutics.

She is a drug development leader with deep expertise in advancing novel neuropsychiatric treatments through late-stage CNS clinical trials and Breakthrough-designated regulatory pathways. She is best known for her leadership of the MDMA-assisted therapy program for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), including pivotal Phase 3 trials demonstrating durable efficacy and safety, and contributing to the establishment of a regulatory framework for psychedelic therapies. She has led the preparation of the first New Drug Application (NDA) for a psychedelic therapy, working closely with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and global regulatory agencies including MHRA, EMA, and Health Canada. Prior to joining Freedom, she founded Yazar Lab and previously served as Chief Scientific Officer at Lykos Therapeutics.

Lizzy Sands is an experienced leader in both health and wellness operations. Her work in clinical practice as a nutritionist evolved into that of operator, and she has worked in a range of settings spanning the healthcare and wellness spaces. From functional medicine, concierge medicine and wellness, to chronic care management and beyond, her focus is on developing sustainable solutions that drive patient care forward.

Emily Potts is Operations Manager and Science Strategy Lead at Freedom Biosciences where she works across clinical development, regulatory strategy, and program operations, contributing to the advancement of the company’s neuropsychiatric pipeline. Emily completed her doctoral research in cellular and molecular neuroscience, studying various mechanisms of neurodegenerative diseases using new approach methodologies with iPSC models, and has complemented this with business training in strategy and operations. She holds a PhD in Neuroscience and an MBA from the University of Rhode Island.