Klemens Egger

Scientific interests

Klemens Egger’s research focuses on the neurobiology of serotonergic psychedelics and the application of multimodal neuroimaging to study brain function. His work has investigated the pharmacology, safety, pharmacokinetics, and neural effects of DMT and harmine using functional MRI and PET imaging, with a particular interest in brain connectivity, metabolism, and mechanisms underlying altered states of consciousness. At NRU, his current research examines the lasting effects of psilocybin on brain activity and functional connectivity, as well as the role of serotonin 2A receptor (5-HT2A) availability in shaping neural entropy and large-scale brain organization using combined PET and fMRI approaches.

Biography

Publications

Orcid: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5072-9674

Egger, K., Bozsak, R., Aicher, H.D., Sari, H., Poetzsch, S.N., Rominger, A., Martin-Soelch, C., Smallridge, J.W., Dornbierer, D., Quednow, B.B., Scheidegger, M., Cumming, P., (2026). Global increases in brain glucose metabolism following acute N,N-dimethyltryptamine and harmine administration in healthy volunteers: A randomised [¹⁸F]FDG-PET study. Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow & Metabolism. https://doi.org/10.1177/0271678X261454172

Egger, K., Meling, D., Polat, F., Seifritz, E., Avram, M., Scheidegger, M., (2025). Meditation, psychedelics, and brain connectivity: A randomized controlled resting-state fMRI study of N,N -dimethyltryptamine and harmine in a meditation retreat. Imaging Neuroscience 3. https://doi.org/10.1162/IMAG.a.907

Egger, K., Jareño Redondo, J., Müller, J., Dornbierer, J., Smallridge, J., Aicher, H.D., Meling, D., Müller, P., Kost, J., Puchkov, M., Äbelö, A., Seifritz, E., Quednow, B.B., von Rotz, R., Scheidegger, M., Dornbierer, D.A., (2025). Examining the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic interaction of N,N-dimethyltryptamine and harmine in healthy volunteers: Α factorial dose-escalation study. Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy 184, 117908. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopha.2025.117908

Egger, K., Aicher, H.D., Cumming, P., Scheidegger, M., (2024). Neurobiological research on N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) and its potentiation by monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibition: from ayahuasca to synthetic combinations of DMT and MAO inhibitors. Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences 81, 1–26. https://doi.org/10.1007/S00018-024-05353-6

Egger, K., Gudmundsen, F., Jessen, N.S., Baun, C., Poetzsch, S.N., Shalgunov, V., Herth, M.M., Quednow, B.B., Martin-Soelch, C., Dornbierer, D., Scheidegger, M., Cumming, P., Palner, M., (2023). A pilot study of cerebral metabolism and serotonin 5-HT2A receptor occupancy in rats treated with the psychedelic tryptamine DMT in conjunction with the MAO inhibitor harmine. Front. Pharmacol. 14, 1140656. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2023.1140656

Awards

2026 – PostDoc.Mobility Grant from Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF)

2023 – ZNZ Travel Grant for Psychedelic Science Conference in Denver, USA