U of L PhD candidate sees endless possibilities through mushroom research

LETHBRIDGE — One University of Lethbridge PhD candidate is taking mushroom research to the next level.

Greg Robinson is focusing on the health benefits of both psychedelic and non-psychedelic mushrooms, as well as looking to bring mushroom-based health products to the public with the help of local businesses.

Psychedelic mushrooms, or psilocybin, became legal in Alberta for use in therapy in January.

"There's so many different mushrooms and it's really surprising the wide range of effects as well as just how many different mushrooms are out there," said Robinson.

Robinson has chosen to put his sole focus on the health benefits of mushrooms.

Not only is it the basis of his PhD, he's also launched a research and development company called Mycos Biotech after seeing promise in techniques to make extracts from mushrooms.

"We really want to have high-quality genetic lines for psychedelic mushrooms," he said.

"The reason why is there's so much variability in how much psilocybin as well as other secondary metabolites that are found in psychedelic mushrooms."

After finishing his master's at Western University, Robinson came to the U of L to work with Dr. Igor Kovalchuk in the department of biological sciences.

He soon began concentrating his research on the study of fungi, a field known as mycology.

Through his research, Robinson has also noticed the importance of these metabolites in other, non-psychedelic strains.

He believes there are health benefits for people suffering from illnesses like diabetes and dementia, leading to the creation of his second corporation, Mycos, to develop mushroom-based supplements.

"One of the big problems with supplements is people don't actually know if they are they real or if it works," he told CTV News.

"We want to show that everything we're saying on our bottle and in person, we mean that, and we're going to show you the science behind it."

Robinson is working with the Herbal Apothecary and Pharmapsil in Lethbridge, who've been taking advantage of mushrooms' medicinal properties for years.

"We have a lot of discussions with Greg about different mushrooms and what they do and how they work with the body and heal the body and just kind of seeing the benefits and the different varieties of mushrooms that help with different things," said Cami Tanner, owner of the Herbal Apothecary and Pharmapsil.

While there are still many unknowns in the field, Robinson and Tanner are excited to see where it goes.

"We're only on the tip of the iceberg in what we know about psilocybin mushrooms and the effects on the body, so it's really exciting to be in the pioneer stages and see where this is going to take off and go towards," said Tanner.

"So many people around the world are suffering from these various problems, so to be recognized that we are actually working towards that and are actually doing a good job, that's really meaningful to us," added Robinson.

Robinson's corporation, Mycos, has been chosen as one of the top 14 applicants for a pitch competition put on by Washington University for a chance to win US$50,000 in funding.

The winner will be chosen on April 26.