David E. Nichols

David Earl Nichols
Born	(1944-12-23) December 23, 1944 (age 79) Covington, Kentucky
Citizenship	USA
Known for	Extensive research into 5-HT2A receptor and dopamine receptors, SAR of hallucinogens, research into MDMA neurotoxicity and MDMA analogues
Scientific career
Fields	Medicinal Chemistry, Pharmacology
Institutions	Purdue University, Indiana University School of Medicine

David Earl Nichols (born December 23, 1944, Covington, Kentucky) is an American pharmacologist and medicinal chemist.^[1] Previously the Robert C. and Charlotte P. Anderson Distinguished Chair in Pharmacology at Purdue University, Nichols has worked in the field of psychoactive drugs since 1969. While still a graduate student, he patented the method that is used to make the optical isomers of hallucinogenic amphetamines. His contributions include the synthesis and reporting of escaline, LSZ, 6-APB, 2C-I-NBOMe and other NBOMe variants (NBOMe-2C-B, NBOMe-2C-C, NBOMe-2C-D), and several others, as well as the coining of the term "entactogen".

He is the founding president of the Heffter Research Institute, named after German chemist and pharmacologist Arthur Heffter, who first discovered that mescaline was the active component in the peyote cactus. In 2004 he was named the Irwin H. Page Lecturer by the former International Serotonin Club (now the International Society for Serotonin Research),^[2] and delivered an address in Portugal titled, "35 years studying psychedelics: what a long strange trip it's been." Among pharmacologists, he is considered to be one of the world's top experts on psychedelics. Nichols's other professional activities include teaching medicinal chemistry and molecular pharmacology at Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN, and teaching medical students at the Indiana University School of Medicine. He officially retired in 2012 but has continued to work for the simple reason that nobody is in the position to continue his work,^{[citation needed]} and he is considering writing an autobiography. He is currently an adjunct professor at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, Chapel Hill, NC.^[3]