Onaya Science

Ayahuasca Research in its Native Environment

In 2017, the Ayahuasca Foundation opened the Riosbo Ayahuasca Research & Retreat Center to explore ayahuasca healing traditions in the Amazon rainforest of Peru. Since then, the center has hosted numerous retreats, courses, and research projects, gaining deep insights into the transformative processes of indigenous Amazonian plant medicine.

Partnering with the non-profit organization Onaya Science, we study the therapeutic potential of the Shipibo ayahuasca tradition in its native setting, embracing a nature-based holistic approach to health across physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and energetic dimensions, supported by scientific research into ayahuasca’s healing mechanisms.

Current Research

The Path of Healing Research

In 2015, while on break from studying transcultural psychiatry, Dr. Simon Ruffell met a facilitator from the Ayahuasca Foundation. He was fascinated by their discussions of the intersections of modern medical treatments and traditional Amazonian plant medicine. Joined by psychopharmacologist Nige Netzband, they launched a self-funded study at the Riosbo Research Center, examining ayahuasca’s effects on personality. Their findings revealed profound improvements, igniting further interest. Presenting at scientific conferences led to support from the UK Medical Research Council, allowing them to design a study on ayahuasca’s potential in trauma reprocessing. WaiFung Tsang later joined for data analysis, forming the Onaya Science team.

Simon Ruffell is the lead researcher for Onaya Science in Peru

Simon Ruffell

Simon trained in medicine and specialized in psychiatry, completing his core psychiatric training at The Maudsley Hospital in London. At King’s College London, he worked as a Senior Research Associate, investigating psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression. Since 2016, he has researched ayahuasca and co-founded the non-profit Onaya Science. Simon earned his PhD, Amazonian Ayahuasca and Mental Health Outcomes, at Goldsmiths, University of London. He is now a Senior Research Fellow and Chief Medical Officer at the Psychae Institute, leading trials on therapeutic ayahuasca analogues, and also serves as Chief Medical Officer for Heroic Hearts UK, supporting veterans with psychedelic plant medicine. Simon is currently training in Shipibo curanderismo under Keyo Sui Rono and Don Rono Lopez.

Nige Netzband conducts research for Onaya Science at the Ayahuasca Foundation in Peru

Nige Netzband

Nige is a BPS-accredited psychologist with expertise in psychopharmacology and experimental design. He has focused on translating Shipibo plant medicine traditions into scientific data since 2016. His work centers on understanding the intersections between Western and traditional Amazonian medicine, aiming to integrate both for complementary benefits. Trained in integrative counseling, Nige draws from multiple modalities in his work with clients. The healing tradition of ayahuasca plant medicine is his primary research focus, driven by insights from early pilot studies and his own personal experience attending ayahuasca ceremonies in the Amazon rainforest. In his spare time, he enjoys volunteering with the harm reduction charities PsyCare UK and the Zendo Project.

 

WaiFung Tsang conducts research for Onaya Science at the Ayahuasca Foundation in Peru

WaiFung Tsang

Originally from Hong Kong, WaiFung is a Clinical Psychologist with extensive experience in addiction, neurodevelopment, and trauma, and a strong interest in psychedelic research. Based at the Maudsley Hospital, King’s College London, he has worked for several years with Onaya Science as a researcher, statistician, and psychologist. His work focuses on Indigenous Amazonian healing traditions, supporting projects funded by the British Medical Research Council investigating the mental health benefits of working in the ayahuasca tradition, and collaborating with Heroic Hearts to develop experimentation and study the treatment of veterans with PTSD. An avid musician, WaiFung performs with his own band, practices sound healing, and volunteers with PsyCare for psychedelic harm reduction.

 

Onaya Science Ayahuasca Research Group

Visit the Onaya Science website for more information: onaya.science

Finding a Better Way

At the heart of our mission is a commitment to illuminating and measuring the vital role of consciousness in the healing process. We seek to deepen our understanding of how traditional practices surrounding specific treatments create environments that elevate consciousness, thereby enhancing the healing potential of the medicine. Through these studies, we aim to adapt such consciousness-enhancing traditions to complement medical treatments in contemporary settings. Our ultimate vision is to uncover optimal treatment methodologies that foster lasting benefits, from personal wellness to community resilience and global awareness. Each of us is a complex integration of systems and living organisms, continually working to sustain balance and harmony. Likewise, we are part of an interconnected whole, harmonizing with larger systems and life forms that contribute to balance on regional, global, and even universal levels.

Shipibo curandero don Rono completes a treatment on a research participant at the Ayahuasca Foundation

Preservation of Plant Medicine

Just a few generations ago, all of our ancestors relied on plant medicine traditions to treat health issues, passing down vast knowledge through oral traditions. While much of this wisdom has faded with the rise of pharmaceuticals, the ancestral traditions of the Amazon endure, but they are now at risk as the modern medical paradigm replaces ancestral wisdom in  jungle communities. We must not let this heritage disappear. At the Riosbo Research Center, in collaboration with curanderos and the Mishana community, we’re working to preserve ancient wisdom essential to humanity’s connection to nature. We hope to inspire local communities amidst rapid change and remind the global community of the path toward harmony, health, and happiness through indigenous healing traditions.

A US military veteran at an Ayahuasca Retreat in Peru

Chemistry and Pharmacology

With over 60,000 plant species in the Amazon Rainforest, only a small fraction have been thoroughly studied, including many vital to the indigenous healing practices of our Shipibo curanderos. By partnering with international laboratories, the Ayahuasca Foundation will conduct scientific analyses of select medicinal plants to understand their effects on specific bodily systems. This research may even reveal previously unknown medicines, enriching the global knowledge of plant-based healing. The mechanisms of chemical interaction of plant medicines like ayahuasca on brain and biological activity have yet to be thoroughly studied or understood. The research being conducted at the Ayahuasca Foundation strives to expand our awareness and comprehension of the power of the ayahuasca tradition.

Dr. Simon Ruffell stands with Shipibo curandero don Rono at the ayahuasca vine behind the Ayahuasca Foundation Riosbo research center in Peru

Paradigm Shift

While science is a powerful tool for discovery, its potential is limited within an ethnocentric framework. Advanced fields like neuroimmunology, epigenetics, and morphic resonance reveal the need to move beyond materialist perspectives. True insight comes from shared perspectives, not from claiming superiority. At the Ayahuasca Foundation, we aim to deepen our understanding of health and medicine by collaborating with indigenous cultures. Through joint exploration of ancestral wisdom and modern science, we hope to create a more comprehensive and effective approach. This mission drives the Riosbo Ayahuasca Research Center and reflects our belief in a new paradigm for science, culture, and humanity. We are honored to contribute to the expansion of human awareness.