Updates

These are monthly snapshots of what the ClusterFree team is up to. The list isn't comprehensive, but it should give you a sense of the day-to-day momentum behind the mission. We refresh it weekly.

May 2026

  • We finished a guide on how to prevent cluster headaches with psilocybin, LSD, and 5-MeO-DALT. Translations into other languages will follow soon.
  • We published a new overview of cluster headache treatments on ClusterInfo, covering what works to abort attacks, what works to prevent them, which bridge treatments cover the gap at the start of a cycle, and common mistakes patients and doctors make.
  • Michael Smith joined our team of volunteers. He'll be helping us with website analytics and SEO for ClusterInfo.
  • We created a page where patients can submit testimonials in only a couple of clicks.
  • We created a compact (3-page) memo for donors, which we will be using for an upcoming fundraising round (we'll be seeking to raise at least $250k).
  • We started having team calls every two weeks to share updates and successes.

April 2026

  • Alfredo was designated "Buddy" in the ClusterBuds Discord. He'll be advising patients primarily on how to advocate for themselves.
  • We organized a call between Prof. Passie, Prof. Karst, and a patient with years of experience in pharma investments to help with the fundraising strategy for the BOL-148 study.
  • We will soon launch clusterinfo.org, a new platform hosting high-quality, multilingual treatment guides for CH patients. We have been working hard on this project and have received extensive feedback and support from patients familiar with various treatments. Patients and other advocates have emphasized to us the need for such materials, especially in languages other than English. We will likely launch it in May and will try to reach as many patients as possible. Bob Wold from Clusterbusters said that such a resource is "exactly what the patient community needs and has needed for many years," especially the translations.
  • Kevin Lin joined ClusterFree's board of advisors. Kevin is a 20+ year CH patient and brings deep finance expertise from roles including Executive Director at Morgan Stanley's opportunistic investment arm, where he led pharma and tech investments. His experience is directly relevant to our BOL-148 fundraising efforts.
  • We're updating the ClusterFree website to reflect our current strategy more closely — de-emphasizing the open letters and mentioning some of the various other paths we're pursuing.
  • We hosted a mini hackathon to implement various features on clusterinfo.org, notably an automated translation pipeline to easily add new languages.
  • Sasha Putilin's essay on ClusterFree's work was featured in Scott Alexander's Links for April 2026, resulting in an influx of signatures and donations.

March 2026

  • ClusterFree is now a registered nonprofit Company Limited by Guarantee (CLG) in the UK. We're transferring all contracts and funds from QRI to the new entity.
  • We've started exploring pathways to expand Germany's new psilocybin compassionate access program (for treatment-resistant depression) to include cluster headaches. We're in touch with Dr. Gerhard Gründer, who spearheaded the initiative.
  • We started conversations with Prof. Torsten Passie and Prof. Matthias Karst, co-authors of the BOL-148 paper (a non-hallucinogenic LSD analog that seems to be highly effective in treating CH). We'll be trying to help them fundraise about €2.5m to run a Phase II trial. This could turn out to be the most effective preventive treatment for CH.
  • Patient Mark King shared a video testimonial of his use of DMT to abort his attacks.
  • Patient Tommy Young shared a video testimonial of his use of 5-MeO-DALT to abort his attacks. Alfredo met him in person in London and they strategized about what chronic patients specifically need most.
  • We partnered with ClusterBuds, a new, rapidly growing Discord server for CH patients, caregivers, and supporters (currently with over 300 members).
  • The abstract we submitted to the 2026 AHS 68th Annual Scientific Meeting (titled "Patient-Reported Experiences with Dimethyltryptamine for Cluster Headache: An AI-Assisted Sentiment Analysis of Online Forums," led by volunteer Jacob Woessner) has been accepted. Jacob will present a poster at the conference.
  • Peter Skov-Andersen joined as a volunteer. He'll be helping us with research. With him, we now have a team of 7 volunteers and part-time contractors.

February 2026

  • Colorado Rep. Manny Rutinel: "You saved my partner's life. Thank you for your advice on how to treat her cluster headaches."
  • We published a new open letter for Denmark after Danish actor Marcus Christensen reached out to us offering to help with dissemination (he's a patient himself).
  • We added Psychedelicare as partners. They'll help us disseminate our open letters and we plan to collaborate on future projects.
  • We had a call with Dr. Faraidoon Haghdoost, lead researcher of an upcoming trial on psilocybin for cluster headaches in Australia. We discussed ways in which ClusterFree could support the trial (e.g., by finding patients during recruitment).
  • A post on cluster headaches and ClusterFree made it to the frontpage of LessWrong: Near-Instantly Aborting the Worst Pain Imaginable with Psychedelics.
  • We submitted an abstract to the 2026 AHS 68th Annual Scientific Meeting titled "Patient-Reported Experiences with Dimethyltryptamine for Cluster Headache: An AI-Assisted Sentiment Analysis of Online Forums," led by volunteer Jacob Woessner.
  • We finished a first draft of ClusterFree's theory of change.
  • Alfredo attended Effective Altruism Global San Francisco, where he talked to a few dozen people about cluster headaches (especially potential donors, but also potential collaborators).
  • Jordan Clist joined as a contributor, helping us primarily with web development.

January 2026

  • Renaissance Philanthropy is hiring an analyst to investigate, among others, philanthropic opportunities around cluster headaches. They're citing our paper in their hiring communications.
  • We're working on a new open letter for Denmark, since we have several connections who could be highly influential in Denmark.
  • We're looking into incorporating a charity in the UK (since ClusterFree is currently fiscally sponsored by QRI).
  • We engaged Anna Fuchs as a part-time contractor to help us with media outreach and public relations. We're working on a press release to be sent to journalists in the UK.
  • We've started working on an ultimate guide on how to use DMT to abort cluster headaches, spearheaded by a volunteer (Nicolas Macé).
  • We're exploring a project idea involving streamlining and subsidizing access to oxygen tanks for CH patients in Pakistan (with Mustafa Zahid).
  • We received this feedback from a patient and advocate from Spain: "Thank you for your work. For the first time, I don't feel alone in this fight."

December 2025

  • We raised $107,536 during our end of year fundraiser (largely thanks to a generous donor who gave $99k).
  • Peter Singer's December column for Project Syndicate was on cluster headaches: The Best Treatment for the Most Painful Medical Condition Is Illegal. Peter decided to write this column after we reached out to him about our open letters.
  • New prominent signatories: Prof. Robin Carhart-Harris, Prof. Geoffrey Miller, Anders Sandberg, Shamil Chandaria, Robert Lawrence Kuhn, Prof. Miles Kimball.
  • Andrés published 12+ Reasons to Donate to ClusterFree.
  • Reached 180 newsletter subscribers and sent out our first newsletter.
  • Translated the info pages for Brazil, Germany, Mexico, Netherlands, Sweden, and Switzerland into their local languages (e.g. here).
  • Alfredo attended EAGxAmsterdam and met with several people eager to get involved in various ways (from volunteering to full-time work).
  • Initiated conversations with a litigator in New Hampshire with experience in "Right to Try" legislation for life-threatening diseases. He wants to use his expertise to implement policy changes related to cluster headaches in NH.
  • Started a plan to engage with policymakers in the UK about cluster headaches, supported by a volunteer with years of experience in UK policy/politics.
  • Engaged a professional fundraiser and a communications expert to help us part-time with various projects for a couple of months.

November 2025

October 2025

  • Started conversations with two entrepreneurs in San Francisco interested in bringing DMT to market. We've had multiple conversations and have been giving extensive input on their plans.
  • Talked to a fundraising expert who has worked with many non-profits for over 20 years who is excited to advise us.
  • Connected with a person with extensive experience in US advocacy (working on kidney disease) willing to help.
  • Found two people eager to volunteer. One of them has started doing a sentiment analysis of various treatments mentioned in the Clusterbusters forum.
  • Published Emerging evidence on treating cluster headaches with DMT on the EA Forum.
  • Have been engaging with the patient community on Discord, especially exchanging ideas about DMT. The admins are helping us spread the word about ClusterFree.
  • Had a call with an Open Philanthropy fellow working on Global Health & Wellbeing and gave them input on cluster headache interventions that OP could explore.
  • Bob Wold officially joined the Board of Advisors.

September 2025

  • ClusterFree was shared with attendees of the Clusterbusters Annual U.S. Patient Conference, resulting in an influx of initial signatures. As a result, we started reaching out to additional individual signatories.
  • Re-established connection with a member of the Colorado House of Representatives (running for the 2026 US House of Representatives) interested in our work, who is willing to be a champion for the cause in congress.
  • (Mostly spent a lot of time improving the website.)

August 2025