Christopher Pittenger, MD, PhD
Biography
Research & Publications
Patient Care
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Appointments
Biography
Chris Pittenger earned his MD and Ph.D. degrees from Columbia University, where his graduate work was done with Nobel Prize recipient Eric Kandel. He returned to Yale University, his undergraduate alma mater, for residency and research training in psychiatry in 2003. He joined the faculty as an Assistant Professor in 2007 and is now Elizabeth Mears and House Jameson Professor of Psychiatry, Professor of Psychology and in the Child Study Center, and Deputy Chair for Translational Research in the Department of Psychiatry .
Chris has always been fascinated by the question of how the brain, a complex but ultimately a physical structure, creates thought, feeling, consciousness, and other aspects of the mind. As a psychiatrist he is additionally focused on how these processes go wrong - how brain dysregulation leads to dysregulated cognition, emotion, and behavior and to mental suffering, and how advancing our understanding of these relationships can guide us to new strategies to alleviate that suffering. Much of his work has focused on obsessive-compulsive disorder and Tourette syndrome and on the cortico-basal ganglia circuitry that is implicated in their pathophysiology. More recently he has co-founded the Yale Program for Psychedelic Science, focused on understanding how molecules like psilocybin and LSD can teach us about brain and behavior and may lead to new treatments for a range of neuropsychiatric pathology. He is also one of the founding Directors of the Yale Center for Brain and Mind Health, which seeks to bridge disciplines and levels of analysis to bring new therapeutics to individuals suffering from disorders of the mind and brain.
Dr. Pittenger's research and clinical work have been acknowledged by a number of prestigious awards, including grant funding from the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Institute of Neurological Disease and Stroke, NARSAD, the Tourette Syndrome of America, the Doris Duke Charitable Trust, and other organizations. He has won a number of awards, including from the National Institute of Mental Health, the Society for Neuroscience, the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, the American Psychiatric Association, and the American College of Psychiatrists. He is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the International OCD Foundation and Chair of both their Grant Review Committee and their Annual Research Symposium Planning Committee. He is a Fellow of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, the American Psychiatric Association, and the American Neurological Association.
Education & Training
- McNeil Research FellowYale University (2007)
- Resident in Adult PsychiatryYale University (2007)
- MDColumbia College of Physicians and Surgeons (2003)
- PhDColumbia University (2002)
- MPhilColumbia University (1998)
- MSYale University (1994)
- BSYale University (1994)
- DiplomateAmerican Board of Psychiatry and Neurology
Honors & Recognition
Award | Awarding Organization | Date |
---|---|---|
Senior Researcher Award | American Association for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry | 2016 |
Lead, Committee on Adult Psychopharmacology | International OCD Accreditation Task Force | 2016 |
Eva King Killam Award for Outstanding Translational Research Contributions to Neuropsychopharmacology | American College of Neuropsychopharmacology | 2015 |
NARSAD Independent Investigator Award | The Brain and Behavior Research Fund | 2015 |
Fellow | American Psychiatric Association | 2015 |
Fellow | American Neurological Association | 2015 |
Allison Fellowship | Department of Psychiatry, Yale University | 2012 |
YCCI Pilot Award in Translational and Interdisciplinary Research | Yale Center for Clinical Investigation | 2011 |
Biobehavioral Research Award for Innovative New Scientists | National Institute of Mental Health | 2010 |
NARSAD Young Investigator Award | NARSAD | 2010 |
SfN Career Development Award | Society for Neuroscience | 2009 |
Tourette Syndrome Association Young Investigator | Tourette Syndrome Association of the USA | 2009 |
YCCI Scholar | Yale Center for Clinical Investigation | 2009 |
Chairman's Award for Outstanding Clinical, Teaching, and Administrative Contributions | Department of Psychiatry, Yale University | 2009 |
Travel Award for the ASCP Workshop on Clinical Trials | American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology | 2008 |
DDCF Clinical Scientist Development Award | Doris Duke Charitable Foundation | 2008 |
Presenter at the NARSAD New York Gala | NARSAD | 2008 |
The Laughlin Fellowship | American College of Psychiatrists | 2007 |
APA/Wyeth MD/Ph.D. Research Fellowship | American Psychiatric Association | 2007 |
NARSAD Young Investigator Award | NARSAD | 2007 |
The Seymour L. Lustman Award for Psychiatric Research | Yale Univeristy | 2007 |
Laughlin Foundation Merit Award | Yale University | 2007 |
Memorial Travel Fellowship, ACNP | American College of Neuropsychopharmacology | 2006 |
The Seymour L. Lustman Award for Psychiatric Research | Yale University | 2006 |
NIMH Outstanding Resident Award | National Institute of Mental Health | 2005 |
Dean's Day Award for Medical Student Research | Columbia University | 2002 |
Ph.D. awarded with distinction | Columbia University | 2002 |
William H. Bean Award for Medical History or Humanities | American Osler Society | 2001 |
Dean's Day Award for Medical Student Research | Columbia Univeristy | 2000 |
Graduated cum laude with distinction, with simultaneous awarding of BS and MS degrees | Yale University | 1994 |
Poole Prize for Medical Writing | Columbia University | 1994 |
Professional Service
Organization | Role | Date |
---|---|---|
International OCD Foundation | Chair | 2020 - Present |
Yale University School of Medicine Faculty Advisory Council | Chair | 2019 - 2020 |
Yale University Scholar Awards Committee | Member | 2018 - Present |
Yale University School of Medicine Faculty Advisory Council | Vice Chair | 2018 - 2019 |
American College of Neuropsychopharmacology | Fellow | 2018 - Present |
American College of Neuropsychopharmacology | Member, Ethics Committee | 2018 - Present |
Bethany CT Board of Education | Chair | 2017 - Present |
International OCD Foundation Research Symposium Planning Committee | Founder and chair | 2016 - Present |
Yale University School of Medicine Faculty Advisory Council | Member | 2015 - Present |
Medical Staff Executive Committee, Connecticut Mental Health Center | Committee Member | 2014 - Present |
American Neurological Association | Fellow | 2014 - Present |
Anxiety and Depression Association of America | 2014 - Present | |
Amity Middle School - Bethany | Presenter/Speaker | 2013 - Present |
Czech Science Foundation | Reviewer | 2013 |
Doris Duke Charitable Foundation | Reviewer | 2013 - Present |
Association Francaise Contre les Myopathies | Reviewer | 2013 - 2014 |
American College of Neuropsychopharmacology | Member | 2013 - 2017 |
Medical School Curriculum Revision Task Force, Yale University School of Medicine | Member | 2013 |
Israel Science Foundation | Reviewer | 2012 |
Southern Connecticut Science and Engineering Fair | Public Official | 2012 - 2014 |
American College of Neuropscyhopharmacology | Member, Education and Training Committee | 2012 - 2015 |
American College of Neuropsychopharmacology | Reviewer | 2012 - 2014 |
Amity High School | Advisor | 2012 - 2014 |
North Carolina Biotechnology Center | Reviewer | 2011 |
American College of Neuropsychopharmacology | Associate Member | 2011 - 2012 |
International Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Foundation | Committee Member | 2010 - Present |
International Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Foundation | Scientific and Clinical Advisory Board | 2010 - Present |
Bethany CT Board of Education | Member | 2009 - Present |
National Institutes of Health | ad hoc reviewer - NIH Study Section ZMH1 ERB-S | 2009 |
Society of Biological Psychiatry | Member, Education and Training Committee, 2012-2016; Chair, Program Director Task Force, 2014-2016 | 2009 - Present |
Peer Review and Privileging Committee, Connecticut Mental Health Center | Member of Peer Review & Privileging Committee; Chair since 2014 | 2008 - Present |
International Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Foundation | Member | 2007 - Present |
Connecticut Psychiatric Association | Member | 2006 - Present |
Society for Neuroscience | Honorific Awards Committee, 2012-2014 | 2006 - Present |
American Psychiatric Association | Member | 2006 - Present |
Departments & Organizations
- Center for Brain & Mind Health
- Child Study Center
- Clinical Neuroscience Research Unit
- Connecticut Mental Health Center
- Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program
- Neurocognition, Neurocomputation, and Neurogenetics, Division of
- Neuroscience Research Training Program (NRTP)
- Neuroscience Track
- Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Research Clinic
- Pittenger Lab
- Psychiatry
- Wu Tsai Institute
- Yale Combined Program in the Biological and Biomedical Sciences (BBS)
- Yale Medicine
- Yale Ventures