Benjamin Kelmendi, MD
Assistant Professor of PsychiatryDownloadHi-Res Photo
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Assistant Professor of Psychiatry
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Psychiatry
Assistant ProfessorPrimary
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Education & Training
- MD
- University of Vermont College of Medicine (2011)
Research
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Research at a Glance
Yale Co-Authors
Frequent collaborators of Benjamin Kelmendi's published research.
Publications Timeline
A big-picture view of Benjamin Kelmendi's research output by year.
Christopher Pittenger, MD, PhD
Stephen Kichuk, MPH
Terence Ching, PhD
Geena Fram
Alex Belser, MPhil, PhD
Alfred Kaye, MD, PhD
18Publications
285Citations
Publications
2025
Methylone promotes neurite outgrowth and has long-lasting effects on fear extinction learning
Warner-Schmidt J, Stogniew M, Mandell B, Kelmendi B. Methylone promotes neurite outgrowth and has long-lasting effects on fear extinction learning. Neuropsychopharmacology 2025, 1-10. PMID: 40849539, DOI: 10.1038/s41386-025-02206-z.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricConceptsPost-traumatic stress disorderFear extinction learningStructural neuroplasticityExtinction learningBehavioral effectsTreatment of post-traumatic stress disorderEffects of methyloneInhibitors of monoamine transportersStress disorderRecall memoryBrain areasNeuroplastic effectsMonoamine transportersNeuroplasticityDebilitating disorderMethyloneTrkB receptorsNeurite outgrowthCultured cortical neuronsFunctional enrichment analysisDisordersMemoryRNA-seqFearClinical trials
2024
Psilocybin Therapy for Clinicians With Symptoms of Depression From Frontline Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Back A, Freeman-Young T, Morgan L, Sethi T, Baker K, Myers S, McGregor B, Harvey K, Tai M, Kollefrath A, Thomas B, Sorta D, Kaelen M, Kelmendi B, Gooley T. Psilocybin Therapy for Clinicians With Symptoms of Depression From Frontline Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic. JAMA Network Open 2024, 7: e2449026. PMID: 39636638, PMCID: PMC11621983, DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.49026.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsAdvanced practice practitionersSymptoms of depressionMontgomery-Asberg Depression Rating ScalePosttraumatic stress disorderSymptoms of burnoutMontgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale scoreSymptoms of posttraumatic stress disorderFrontline carePsilocybin therapyRandomized clinical trialsSevere symptoms of depressionMental health diagnosesScore changesImprove symptoms of depressionCOVID-19 pandemicPCL-5Intention-to-treat principleMedication sessionsDepression Rating ScalePCL-5 scoresPsychological morbidityHealth diagnosisMain OutcomesPractice practitionersUS cliniciansNovel Pharmacologic and Other Somatic Treatment Approaches for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Adults: State of the Evidence
Sippel L, Hamblen J, Kelmendi B, Alpert J, Carpenter L, Grzenda A, Kraguljac N, McDonald W, Rodriguez C, Widge A, Nemeroff C, Schnurr P, Holtzheimer P, Biomarkers and Treatments T. Novel Pharmacologic and Other Somatic Treatment Approaches for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Adults: State of the Evidence. American Journal Of Psychiatry 2024, 181: 1045-1058. PMID: 39616450, DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.20230950.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsPosttraumatic stress disorderStress disorderPathophysiology of posttraumatic stress disorderNon-trauma-focused psychotherapyTrauma-focused psychotherapySomatic treatment approachesEvidence-based treatmentsAntidepressant medicationSomatic treatmentsPsychiatric disordersSomatic interventionsTranscranial magnetic stimulationPsychotherapyMagnetic stimulationTreatment approachesDisordersRecommended first-line treatmentAdultsFirst-line treatmentMedicationMechanism of actionMonotherapy strategySalienceSpecific treatmentEvidencePsychedelic medicine in psychiatry residency training: a survey of psychiatric residency program directors
Yaden M, Ching T, Goldway N, Roberts D, Hokanson J, Gukasyan N, Pittenger C, Kelmendi B, Ross S, Glick G, O’Donnell K. Psychedelic medicine in psychiatry residency training: a survey of psychiatric residency program directors. International Review Of Psychiatry 2024, 36: 902-907. PMID: 39980219, DOI: 10.1080/09540261.2024.2397039.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricConceptsResidency trainingTraining psychiatry residentsAvailability of facultyTraining directorsRespondents answered questionsPsychedelic medicineEndorsed concernsResidency training directorsResidency program directorsPsychiatry residency training directorsEducational materialsPsychiatry residency trainingPsychiatry residentsProgram directorsPsychiatric educationOnline surveyStandard curriculumEducation providersCurricular materialsEducational opportunitiesTrainingPsychedelic interventionsEducationSurveyMedicineMechanisms of therapeutic change after psychedelic treatment in OCD
Maloney G, Ching T, Kichuk S, Pittenger C, Kelmendi B. Mechanisms of therapeutic change after psychedelic treatment in OCD. Psychiatry Research 2024, 336: 115907. PMID: 38615521, PMCID: PMC11190873, DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2024.115907.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsObsessive-compulsive disorderMechanisms of therapeutic changeAversive eventsImagery rescriptingPsychedelic treatmentPsychotherapeutic treatmentPsychotherapeutic frameworkSymptom reductionTherapeutic changePsychotherapyNegative emotionsPsychological mechanismsCore beliefsPilot dataNovel treatmentRescriptingEmotionsDisordersSymptomsReprocessingTreatmentBeliefsResistance to first-lineIndividualsInterventionCorrigendum: Safety, feasibility, tolerability, and clinical effects of repeated psilocybin dosing combined with non-directive support in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder: protocol for a randomized, waitlist-controlled trial with blinded ratings
Ching T, Amoroso L, Bohner C, D'Amico E, Eilbott J, Entezar T, Fitzpatrick M, Fram G, Grazioplene R, Hokanson J, Jankovsky A, Kichuk S, Martins B, Patel P, Schaer H, Shnayder S, Witherow C, Pittenger C, Kelmendi B. Corrigendum: Safety, feasibility, tolerability, and clinical effects of repeated psilocybin dosing combined with non-directive support in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder: protocol for a randomized, waitlist-controlled trial with blinded ratings. Frontiers In Psychiatry 2024, 15: 1372373. PMID: 38435972, PMCID: PMC10905264, DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1372373.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMethylone is a rapid-acting neuroplastogen with less off-target activity than MDMA
Warner-Schmidt J, Stogniew M, Mandell B, Rowland R, Schmidt E, Kelmendi B. Methylone is a rapid-acting neuroplastogen with less off-target activity than MDMA. Frontiers In Neuroscience 2024, 18: 1353131. PMID: 38389788, PMCID: PMC10882719, DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2024.1353131.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricConceptsPost-traumatic stress disorderTreatment of post-traumatic stress disorderFrontal cortexBrain areasMDMA-Assisted PsychotherapyEffects of methyloneMonoamine uptake inhibitorsNeuroplasticity-related genesMyelin-related genesAntidepressant-likeAnxiolytic effectsBrain substratesStress disorderPsychiatric disordersNeuropsychiatric disordersUptake inhibitorsBrain effectsAvailable pharmacotherapiesMDMAMDDEmotional learningMethyloneAmygdalaGene expression changesDisordersSafety, feasibility, tolerability, and clinical effects of repeated psilocybin dosing combined with non-directive support in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder: protocol for a randomized, waitlist-controlled trial with blinded ratings
Ching T, Amoroso L, Bohner C, D’Amico E, Eilbott J, Entezar T, Fitzpatrick M, Fram G, Grazioplene R, Hokanson J, Jankovsky A, Kichuk S, Martins B, Patel P, Schaer H, Shnayder S, Witherow C, Pittenger C, Kelmendi B. Safety, feasibility, tolerability, and clinical effects of repeated psilocybin dosing combined with non-directive support in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder: protocol for a randomized, waitlist-controlled trial with blinded ratings. Frontiers In Psychiatry 2024, 14: 1278823. PMID: 38264632, PMCID: PMC10803438, DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1278823.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricConceptsObsessive-compulsive disorderPrimary outcomeNon-directive supportClinical effectsTreatment-refractory obsessive-compulsive disorderRefractory obsessive-compulsive disorderSingle-dose trialBlinded ratingsWaitlist-controlled trialDose selection strategiesOCD symptom reductionTreatment of OCDEffects of psilocybinSingle-site trialOCD symptomsInstitutional review boardBlinded independent ratersTrials of psilocybinYale-Brown ObsessiveWaitlist control designPrimary endpointMore dosesFuture trialsSingle dosePsilocybin treatmentPsilocybin and other Psychedelics
Kaye A, Kelmendi B, Rivera M, Pittenger C. Psilocybin and other Psychedelics. 2024, 113-120. DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-323-95702-1.00178-0.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsPsychedelic drugsSerotonin 5-HT2A receptorsHuman neuroimaging studiesAlcohol use disorderPatterns of activityTransdiagnostic efficacyDepressive disorderPsychedelic agentsClassic psychedelicsNeuroimaging studiesMode networkUse disorderPsychedelic propertiesPsychotherapeutic supportAssociation cortexPsilocybinPsychological effectsPsychedelicsDifferential effectsHealing contextControlled Substances ActDisordersPotential therapeutic useControlled studiesSerotonin
2023
What Is in a Name? The Many Meanings of “Psychedelic”
O'Donnell K, Roberts D, Ching T, Glick G, Goldway N, Gukasyan N, Hokansen J, Kelmendi B, Ross S, Yaden M, Pittenger C. What Is in a Name? The Many Meanings of “Psychedelic”. Psychedelic Medicine 2023, 1: 187-189. PMID: 40046863, PMCID: PMC11658645, DOI: 10.1089/psymed.2023.0011.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetric
Clinical Trials
Current Trials
A Phase 3, Randomized, Double-Blind, Multicenter Study to Evaluate the Efficacy, Safety, and Tolerability of Psilocybin in Adults with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) (uAspire)
HIC ID2000037179RolePrincipal InvestigatorPrimary Completion Date12/31/2025Recruiting ParticipantsEffects of Repeated Psilocybin Dosing in OCD
HIC ID2000032623RolePrincipal InvestigatorPrimary Completion Date04/30/2026Recruiting ParticipantsGenderBothAge18 years - 65 yearsObsessions or ideations: First Person Suicide Images study in OCD
HIC ID2000033121RoleSub InvestigatorPrimary Completion Date08/31/2024Recruiting ParticipantsUsing Neuroimaging to track symptom change in PTSD treatment
HIC ID2000025892RoleSub InvestigatorPrimary Completion Date07/31/2029Recruiting ParticipantsImaging Synaptic Density in Cocaine and Opiate Addiction In Vivo using 11C-UCB-J PET
HIC ID2000021843RoleSub InvestigatorPrimary Completion Date01/01/2024Recruiting Participants
News
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News
- September 24, 2025Source: Yale News
Psilocybin: A Breakthrough in Mental Health Treatment or Mere ‘Magical’ Thinking?
- May 23, 2024Source: Psychology Today
Psychedelics: Subjectivity in the Therapeutic Response
- January 02, 2024
Duek, Harpaz-Rotem Paper Named '2023 Leading Research Achievement' by BBRF
- June 21, 2023Source: Neuropsychopharmacology
Long term Structural and Functional Neural Changes Following a Single Infusion of Ketamine in PTSD
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