Yale School of Medicine will establish a research center to study the acute and chronic effects of cannabis and cannabinoids on neurodevelopment and mental health.
The Yale Center for the Science of Cannabis and Cannabinoids will be led by Deepak Cyril D’Souza, MD, Albert E. Kent Professor of Psychiatry and a leading expert on the pharmacology of cannabinoids.
Announcement of establishment of the center was made January 30, 2023, by Nancy J. Brown, MD, Jean and David W. Wallace Dean of Medicine and C.N.H. Long Professor of Internal Medicine; and John H. Krystal, MD, Robert L. McNeil, Jr. Professor of Translational Research; professor of psychiatry, of neuroscience, and of psychology; and chair of the Yale Department of Psychiatry.
Brown and Krystal said in their announcement that the launch of the center comes at a time of rapid commercialization of cannabis across the United States. Retail cannabis sales began in Connecticut in January, and the center will put Yale at the forefront of studies into its effects on human health.
The new center will use a multipronged and multidisciplinary approach to study the acute and chronic effects of cannabis and cannabinoids, Brown and Krystal said. Initial funding will be provided by the Department of Psychiatry, with support from the dean’s office. Funding will support pilot studies toward the development of a P50-type center grant application focused on cannabis, cannabinoids, neurodevelopment, and mental health.
Those interested in applying for funding should contact D’Souza at deepak.dsouza@yale.edu. Further details about the application and process for pilot study funding will be announced soon.