Christopher Pittenger, MD, PhD

Dr. Christopher Pittenger is a world expert in the pathophysiology and treatment of neuropsychiatric disease, especially obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and Tourette syndrome.  He earned his MD and Ph.D. degrees from Columbia University, where he conducted his graduate studies under the guidance of Nobel Prize winner Eric Kandel. He later returned to his undergraduate alma mater, Yale University, for psychiatric residency and research training in 2003. Dr. Pittenger joined the faculty at Yale in 2007 and is now the Elizabeth Mears and House Jameson Professor of Psychiatry, Professor of Psychology and in the Child Study Center, Director fo the Yale OCD Research Clinic, and Deputy Chair for Translational Research in the Department of Psychiatry at Yale.

Dr. Pittenger's work as a clinical neuroscientist explores the impact of brain dysregulation on cognition, emotion, and behavior. His research has primarily focused on dysregulation of cortico-basal ganglia circuitry, incluidng the role of the neurotransmitters glutamate and histamine, and has led to the development of several promising therapeutic approaches. He co-founded the Yale Program for Psychedelic Science to investigate the mechanisms and therapeutic potential of drugs such as psilocybin and is a founding Director of the Yale Center for Brain and Mind Health, which aims to foster interdisciplinary collaboration and develop new therapeutics in clinical neuroscience.

Dr. Pittenger's research has been supported by 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 received awards from the Society for Neuroscience, the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, the American Psychiatric Association, and the American College of Psychiatrists, among others. Dr. Pittenger is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the International OCD Foundation and serves as Chair of both their Grant Review Committee and Annual Research Symposium Planning Committee. He is a Fellow of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, the American Psychiatric Association, and the American Neurological Association and a member of the American Society of Clinical Investigation.