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Christopher Pittenger

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Christopher Pittenger
Born1972 (age 51–52)
Baltimore, Maryland, US
Academic background
EducationBSc, 1994, Yale University
PhD, 2002, Columbia University
MD, 2003, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons
ThesisA shared role for CREB in declarative and procedural memory (2002)
Doctoral advisorEric Kandel
Academic work
InstitutionsYale School of Medicine

Christopher J. Pittenger (born 1972) is an American psychiatrist and translational neuroscientist. He is a professor of psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine and Director of the Yale OCD Research Clinic.

Early life and education

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Pittenger was born in 1972[1] in Baltimore, Maryland to parents Judy MacGillivray and Arthur Pittenger. Growing up, he was a choirboy at St. Davids Episcopal Church[2] and attended Friends School of Baltimore.[3] Pittenger completed his Bachelor of Science degree in 1994 from Yale University and his PhD in 2002 from Columbia University.[4] During college, Pittenger discovered that "neurobiology was an ideal way to synthesize his interests in molecular biology and human psychology." While completing his doctorate under the guidance of Eric Kandel, he accidentally altered the striatum in mice, instead of altering the hippocampus.[5] Pittenger then worked towards his medical degree, which he earned in 2003 at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, and his residency in Adult Psychiatry in 2007.[4]

Career

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Upon completing his residency, Pittenger joined the faculty at the Yale School of Medicine as an assistant professor of psychiatry[4] and Director of the Yale OCD Research Clinic.[6] While serving in this role, he was the co-recipient of the 2009 Society for Neuroscience's Career Development Award to investigate the biological mechanisms of Tourette syndrome.[7] In 2010, Yale researchers identified a histidine decarboxylase, a gene mutation that causes Tourette syndrome, in a family with nine members who shared both the mutation and the disorder.[5] As a result, Pittenger received a Yale Center for Clinical Investigation (YCCI) pilot award in 2011 to create a mouse model of the disease in order to better understand its cause.[8] Two years later, Pittenger was promoted to the rank of associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry.[9]

Upon being promoted to associate professor, Pittenger led a study suggesting that existing drugs that target histamine receptors in the brain would be useful in treating Tourette's.[10] In 2015, Pittenger was awarded the Eva King Killam Research Award from the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology.[11]

In 2018, Pittenger was elected to serve as Yale's vice chair of the Faculty Advisory Council[12] and Assistant Chair for Translational Research.[13] During the COVID-19 pandemic, Pittenger was named the Director of the Clinical Neuroscience Research Unit and of the Neuroscience Research Training Program at the Connecticut Mental Health Center.[14] He was also part of a research team that proposed a possible cause for the sudden onset of obsessive-compulsive disorder in some children.[15] Later, in April 2021, he was elected a fellow of the American Society for Clinical Investigation.[16]

Selected publications

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  • Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Phenomenology, Pathophysiology, and Treatment (2017)[17]

References

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  1. ^ "Pittenger, Christopher, 1972-". VIAF. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
  2. ^ "Christopher Pittenger". The Spokesman-Review. January 6, 1985. Retrieved June 26, 2021 – via newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "4-student Md. team is 2nd in contest". The Baltimore Sun. May 18, 1986. Retrieved June 26, 2021 – via newspapers.com.
  4. ^ a b c "Christopher Pittenger MD, PhD, FAPA, FANA". Yale University. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
  5. ^ a b "Scholar: Christopher Pittenger". Yale University. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
  6. ^ "Past Scholars Reflect on Being a Scholar". Yale University. March 29, 2019. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  7. ^ "Society of Neuroscience honors two Yale affiliates for their research". Yale University. October 21, 2009. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
  8. ^ "2011 Pilot Awardees". Yale University. 2011. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
  9. ^ "Department of Psychiatry announces promotions, new faculty appointments". Yale University. December 10, 2013. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
  10. ^ Hathaway, Bill (January 9, 2014). "Yale researchers find rare genetic cause of Tourette syndrome". Yale University. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
  11. ^ "Pittenger awarded 2015 ACNP Eva King Killam Research Award". Yale University. December 7, 2015. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
  12. ^ "Christopher Pittenger Elected as Vice Chair of Faculty Advisory Council". Yale University. April 24, 2018. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
  13. ^ "Pittenger appointed to new position of Assistant Chair for Translational Research". Yale University. August 20, 2018. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
  14. ^ "Yale Psychiatry Names New Research Leaders at Connecticut Mental Health Center". Yale University. January 20, 2021. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
  15. ^ Hathaway, Bill (June 16, 2020). "Yale scientists propose explanation for baffling form of childhood OCD". Yale University. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
  16. ^ "AAP and the ASCI Elect New Members from the School of Medicine Faculty". Yale University. April 9, 2021. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
  17. ^ "Pittenger edits new book on obsessive-compulsive disorder". Yale University. September 18, 2017. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
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