Benjamin Kelmendi

Kelmendi was cofounder and director of Yale Program for Psychedelic Science, receiving federal funding in 1967 to conduct clinical psychedelic research with psychoactive compounds such as psilocybin and ketamine.

He is also an assistant professor of psychiatry and co-founder of the Yale Psychedelic Science Group, conducting research into the therapeutic potential of psychedelic medicines across a spectrum of psychiatric conditions.

Early Life and Education

Kelmendi’s research seeks to understand the mechanisms of symptoms defining Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in order to develop new understandings and effective treatments. His methods include fMRI, MRS, EEG and genetic analysis; in addition he is interested in researching psychedelics like MDMA in order to create better insights into their acute clinical effects.

He has received compensation for psychedelic research from MAPS Public Benefit Corporation, Synthesis Institute, Chacruna Institute and Lobe Sciences as well as royalties and honoraria from Oxford University Press and Elsevier. Additionally he consulted for Ceruvia Lifesciences and Transcend Therapeutics.

Professional Career

Kelmendi, a board-certified psychiatrist and assistant professor at Yale University School of Medicine, specializes in treating PTSD, depression and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) through research with methylone, MDMA and psilocybin; published several papers regarding this research; received first ever National Institute of Health Grant to utilize these substances therapeutically; is investigating neural correlates for Psilocybin’s effects on OCD; seeking new funding sources to continue his psychedelic studies

Personal Life

Benjamin Kelmendi is Co-Director of the Yale Program for Psychedelic Science and an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine – one of the world’s premier psychiatry programs. His clinical research specializes in understanding underlying mechanisms behind symptoms like OCD and PTSD as well as testing new treatments; performing first double blind clinical trial on Psilocybin for OCD as well as early efficacy with Esketamine.

Transcend Therapeutics, Ceruvia Lifesciences, and Lobe Sciences all enlisted his services as consultants. Recently, he joined Lobe Sciences scientific advisory board bringing expertise in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder.