Luke Jelen

Biography

Luke graduated from Newcastle University with degrees in Medicine and Neuroscience in 2013. After finishing his Foundation Training, he joined King’s College London in 2015, where he completed a Master's in Psychiatric Research at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience (IoPPN). He was subsequently awarded an NIHR Academic Clinical Fellowship and undertook his clinical training in psychiatry at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust before attaining membership of the Royal College of Psychiatrists in 2018. In 2019, he received an NIHR BRC Preparatory Fellowship in experimental medicine. 

Luke has conducted research investigating brain glutamate dynamics in healthy and psychiatric groups and has worked on clinical trials investigating the use of ketamine and psilocybin in treatment resistant depression. He is particularly interested in understanding the underlying rapid-acting antidepressant mechanisms of treatments including ketamine and psilocybin. In 2020, he was awarded an MRC Clinical Research Training Fellowship and is currently undertaking a PhD in Neuroimaging, investigating the acute neural mechanisms of antidepressant response to ketamine, under the supervision of Professor Mitul Mehta, Professor Allan Young and Dr James Stone. Luke is also an honorary psychiatrist at the Maudsley Advanced Treatment Service where he helped establish a ketamine clinic for individuals with difficult to treat depression.

Research interests

• Psychiatry, Neuroimaging and Experimental Medicine
  • Role of glutamate in mood disorders and psychosis
  • Ketamine and psilocybin for treatment resistant depression
  • Rapid-acting antidepressant mechanisms

Teaching

MSc Psychiatric Research - Experimental medicine studies: Ketamine as an example