Cannabis Research Webinar Series

Dr. Adie Rae Wilson-Poe : “The Unintended Negative Impact of Adult-Use Cannabis Legalization on the Wellbeing of Medical Cannabis Patients” Dr. Wilson-Poe received her BS in Psychology and her PhD in Neuroscience from Washington State University, where she focused on the pain-relieving properties of opioids and cannabinoids.

Adie followed up on this training by taking a post-doctoral position at Sydney University in Australia, where she was awarded a National Research Service Award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) to study the synaptic physiology of cannabinoids and opioids. Dr. Wilson-Poe continued her post-doctoral training at Columbia University, where she broadened her expertise to include the dynamic interaction between drug abuse and chronic pain.

As a junior faculty member at Washington University in St. Louis, Adie was awarded a prestigious Pathway to Independence Award from NIDA, which integrates all previous facets of her work. Adie joined Legacy Research Institute in June of 2019, and she currently utilizes translational and clinical research approaches to further characterize the analgesic and harm-reducing properties of cannabis, in the context of opioid use. 

Cannabis Research Monthly Webinar Series (March): Dr. Adie Rae Wilson-Poe

Ms. Shawn Hauser is a partner at Vicente Sederberg and co-chair of the firm's Hemp and Cannabinoids Department as well as a leader in the firm’s psychedelics and emerging therapies practice. Shawn helps cannabis, hemp, and psychedelics businesses navigate the intersections between state and federal law including cannabis and psychedelics laws and food and drug laws as they evolve. Her practice includes regulatory compliance, licensing, general business representation, investment, policy reform and strategic guidance to best position businesses for success at the at state, national, and international levels.

Shawn has presented cannabis law and policy to many local, federal, and international agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration and UK Parliament. She is on the Board of Directors of the International Cannabis Bar Association, and was on the steering committee for the American Hemp Campaign, a project of Vote Hemp which was instrumental in legalizing hemp in Texas in 2019. In 2023, Shawn was recognized by her peers in the "Best Lawyers" list for her work in cannabis law.

Since directing Sensible Colorado's local government implementation team following the passage of Amendment 64, Shawn remains active in policy work with local and state governments in Colorado and Texas and is passionate in supporting the development and implementation of cannabis, hemp, and psychedelics regulations that advance the cannabis industry in a dynamic and responsible manner. After attending law school at the University of Denver, Shawn was an associate attorney at McAllister, Darnell & Gottlieb PC, one of the first marijuana-focused law firms in Colorado.

Cannabis Research Monthly Webinar Series (February): Dr. Sawn Hauser

Dr. Tishler is a Cannabis Specialist. Through his training in Internal Medicine and years of practice as an Emergency Physician, Dr. Tishler brings his knowledge, reason, and caring to patients here at inhale MD, and through his advocacy work at the local and national levels.  Dr. Tishler graduated from both Harvard College and Harvard Medical School, trained at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and is faculty at both the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. He has spent many years working with the underserved, particularly providing care for Veterans. Having treated countless patients harmed by alcohol and drugs, his observation that he had never seen a cannabis overdose lead Dr. Tishler to delve deeply into the science of cannabis safety and treatment.  Dr. Tishler is also a parallel entrepreneur working for patients’ wellbeing in the corporate space, helping to elevate dosing and safety profiles of medication, and helping to establish best practice for bringing new Cannabis products to market.  Dr. Tishler is a frequent speaker and author on a variety of topics related to the medical applications of cannabis. He is the President of the Association of Cannabis Specialists which aims to educate clinicians, lawmakers, and the industry about best practices and needed tools for proper patient care.

Cannabis Research Monthly Webinar Series(January): Dr. Jordan Tishler

Jahan Marcu, Ph.D is one of the top researchers and industry experts in the field, contributing to many innovative discoveries, applications, and standards for medical cannabis and its laboratory analysis, cultivation, manufacturing, and dispensing. He is a court qualified expert witness for cannabis and synthetic drugs, and is cited in case law. Dr. Marcu has also created training for the industry and internationally accepted methods for cannabis analysis, and has founded institutions and organizations for research, education, and training programs. He became well-known for demonstrating synergistic interactions for cannabinoids such as THC and CBD in cancer, which has led to the development and marketing of products with those ratios and launched numerous applications and research projects. He helped create the first product standards for cannabis and hemp products, as a chairman of the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) cannabis committee. Those standards are now being reviewed by ASTM, where he was accepted as a chairman of D37.07 for the committee on cannabis standards for training, certification, and accreditation. Dr. Marcu’s additional work includes helping to solve the structure of cannabinoid receptors , characterized a class of drugs for cannabinoid receptors called allosteric modulators, and co-authored the first product safety study on Cannabidiol (CBD) products . He is also an author of the American Herbal Pharmacopoeia Cannabis monograph, which help set standards for cannabis and hemp products for human consumption. His test methods have received national media attention and has been interviewed by Science and Nature for his contributions to basic research and applied innovations. His studies have been covered by numerous cannabis industry journals, and national media outlets. His work has received praise and used by both regulators, policy makers, and scientists, as addressing an urgent national need. His research and standards documents are often cited in regulations and used to develop medical cannabis programs.

Cannabis Research Monthly Webinar Series (December): Jahan Marcu, Ph.D.

Dr. Ari Greis is a board-certified physician who specializes in the non-operative treatment of spinal and musculoskeletal disorders. He is the director of the Medical Cannabis Department at Rothman Orthopedic Institute. He is interested in the treatment of chronic pain with cannabis as an alternative to opioids. Dr. Greis is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Rehabilitation Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University who has published numerous research articles, textbook chapters, and continues to teach and lecture to residents and medical students. Dr. Greis served as the chief resident at the University of Washington in Seattle and is fellowship trained in sports and spine rehabilitation. He performs fluoroscopic guided spine injections, ultrasound guided peripheral joint injections, trigger point injections, and electrodiagnostic testing.

Cannabis Research Monthly Webinar (November) : Dr. Ari C. Greis, DO: Thursday, November 10, 2022

Dr. Cinnamon Bidwell’s primary research focus is translational studies investigating the effects of abused drugs and how these effects impact psychological and physical health acutely and chronically. For over a decade, she has been building on her training in studies of drug dependence, neurobehavior, behavioral genetics, and co-occurring psychiatric disorders. She has expertise in human laboratory studies on cannabis, cannabinoids, alcohol, and nicotine, and maintains research projects in the underlying factors that contribute to successful clinical treatment of psychiatric and substance use conditions. Her current research investigates the direct neurobiological effects of drugs of abuse, including high potency marijuana and cannabinoids in psychiatric and medical populations and the direct physiological and behavioral effects of cannabinoids as they pertain to both their abuse potential and potential therapeutic effects in observational as well as human laboratory studies.

Dr. Bidwell has published over 70 scientific publications and two book chapters on the neurobiology of substance abuse and its overlap with psychiatric disorders. She has received Early Career awards from premier professional societies including the American Psychological Association and the College on Problems of Drug Dependence, and is regularly invited to speak at national and international scientific meetings. Dr. Bidwell’s research is primarily funded by the National Institutes of Health and the state of Colorado.

October 2022 Cannabis Research Webinar: Dr. Cinnamon Bidwell

Dr. Hollis Karoly is an Assistant Professor at Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado specializing in Clinical Psychology and Neuroscience with a specialization in addictive disorders. Her research aims to characterize neural, molecular and behavioral mechanisms underlying the etiology of alcohol use disorders, in an effort to inform treatment development. More specifically, Dr. Karoly is interested in how functional impairments along the microbiota-gut-brain-axis (MGBA; which refers to bidirectional interactions between gut microbes, endocrine, autonomic, enteric, immune and central nervous systems) may promote alcohol use behavior and serve as potential treatment targets. In recent years, her work has increasingly emphasized the role of the endogenous cannabinoid system - which is distributed heavily throughout the brain and gut - in the context of alcohol use disorders. Thus, Dr. Karoly is conducting several studies measuring the impact of phytocannabinoids (primarily cannabidiol [CBD] and tetrahydrocannabinol [THC]) on behavioral phenotypes related to alcohol use disorder (alcohol consumption, craving, intoxication) and on biomarkers across the MGBA (brain structure and function, peripheral inflammation, intestinal permeability, gut microbial composition). To this end, Dr. Karoly combines behavioral measures, molecular biology methods, neuroimaging and high throughput 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing to explore the impact of alcohol and cannabis on the MGBA and behavior. Because this work involves acute administration of various cannabis products, Dr. Karoly's research also makes use of a Mobile Drug Administration Laboratory which adheres to federal guidelines restricting cannabis administration in academic research.

September 2022 Cannabis Research Webinar - Dr. Hollis Karoly

Professor Cecilia Hillard is the Director of the Neuroscience Research Center and Associate Dean for Research at the Medical College of Wisconsin. As a highly active researcher, Dr. Hillard’s laboratory primarily focuses on the pharmacology and biochemistry of cannabinoids and endocannabinoids. Her research focuses on cannabinoids, the receptors with which they interact, and the role of endocannabinoids in brain function, including biochemical mechanisms involved in the synthesis, release, and degradation of the endocannabinoids, the role of endocannabinoid signaling in the regulation of mood and responses to stress, and the roles of cannabinoids in the regulation of the immune response. Dr. Hillard is frequently named an Outstanding Medical Student Teacher, takes an active role in training and mentorship, and is the recipient of the Medical College of Wisconsin’s highest honor, the Distinguished Service Award. In addition, Dr. Hillard was recently awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Cannabinoid Research Society.

July 2022 Cannabis Research Webinar - Dr. Cecilia Hillard

Dr. Jamie Lo

Jamie Lo, MD, MCR is an Associate Professor of Maternal Fetal Medicine, Obstetrics & Gynecology at Oregon Health & Science University and in the Division of Reproductive and Developmental Sciences at the Oregon National Primate Research Center. Her primary research mission is to determine the impact of environmental perturbations, including substance use, reproductive health, pregnancy outcomes, and offspring development. This work primarily focuses on using non-human primate models and most recently, given the increasing prevalence and legalization of cannabis, she has developed a rhesus macaque model of chronic marijuana use to study impacts on reproductive health and pregnancy outcomes.

Dr. Jason Hedges

Jason C. Hedges, MD PhD is an Associate Professor and residency program director in the Department of Urology at Oregon Health & Science University specializing in sexual and reproductive medicine, erectile dysfunction, and male factor infertility. His primary research mission it to improve male reproductive health and fertility, and he is currently focused on studying the impact of chronic cannabis use in a non-human primate model.

June 2022 Cannabis Research Webinar - Dr. Jamie Lo and Dr. Jason Hedges

Cassandra Taylor, Ph.D. is a Chemist at U.S. Food and Drug Administration within the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) and is a member of the Botanical Review Team (BRT) residing within the Office of Pharmaceutical Quality (OPQ) and serves as an expert resource on all botanical issues. Dr. Taylor received her B.S. in Chemistry from St. Francis University (2005), and her Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from the University of Maryland (2014). Dr. Taylor has evaluated over 100 botanical drug submissions across CDER’s clinical divisions, with a focus on cannabis submissions. She serves as a cannabis subject matter expert (SME) for CDER and across FDA, concentrating on the botanical and quality aspects of cannabis. Dr. Taylor is technical lead on the draft FDA guidance for industry titled “Cannabis and Cannabis-Derived Compounds: Quality Considerations for Clinical Research.” She leads and coordinates the CDER Cannabis working group and leads many cannabis initiatives within CDER and FDA. Dr. Taylor is an active SME in the FDA cross-agency cannabis working group, Cannabis Products Committee (CPC). She collaborates with colleagues across FDA to help close substantial knowledge gaps about the science, safety, and quality of cannabis and cannabis-derived products.

May 2022 Cannabis Research Webinar - Dr. Cassandra Taylor

Dr. Rosner is the Principal Investigator at the Rosner Laboratory and the Charles B. Huggins Professor of the Ben May Department of Cancer Research at the University of Chicago. After receiving her bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from Harvard University, and her Ph.D. degree in biochemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a student of Professor Har-Gobind Khorana, she then continued at MIT to pursue postdoctoral work as a fellow of the American Cancer Society in the laboratory of Dr. Phillip Robbins. Dr. Rosner joined the University of Chicago faculty as an Associate Professor in 1987 and was promoted to Full Professor in 1994, and currently teaches the Cancer Biology course. 

Dr. Rosner's laboratory currently focuses on understanding fundamental signaling mechanisms leading to the generation of tumor cells and their progression to metastatic disease, particularly in triple-negative breast cancer that lacks targeted therapies. Systems level approaches are used including activity-based proteomics, RNAseq, ChIPseq, and mass spectrometry as well as computational, molecular, biophysical, cellular and mouse model-based methodologies to identify and characterize key regulators of tumor growth and metastasis. As an additional tool, the laboratory has utilized a specific physiological suppressor of metastasis, Raf Kinase Inhibitory Protein (RKIP or PEBP1), and a downstream target of RKIP in cells, BACH1, to identify both molecular and cellular mediators of metastasis. 

Recent studies from the Rosner Laboratory have shown that regulators of metastasis control multiple processes within the tumor cell microenvironment including metabolism, redox state, extracellular matrix, and recruitment and programming of tumor-associated macrophages.

April 2022 Cannabis Research Webinar - Dr. Marsha Rosner

Dr. Simon Haroutounian is the Chief of Clinical and Translational Research, Chief of Clinical Pain Research, and an Associate Professor of Anesthesiology for the Washington University Pain Center. Dr. Haroutounian obtained his BSc. Pharm and MSc. Pharm degrees, as well as his Ph.D., from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He has completed a Fulbright doctoral fellowship in pain outcomes research at the University of Utah, and a postdoctoral fellowship in clinical pain research at the Danish Pain Research Center in Aarhus, Denmark.

He has been involved in numerous studies and initiatives for understanding the mechanisms of cannabinoid-mediated analgesia and synthesizing the evidence of the efficacy and safety of cannabis and cannabinoid-based medicine for the treatment of pain. 

Dr. Haroutounian also serves on the International Association for the Study of Pain’s task force on cannabis and cannabinoid analgesia to systematically examine the evidence on analgesic pharmacology of cannabinoids and preclinical evidence on their efficacy in animal models of injury-related or pathological persistent pain; the clinical efficacy of cannabis, cannabinoids, and cannabis-based medicines for pain; harms related to long-term use of cannabinoids; as well as societal issues and policy implications related to the use of these compounds for pain management.

March 2022 Cannabis Research Webinar - Dr. Simon Haroutounian

Dr. Yasmin Hurd is the Ward-Coleman Chair of Translational Neuroscience and the Director of the Addiction Institute, where Hurd is the only Black tenure-track basic science professor at Mount Sinai. Hurd holds appointments as faculty of Neuroscience, Psychiatry, Pharmacology and Systems Therapeutics at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City and is globally recognized for her translational research on the underlying neurobiology of substance use disorders and comorbid psychiatric disorders. Hurd's research on the transgenerational effects of early cannabis exposure on the developing brain and behavior and on the therapeutic properties of marijuana has garnered substantial media attention.

Hurd's career began when she returned to her alma mater, Karolinska Institute as a faculty member and professor for 13 years before beginning her career at Mount Sinai. At Mount Sinai, Hurd is currently the Ward-Coleman Chair of Translational Neuroscience and the Director of the Addiction Institute of Mount Sinai within the Behavioral Health System.

She is also the former director of the medical school's combined MD/PhD Medical Scientist Training Program. Hurd served on advisory boards including the Clinical Neuroendocrinology Branch, National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) Board of Scientific Counselors and the Center for Scientific Review (CSR) advisory Council.

Hurd is a professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, where she studies addiction in people and animal models. Her animal research has revealed that drugs like marijuana can have profound effects on the developing and fetal adolescent brain, including effects that can even extend to the future generations of drug-users. She is also a member of the National Academy of Medicine, American Society for Neuroscience, New York Academy of Sciences, and the College on Problems of Drug Dependence. Hurd's work has been cited more than 13,000 times, and she has an H-Index of 69. Her work on the neurobiology of addiction, especially with regard to the effects of heroin and the developmental changes caused by cannabis, have been profiled in a variety of popular news and documentary sources. 

February 2022 Cannabis Research Webinar - Dr. Yasmin Hurd

Dr. Staci Gruber is the Director of the Cognitive and Clinical Neuroimaging Core at McLean Hospital’s Brain Imaging Center and an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Gruber’s clinical research focuses on the application of neurocognitive models and brain imaging to better characterize risk factors for substance abuse and psychiatric conditions. She has been studying the impact of cannabis on the brain for over two decades using neurocognitive, clinical, and diagnostic assessments and multimodal brain imaging techniques.

Her work examining the etiologic bases of neural models of dysfunction in cannabis-using adolescents and adults has been published in numerous peer-reviewed journals and been the basis of national and international symposia, documentaries, news stories, and press conferences, including features in the New York Times, NPR, and CNN’s documentary series “WEED” with Dr. Sanjay Gupta. Her ongoing initiative to educate policymakers, judges, attorneys, and the general public about the neurobiological differences between adults and adolescents as well as additional factors that contribute to the impact of cannabis on the brain has had both local and national impacts on policy formation. Dr. Gruber recently discussed these issues at the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control hearing entitled, “Marijuana and America’s Health: Questions and Issues for Policy Makers.”

Dr. Gruber also recognized the importance of examining the impact of medical cannabis use on the brain, as there are many inherent differences between recreational and medical cannabis users. Accordingly, in 2014, she launched Marijuana Investigations for Neuroscientific Discovery (MIND), the first-ever program of its kind designed to clarify the specific effects of medical cannabis use. MIND utilizes valid, robust research models and supports numerous projects designed to address the impact of medical cannabis on a number of important variables including cognition, brain structure and function, clinical state, quality of life, pain, sleep, and other health-related measures. As the director of MIND, Dr. Gruber has generated major contributions to the field as the first investigator to assess medical cannabis patients longitudinally, first to acquire neuroimaging data in medical cannabis patients, and as Principal Investigator of the first-ever clinical trial of a whole plant-derived, high cannabidiol (CBD) product which she specifically formulated to treat anxiety. Additionally, novel clinical trials have been approved and are pending or currently underway.

January 2022 Cannabis Research Webinar - Dr. Staci Gruber

Dr. Romero-Sandoval received a medical degree from Centro Universitario de Occidente, Quetzaltenango (Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala) in 1999 and a Ph.D. degree in Neuroscience from Universidad de Alcalá de Henares, Spain, in 2003. He completed postdoctoral training at Wake Forest University, Winston Salem, NC (2003-2006) and Geisel Dartmouth Medical School, Lebanon, NH (2006-2007). Dr. Romero-Sandoval has held academic positions (2007-2012) at Geisel Dartmouth Medical School and served as Director of Research (2013-2017) at Presbyterian College School of Pharmacy in Clinton. Currently, Dr. Romero-Sandoval is an Associate Professor in Anesthesiology at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. The Romero-Sandoval laboratory explores neuroimmune interactions in surgical and neuropathic pain but also in neuropathies induced by diabetes or chemotherapy. Additionally, Dr. Romero-Sandoval studies the endocannabinoid system and cannabinoids in the context of pain, and more recently his lab studies how the cannabis market in the U.S. is shaped and how this could affect patients that use cannabis as an alternative to current ineffective pain medications. The Romero-Sandoval laboratory uses highly translatable clinical approaches such as nanotechnology for potential cell-directed gene therapies or studies on marketing practices to develop more effective and safer strategies to treat chronic pain.

Professor Bryan is an internationally renowned social and health psychologist known for her research on HIV/STD prevention, exercise promotion, healthy eating, and most recently, the public health implications of legalized cannabis. She is a Professor and Associate Chair for Faculty Development in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of Colorado Boulder where she co-directs the Center for Health and Neuroscience, Genes, and Environment.

Dr. Bryan completed her bachelor's degree in psychology at UCLA, and her Ph.D. in social psychology at Arizona State University and performed postdoctoral research at the Center for HIV/Health Intervention and Promotion in the Department of Psychology at the University of Connecticut. She has published well over 200 peer reviewed articles and has been continuously funded for over 20 years as a PI by various institutes at NIH including NIDA, NIA, NIAAA, NCI, and NINR.

Dr. Bryan has merged her interests in health promotion and the possible harms and benefits of cannabis legalization into the work she will speak on today: the Implications of cannabis for obesity-related processes and behaviors.

November 2021 Cannabis Research Webinar - Dr. Angela Bryan

Dr. Susan Weiss is the Director, Division of Extramural Research at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), which oversees NIDA’s extramural programs, operations planning, and trans-NIH initiatives, such as the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD®) and HEALthy Brain Child Development (HBCD) studies, and the Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies® (BRAIN) Initiative. Dr. Weiss also serves as a senior science advisor to the NIDA Director and scientific liaison to the NIH, HHS, and other Federal Agencies. Previously, she served as the Chief of the Science Policy Branch and Acting Director of NIDA's Office of Science Policy and Communications.

Before coming to NIDA, Dr. Weiss was the Senior Director of Research at the National Mental Health Association (now Mental Health America), and previously she directed a translational research program in the Biological Psychiatry Branch of the National Institute of Mental Health.

Dr. Weiss received multiple awards, including NIH Plain Language Awards, NIH and NIDA Director’s Awards, and an Emmy for her contributions to the HBO Addiction Project. She has published more than 150 scientific articles and chapters, graduated from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, and received her Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Maryland.

October 2021 Cannabis Research Webinar - Dr. Susan Weiss

Gillian Schauer, PhD, MPH, is the Executive Director of the Cannabis Regulators Association (CANNRA) and a Senior Consultant on cannabis policy, epidemiology, and research translation. Her consulting has included work with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and a number of U.S. states. Dr. Schauer is also affiliated as a Research Scientist at the Addictions, Drug & Alcohol Institute at the University of Washington. Prior to her work in cannabis policy, Dr. Schauer worked in tobacco prevention and control. She has more than 65 peer-reviewed publications on cannabis, tobacco, and co-use, and was a Senior Editor on the 2020 Surgeon General’s Report on Smoking Cessation. She has a PhD from Emory University in Behavioral Science, a Master of Public Health from the University of Washington, and a Bachelors of Science from Northwestern University. 

September 2021 Cannabis Research Webinar - Dr. Gillian Schauer

Dr. Ziva Cooper is the Director of the UCLA Cannabis Research Initiative in the Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior and Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences and Department of Anesthesiology at the David Geffen School of Medicine. Her current research involves understanding variables that influence both the therapeutic potential and adverse effects of cannabis and cannabinoids through double-blind, placebo-controlled studies.

Current funded projects include 1) understanding differences between men and women in their response to the abuse-related and pain-relieving effects, and the role that circulating hormones and endocannabinoids contribute to these differences, 2) the potential for THC and CBD to reduce reliance on opioids, 3) impact of cannabis use on HIV-associated inflammation, and 4) the effectiveness of cannabidiol to address symptoms associated with rheumatoid arthritis.

Dr. Cooper served on the National Academies of Sciences Committee on the Health Effects of Cannabis that recently published a comprehensive consensus report of the health effects of cannabis and cannabinoids. She is past president of the International Study Group Investigating Drugs as Reinforcers, a Board Director for the College on Problems of Drug Dependence, an Associate Editor of The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, and is on several Editorial Boards of journals including Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research and Neuropsychopharmacology.

July 2021 Cannabis Research Webinar - Dr. Ziva Cooper

Dr. Clayton W. Snell is the Senior Medical Science Liaison at Greenwich Biosciences (now part of Jazz Pharmaceuticals) and holds a Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) from the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia and possesses experience in professional medical affairs, healthcare services, and a demonstrated history in the pharmaceutical industry.

June 2021 Cannabis Research Webinar - Dr. Clayton W. Snell

George Hodgin

Title: Access to Federally Compliant Cannabis for Research
George Hodgin is the Founder and CEO of Biopharmaceutical Research Company (BRC), an applicant with the Drug Enforcement Administration to produce federally compliant cannabis products for research. BRC holds several DEA Schedule I Registrations and engages in compliant cannabis research. He is a former Navy SEAL officer and alumnus of the Stanford University Graduate School of Business. He was commissioned as an officer in the Navy in 2009, after earning a BA in Economics and Mandarin from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was a Morehead-Cain scholar. George led SEALs in combat in counter-terrorism operations in Afghanistan and Southeast Asia. His hobbies include fly-fishing and hiking with his family and dog. He and his wife and two sons live in Carmel-By-the-Sea, California.

Ajay Nayak

Title: Navigating through cannabis research: an academic story of partnerships and collaborations
Ajay Nayak is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia. He has an appointment in the Center for Translational Medicine and the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine at TJU. Ajay received his B.Sc. and M. Sc. In Microbiology from the University of Mumbai and came to the US in 2006 to pursue his doctoral degree from West Virginia University. Ajay was a civilian employee with the Federal government at CDC/NIOSH in Morgantown, WV. Ajay has been actively involved in cannabis research efforts for almost a decade. His primary areas of interest in the field of allergy. He is also interested in examining the physiological and pathophysiological effects of cannabis on human health. He is engaged in multiple collaborations both nationally and internationally to further cannabis research. His lab has an active research grant from NIH to develop diagnostic tools for determining cannabis allergies.

May 2021 - Academic and Business Perspectives of Compliance in Cannabis Research

Cannabinoids and Endocannabinoids in Human Breast Milk

The Institute of Cannabis Research’s monthly webinar for April 2021 featured Dr. Cristina Sempio. Dr. Sempio is a Research Instructor in the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. She earned her PhD in forensic sciences at the University of Verona (Italy), developing cutting-edge analytical methods for the screening and quantification of drugs of abuse in different biological matrices. After an internship at the National Institute on Drug Abuse under the supervision of Dr. Huestis, she joined the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus as a postdoctoral fellow. Dr. Sempio is currently collaborating on several CDPHE and NIH grants to elucidate the therapeutic potential of cannabinoids and their influence on the endocannabinoids system. Dr. Sempio supervises and manages the iC42 Clinical Research and Development’s clinical toxicology laboratory and is responsible for all industry collaborations and analytics for cannabis and hemp-based drug developments. Other projects ongoing in her laboratory investigate the effect of cannabinoids administration on endocannabinoids and lipid mediators. The registration link will be listed once it's ready.

April 2021 - Dr. Cristina Sempio, Cannabinoids and Endocannabinoids in Human Breast Milk

The Institute of Cannabis Research’s monthly webinar for March 2021 featured Dr. Sara Jane Ward. She is the Assistant Professor from Temple University. Her research focuses on the behavioral pharmacological effects of the cannabinoid, serotonin, and opioid receptor systems on neuropathic pain and neuroprotection, learning and memory, and addiction. Her research makes use of rodent models of peripheral and central nerve injury, substance abuse, and cognition to explore the pharmacotherapeutic potential of cannabinoid, serotonergic, and opiodergic compounds alone and in combination on these behavioral endpoints. She presented a webinar titled "Phytocannabinoids, Terpenes, and Neuropathic Pain".

Mar 2021 - Dr. Sara Jane Ward , Phytocannabinoids, Terpenes, and Neuropathic Pain

The Institute of Cannabis Research’s monthly webinar for February 2021 featured Dr. Ashley Brooks-Russell from The University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. Dr. Brooks-Russell is an assistant professor and Director of the Program for Injury Prevention, Education and Research Program at the Colorado School of Public Health, CU Anschutz. She completed her Ph.D. in Health Behavior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a postdoctoral fellowship at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NIH). Her recent work has focused on cannabis use and the association of policy changes with changes in cannabis use and related outcomes. She presented a webinar titled "Cannabis Impaired Driving and Questions About Tolerance".

Feb 2021 - Dr. Ashley Brooks Russell, Cannabis Impaired Driving and Questions About Tolerance

Cannabis Derived Products from the University of Mississippi

Dr. ElSohly serves as Research Professor in the National Center for Natural Products Research, Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Professor of Pharmaceutics in the School of Pharmacy at the University of Mississippi. Dr. ElSohly is the director of the Marijuana Project at the University of Mississippi, which is funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.​

Dr. ElSohly holds more than 30 patents dealing with the processing, testing, and detection of drugs of abuse along with those dealing with biologically active natural products. He has authored over 250 scholarly articles and more than 200 presentations at scientific meetings of professional societies relative to drug discovery, analysis, and metabolism, and many of his articles deal with forensic issues of drugs of abuse. He was recognized by The Scientist (April 17, 1995), Science Watch (January 1995), and the Journal of Analytical Toxicology (October issue, 2004) for his accomplishments.​

Dec 2020 - Dr. Mahmoud A. ElSohly, Cannabis Derived Products from the University of Mississippi

Cannabinoid Research Funding Opportunities at NCCIH

David Shurtleff, Ph.D., is Deputy Director of the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the leading Federal agency for research on integrative and complementary health practices. Dr. Shurtleff’s career at the NIH has focused on providing leadership and fostering an extensive research portfolio in the basic behavioral and neurosciences—cognitive studies, behavioral economics, decision theory, and risk-taking—and a broad spectrum of research that has contributed to cutting-edge research related to drug abuse, addiction, and their treatment. 

Nov 2020 - Dr. David Shurtleff, Cannabinoid Research Funding Opportunities at NCCIH

Cannabis Use in Pets - Clinical Trials at Colorado State University

The inaugural webinar featured Dr. Stephanie McGrath, Associate Professor, Neurology/Neurosurgery in College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Science at Colorado State University in Fort Collins.

Dr. McGrath addressed her groundbreaking studies in the use of cannabidiol (CBD) for dogs with epilepsy, as well as her recent work with how canine glioma cells respond to CBD.

Oct 2020 - Dr. Stephanie McGrath, Cannabis Use in Pets