Andrew Kesner, PhD

Preclinical modeling of spontaneous Δ-9-THC withdrawal symptoms in mice: sleep, dopamine, and behavioral maladaptations

April 10th, 1:00PM MST

Dr. Kesner is the Chief of the Unit on Motivation and Arousal at National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). The mission of his lab is to use systems neuroscience approaches to understand how brain systems controlling motivated behaviors and sleep/arousal processes interact to drive maladaptive behaviors. He earned both his B.A. in Behavioral Biology and Ph.D. in Biology from Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Kesner moved to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) as a Postdoctoral Researcher in Dr. David Lovinger’s Laboratory for Integrative Neuroscience prior to starting his independent lab as an NIH Independent Research Scholar in Fall of 2021.

Previous Webinars

Tony P. George, MD, FRCPC

June 11, 2026 at 1 PM MDT

Understanding the links between cannabis use and mental illness: Implications for treatment

 

Dr. George is Professor of Psychiatry in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto (UofT), and Senior Scientist at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). He received his B.Sc. (1988) and M.D. (1992) degrees from […]

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Jacob MacWilliams, Ph.D.

May 20, 2026 11:00AM MDT

Unlocking the mystery of a key hemp pest, cannabis aphid

Dr. Jacob MacWilliams is a research scientist in Dr. Punya Nachappa’s lab in the Agricultural Biology Department at Colorado State University. Jacob received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of California, Riverside focusing on cowpea aphid resistance in […]

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Shanna Bablonis, Ph.D.

Cannabis and Opioid Interactions: Human Laboratory Studies and Clinical Implications

May 14, 2026 1:00PM MDT

Shanna Babalonis, PhD is an associate professor in the University of Kentucky (UK) College of Medicine Department of Behavioral Science and Center on Drug and Alcohol Research. Her NIH-funded research focuses on clinical trials and human laboratory assessments of the abuse potential, […]

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Michael Petersen

Apr 15, 2026 11:00 AM Mountain Time

Trait Modifications in Cannabis Through Engineering and Editing

Michael Petersen has over 40 years of experience as a researcher and mentor in the plant biotech space. He worked for 10 years at Agracetus, a small startup in Wisconsin and then 20 years as a Senior Fellow with Monsanto. Mike stayed […]

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Francesca Filbey, PhD

Apr 9, 2026 01:00 PM Mountain Time

Understanding Cannabis Use Disorder Through Neuroimaging and Behavior

Francesca Filbey is a Professor and Director of the NeuroImaging of Reward Dynamics Laboratory at the Center for BrainHealth, School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences at The University of Texas at Dallas, and an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Texas […]

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Travis Higginbotham

March 25 at 11:00 AM (MDT)

Turning Science into Cash Flow. Crop production performance and ROI analysis driven by crop science.25

Travis Higginbitham is the Founder & CEO of Due Diligence Horticulture (DDH). He is a horticultural and operations executive with deep experience leading controlled-environment agriculture, cannabis, and ornamental production businesses through innovation, growth, transition, and turnaround. Mr. […]

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