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, risks, and therapeutic effects of cannabis and opioids to determine how cannabis impacts individuals with opioid use disorder. She serves as the Director of the UK Cannabis Center and is leading a clinical trial to determine the impact of daily oral cannabis doses in patients with cancer.  Dr. Babalonis has co-authored a report on cannabidiol for the World Health Organization, serves as the scientist representative on the Council for Governmental Relations Hemp and Cannabis Group and serves on the program and membership committees for the International Cannabinoid Research Society. She is also a consulting editor for two scientific journals: Cannabis and Medical Cannabis and Cannabinoids

Previous Webinars

Devan Kansagara, MD., PhD.

Systematically Testing the Evidence on Marijuana (STEM): Bridging the science of cannabis health effects and clinical practice

June 12, 2025, 1:00 PM MST

Devan Kansagara MD, MCR is a Professor of Medicine at Oregon Health and Science University. He practices and teaches primary care and hospital- based internal medicine in the VA Portland Health Care System. His […]

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Dan Covey, PHD

Effects of isolated cannabinoids and endocannabinoids on emotional behavior in rodents

May 8, 2025 1:00 PM MST

Dan is currently an Assistant Professor at Lovelace Biomedical Research Institute (LBRI) in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He started this position in June 2020 after completing his PhD at Illinois State University and a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Maryland […]

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Nolan Kane, PhD.

Genetics, chemistry and the evolution of sex chromosomes in Cannabis

May 21, 2025 11:00 AM MST

Dr. Nolan Kane is an associate professor in the ebio department at the university of Colorado, boulder. he uses genomic approaches to study adaptation to new environments, domestication of wild plants into valuable crops, and the formation of new species. his work has […]

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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 […]

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Roberta Paris, PhD.

Genetic, molecular and biochemical studies on the accumulation of bioactive compounds in Cannabis sativa L.

19 March, 2025, 11:00 AM  

Dr. Roberta Paris studied at the Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, where she obtained the PhD in Cellular and Molecular Biology in 2006. She is a permanent researcher at Council for Agricultural Research and Economic, Research […]

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Sarah D. Lichenstein, PhD.

Neural mechanisms of risk for problem-level cannabis use among emerging adults

Dr. Lichenstein is a licensed clinical psychologist, an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, and Assistant Director of the Yale Imaging and Psychopharmacology Lab at Yale School of Medicine. She received her BA in Psychology from Bard College (2008), and her PhD in Clinical Psychology from the […]

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