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

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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Kevin Boehnke, PHD.

January 9th at 1:00PM MST

Thoughtful approaches to chronic pain and cannabis research

Dr. Kevin Boehnke is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology and the Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center. Kevin received his doctorate from the University of Michigan School of Public Health in Environmental Health Sciences in 2017. He is also a […]

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David Gorelick, MD, PHD.

December 12th at 1:00PM MST

Cannabis-related psychiatric disorders

Dr. David Gorelick earned his bachelor degree in psychology from Cornell University and his medical degree and PhD in pharmacology from Albert Einstein College of Medicine. After completing his psychiatry residency at UCLA, he remained on the faculty until 1989, when he moved to the NIDA Intramural Research […]

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Kimberly Gwinn, PhD

February 19, 2025 at 11:00 AM MST

Title “Exploring Nematode Interactions with Cannabis”

Kimberly D. Gwinn is a Professor of Entomology and Plant Pathology at the University of Tennessee. Her lab currently investigates natural products that are produced by plants and microbes and their uses as medicines and as bio-pesticides. She has also explored the production of […]

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