Elise Weerts
Johns Hopkins University, MD·Pharmacology
Cannabis use and cannabis use disorder (CUD) are rising in the US, yet no FDA-approved medication treats CUD. One obstacle is the lack of good animal models for testing new drugs.
- Fields
Pharmacology
Neuroscience
Psychology
- Topics
cannabis use disorder
delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol
cannabinoids
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Apr 2028
What they work on
- Test whether vaporized cannabis extract produces effects that rats trained on injected THC recognize as similar, and whether a CB1 receptor blocker cancels them, using drug discrimination procedures.
- Establish the dose and timing effects of CAN-THC vapor discrimination, find optimal training doses, and relate effects to blood levels of THC and its metabolites.
- Determine whether CAN-THC vapor sustains drug-seeking and self-administration above control vapor under a second-order schedule, where drug-paired cues also reward responding.
More about the research
Researchers need rodents that reliably work to obtain cannabis or THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, its main mind-altering ingredient). Most rat studies that deliver THC by intravenous injection have failed to show this. People mostly inhale cannabis, so delivering vaporized cannabis extract may give a more realistic model.
Why it matters
With no approved medication for cannabis use disorder, a reliable rodent model of cannabis vapor use could serve as a platform for testing new treatment drugs. It may also clarify why cannabis is rewarding and how it feels to the user. Such a model could speed medication development for people with CUD.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Jacob Borodovsky
Dartmouth College, NH·Public Health & Epidemiology
Test whether psychotherapeutic advertising claims, ads saying cannabis treats anxiety or depression, increase THC purchased by users with depression or anxiety, by randomizing 2,000 shoppers across four versions of a simulated online dispensary.
Charles France
University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, TX·Pharmacology
Submit an Investigational New Drug application to the FDA for methocinnamox (MCAM), a long-acting mu-opioid receptor blocker, to prevent opioid relapse after detoxification.
Carlos Zamarripa
Johns Hopkins University, MD·Pharmacology
Characterize how psilocybin doses of 1, 5, 15, and 25 mg affect simulated driving and computerized cognitive and psychomotor performance, and test whether impairment at higher doses matches alcohol at 0.08% blood alcohol concentration.
The school
Johns Hopkins University: 100 labs on PI Pages, $4.1B a year on research, 622 research doctorates a year.
Reach out
A start for your email. Fill in the brackets.