MEET OUR SPEAKERS

Raphael
Mechoulam, PhD

HEBREW UNIVERSITY / ISRAEL

FOUNDER'S SPEAKER

   Prof. Raphael Mechoulam, Professor Emeritus of  The Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Institute for Drug Research, is globally acknowledged as the father of cannabinoid research.  His pioneering work has proven to be of central importance in pharmacology, physiology, and medicine. Raphi's research focuses on the chemistry of natural substances, their biological function, and the development of new potential drugs.  He is best known for developing the chemistry, biochemistry, and medicinal chemistry of cannabinoid compounds of plant origin.

Hermona

Soreq, PhD

HEBREW UNIVERSITY / ISRAEL

KANG TSOU

MEMORIAL SPEAKER

   Prof. Soreq is Slesinger Chair in Molecular Neuroscience at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and is a founding member of the Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Science.

 

   Her research pioneered the application of molecular biology and genomics to the study of cholinergic signaling, with her most recent focus on microRNA (miRs) regulation and on signaling changes in health and disease. 

 

Natsuo

Ueda, MD, PhD

KAGAWA UNIVERSITY / JAPAN

ICRS MECHOULAM

AWARD SPEAKER

   Dr. Ueda is a Professor of Biochemistry at Kagawa University School of Medicine in Japan.  He elucidated a two-step pathway for the synthesis of anandamide, first purified and cloned the enzyme N-acyltransferase, and has worked for many years on the breakdown of anandamide – cloning many species of FAAH and  discovering another enzyme that breaks down anandamide called N-acylethanolamine-hydrolyzing acid amidase (NAAA).  Dr. Ueda's basic research laid the cornerstone of our understanding of anandamide synthesis.

Ryan

Vandrey, PhD

JOHNS HOPKINS / USA

WILLIAM A DEVANE

YOUNG INVESTIGATOR

AWARD SPEAKER

   Ryan is a Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, Behavioral Biology Research Center, in Baltimore, Maryland, USA.

 

   Prof. Vandrey's research focuses primarily on the behavioural pharmacology of Cannabis and includes controlled laboratory studies with adult research volunteers, clinical trials, web-based survey research, and natural history studies with patient populations using cannabinoids for therapeutic purposes.   

Eliot
Gardner, PhD

NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH / USA

ICRS LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT

AWARD SPEAKER

   Dr. Eliot Gardner is a Senior Investigator, Molecular Targets and Medications Discovery Branch, Neuropsychopharmacology Section, NIDA, in Bethesda, MD.


   His research is focused on identifying the molecular mechanisms by which endocannabinoids modulate drug addiction, craving, and relapse toward the development of effective medications to treat these medical conditions.

 

 

Katarzyna

Starowicz, PhD

INSTYTUT FARMAKOLOGII/

POLAND

ICRS PRESIDENTIAL 
PLENARY LECTURER

   Prof. Katarzyna (Kasia) Starowicz-Bubak, Ph.D., is a neuro-pharmacologist and a head of the Department of Neurochemistry at the Institute of Pharmacology of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Kraków, Poland.

 

   Her research interest is focused on the role of the endovanilloid and endocannabinoid systems with particular emphasis towards neuropathic pain and degenerative joint disease. She specializes in the strategies of chronic pain treatment, especially in extending the effectiveness of neuropathic and osteoarthritis pain therapy through targeting the endogenous cannabinoid system.

Giovanni

Marsicano, DVM, PhD

INSERM / FRANCE

ICRS PRESIDENTIAL 
PLENARY LECTURER

   Prof. Marsicano is the Deputy Director of NeuroCentre Magendie U1215 INSERM and Université Bordeaux in France.


   His research is focused on understanding the role of the endocannabinoid system in differently regulating the implementation of specific brain functions, such as anxiety, food intake and energy balance according to the identity of the neural population in which CB1 receptors are expressed.

Yasmin

Hurd, PhD

MT. SINAI / USA

ICRS PRESIDENTIAL 
PLENARY LECTURER

   Prof. Hurd is a Professor in the Departments of Psychiatry, Neuroscience and Pharmacology and Systems Therapeutics, a Ward-Coleman Chair of Translational Neuroscience and the Director of the Addiction Institute at Mount Sinai.  Her multidisciplinary research investigates the neurobiology underlying addiction disorders and related psychiatric illnesses.  A translational approach is used to examine molecular and neurochemical events in the human brain and comparable animal models in order to ascertain neurobiological correlates of behavior.  A major focus of her research is directed to risk factors of addiction disorders including genetics, as well as developmental exposure to drugs of abuse. 

Eran

Meshorer, PhD

HUJI / ISRAEL

ICRS PRESIDENTIAL 
PLENARY LECTURER

   Prof. Meshorer is the Arthur Gutterman Chair in Stem Cell Research at the Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences at Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

 

   Eran's research is focused on single cell and genome-wide approaches to understand chromatin plasticity and epigenetic regulation in embryonic and neuronal stem cells, during reprogramming, and in pluripotent models of neurodegenerative diseases. 

Virtually from Jerusalem!  June 21 - 24, 2021