UCI CSC Faculty
Faizy Ahmed, PhD
Senior Project Scientist
Dr. Faizy Ahmed is an analytical chemist with over 30 years of experience in liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry (LC/MS). In his capacity as director of ICAL’s Analytical Core, Dr Ahmed oversees the maintenance of the center’s analytical suite, develops new methods for endocannabinoid and cannabinoid analysis, and trains ICAL students, post-doctoral scholars, and staff in the use of LC/MS equipment.
Marcela I. Dominguez, MD
Family Medicine
Dr. Marcela Dominguez is a board-certified family medicine practitioner who specializes in integrative approaches to patient care. Investigating underlying causes of illness and restoring normal function is her focus and passion. Dr. Marcela Dominguez comes to us with over 8 years of integrative concierge medicine experience. She focuses on providing personalized, comprehensive, customized, whole-person care.
Dominguez earned her medical degree from UC San Diego, and completed a residency in family medicine at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center. Expanding her medical expertise and care, Dr. Dominguez completed a fellowship in Integrative Cancer Therapies. She also has completed a fellowship with the Medical Association for Pediatric Special Needs, so she can better help young patients with more severe and complex medical conditions. She is currently completing her Chronic Immune Response Syndrome certification to help patients with illness related to exposure to water damaged buildings.
When Dr Dominguez has free time, she loves playing beach volleyball, tennis, hiking, skiing, and spending time with her family.
Christie Fowler, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Neurobiology and Behavior
My research focuses on elucidating the neurobiological mechanisms underlying motivated behaviors and motivational deficits associated with neuropsychiatric disorders. We are currently working to define the role of extracellular epigenetic signaling mechanisms and brain circuitries involved in the development and maintenance of drug dependence. Of note, we have recently found that THC modulates the release of extracellular vesicles containing miRNAs from neural-derived cells. This line of research is currently being extended to examine the impact of cannabinoids, including THC and CBD, on extracellular signaling mechanisms both in the brain and periphery. We are also working to develop a vapor cannabinoid self-administration protocol to subsequently examine the impact of volitional drug intake on neural circuit function during prenatal, adolescence and adult developmental ages. Further information about our research can be found at the Fowler laboratory website.
Kim Green, PhD
Professor and Vice Chair of Neurobiology and Behavior
Since 2011, Dr. Green’s research has focused on microglia, the immune cell of the brain. His lab discovered that microglia in the adult brain are dependent upon signaling through the colony-stimulating factor 1 receptor (CSF1R) for their survival, and this dependency could be taken advantage of through the administration of specific CSF1R inhibitors leading to the rapid and sustained elimination of >95% of all microglia from the CNS. Through this method his lab is studying the roles that microglia play in normal brain function, as well as their effects on the brain during disease and injury.
Kalpna Gupta, PhD
Professor of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology
Dr Kalpna Gupta has led pioneering work in understanding the mechanisms of adverse effects of opioids on cancer pain leading to cancer progression, and laid down the foundation of understanding the mechanisms of pain in sickle cell disease (SCD). These insights will help us treat both pain and the underlying disease process causing pain in the first place. Her laboratory has identified several new targets at the intersection of the sickle disease process and pain, including cannabinoid receptors, mast cells, and the nociceptin receptor, in addition to integrative approaches including environment’s modification, acupuncture and perception modulation to relieve pain. Dr Gupta is also a recipient of the Excellence in Hemoglobinopathies Research Award from NHLBI to examine the potential of cannabinoids to treat pain and develop methods to quantify pain objectively. She has served as an advisor to the SCD program at NHLBI/NIH and received the “Pioneer Award” from the Sickle Cell Disease Association od America.
Kwang-Mook Jung
Associate Adjunct Professor
Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology
My research is focused on the endocannabinoid system in the brain. More specifically, I have been studying molecular mechanisms controlling the biosynthesis and inactivation of endocannabinoid 2-AG. Moving forward, my study aims to elucidate the mechanism by which early-life cannabinoid exposure affects brain 2-AG signaling and causes persistent cognitive impairment.
Virginia E. Kimonis, MD
Division of Genetics and Metabolism School of Medicine
The Kimonis Laboratory is a molecular genetics lab within the Division of Genetics & Genomic Medicine at UC Irvine School of Medicine Department of Pediatrics. Dr. Kimonis discovered an important inherited muscle disorder that occured in combination with Paget disease of the bone and early onset of frontotemporal dementia.
Jonathan R. T. Lakey
Professor, Director of Clinical Islet Program, Department of Surgery and Biomedical Engineering
My research in diabetes is focused on alternative source of pancreatic islets for transplant, including stem cells, and using plant chemicals to improve blood glucose response. I plan to study the impact of cannabis on differentiation of stem cells to beta cells, and to suppress autoimmune response in diabetes.
Ariana Nelson, MD
Associate Clinical Professor
Department of Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine
My research explores using cannabis as a supplement to improve patients’ function as they decrease their opioid use. The interaction between the endocannabinoid and opioidergic systems has been shown in animal models, and I am investigating the type of cannabis physicians should recommend to improve the health and activity level of their patients.
Cornelia Pechmann, MS, PhD, MBA
Professor of Marketing at The Paul Merage School of Business, University of California Irvine
Connie (Cornelia) conducts lab and field experiments to study controversial marketing messages including tobacco and drug messages and social media messages. She has received numerous grants to study adolescents’ response to tobacco-related advertising and product placements. Her recent work examines the use of social media for online self-help groups and she has received a $2.5M NIH grant to develop Tweet2Quit for smoking cessation. Prof. Pechmann is currently seeking a grant to study how state and local policies and health events such as COVID affect youth and adult marijuana use by product type, and also the extent of youth exposure to direct marketing websites that sell marijuana. Prof. Pechmann has published numerous articles in leading marketing journals (JCR, JCP, JMR, JM and JPPM) and public health journals (AJPH, TC) and her work has received extensive press coverage. She is past Editor of the Journal of Consumer Psychology (2012-2015), an Area Editor at Journal of Marketing, a Top 50 Marketing Scholar, and a Who’s Who in Economics. She received the 2009 Pollay Prize for Research in the Public Interest, the 2005 JCR best article award, the 2020 Academic Senate Special Award for Impact on Society and the 2020 AMA-EBSCO Annual Responsible Research in Marketing Award. Her research has been presented to the U.S. Congress, the California State Legislature and the National Association of Attorneys’ General. Prof. Pechmann has an M.S., MBA, and PhD from Vanderbilt University.
Daniele Piomelli, PhD
Director, UCI Center for the Study of Cannabis
Louise Turner Arnold Chair in the Neurosciences
Professor, Anatomy & Neurobiology, Biological Chemistry and Pharmacology
My research is focused on understanding how endocannabinoid substances and other lipid-derived signaling molecules affect the function of the brain and other organs. More specifically, in the last few decades, we have investigated the biochemical pathways involved in the formation and deactivation of the endocannabinoid neurotransmitters, anandamide and 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG), and has uncovered important physiological roles played by these molecules. We also studied another class of lipid messengers, the fatty-acid ethanolamides (FAEs) and ceramide, and identified the mechanism of action of these molecules. We have developed inhibitors of their degradation, whose potential therapeutic uses are currently under investigation. Moving forward, we plan to study the potential impacts of cannabinoids during lifespan, in particular regarding the persistent brain alteration caused by early-life exposure as well as its potential benefits for selected human disorders.
Aaron J. Przybysz, MD, PhD
Assistant Clinical Professor
Department of Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine
Dr. Aaron Przybysz (pronounced shi-bish) is a board-certified UCI anesthesiologist and pain management physician who specializes in interventional pain management. His clinical interests include spine pain, peripheral joint pain, neuropathic pain, cancer pain, and headache management.
He earned his medical degree from Michigan State University’s College of Human Medicine in East Lansing and a PhD from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., where he studied signaling pathways associated with the oxidative stress response. He completed a residency in anesthesiology and a fellowship in pain medicine at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
His research interests include the use of perioperative and intraoperative analgesic techniques to reduce post-operative pain, the effects steroid injections may have on diabetes management, as well as the role cannabinoids may play in treating acute and chronic pain.
Christopher Reist, MD
Christopher Reist, MD, is a board-certified psychiatrist and Professor in Residence at the University of California, Irvine. He serves as the Associate Chief of Staff for Research at the Long Beach VA Healthcare System where he oversees the facility’s research infrastructure supporting a broad portfolio of basic and clinical research. He has been at the forefront of clinical trials utilizing novel approaches for treating PTSD including augmentation of psychotherapy using virtual environments and cognitive enhancers and new somatic methods such as stellate ganglion blockade and trigeminal nerve stimulation. Dr. Reist will bring his expertise to develop a better understanding of the role of cannabis in alleviating suffering for civilians and Veterans with PTSD.
John A. Scolaro, MD, MA
Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery
Chief, Orthopaedic Trauma
School of Medicine
Dr. Scolaro is a board certified orthopaedic surgeon specializing in trauma and fracture care. A graduate of the University of Notre Dame, he earned his master’s and medical degrees at Boston University School of Medicine, followed by orthopaedic surgical residency at the University of Pennsylvania and fellowship at Harborview Medical Center – University of Washington. His research focuses on perioperative use of cannabinoids to mitigate pain related to skeletal fracture care. He is actively collaborating with Drs. Nelson and Yeung from the Department of Anesthesia & Perioperative Care as well as Dr. Piomelli and the UCI Center for the Study of Cannabis.
David Timberlake, PhD, MPH
Associate Professor of Public Health in UC Irvine’s College of Health Sciences
My work focuses on epidemiology, marketing, and policy issues in tobacco control, particularly in regards to the contentious debate over the use of tobacco products (e.g., snus, electronic cigarettes) for harm reduction. I have also maintained an ongoing interest in the epidemiology of the co-use of tobacco and cannabis, mainly in the form of blunt smoking. More recently, this interest has extended to the retail availability of tobacco products that are used with cannabis (e.g., cigarillos), as well as the promotion of non-tobacco alternatives (e.g., hemp wraps).
Marcelo A. Wood, PhD
Professor and Chair, Dept. of Neurobiology & Behavior, School of Biological Sciences
My research is focused on understanding the epigenetic mechanisms that regulate gene expression required for long-lasting changes in behavior as related to drug-seeking and drug-associated memory processes. Current collaborative studies involve examination of how cannabis affects epigenetic mechanisms to induce persistent changes in neuronal function and ultimately behavior.
Qin Yang, MD, PhD
Associate Professor of Medicine, Physiology and Biophysics, UC Irvine Diabetes Center
Center for Epigenetics and Metabolism, University of California, Irvine
My laboratory uses comprehensive approaches including molecular biology, animal physiology, metabolomics, epigenetics and proteomic analysis to investigate the mechanisms for insulin resistance and energy expenditure in obesity and type 2 diabetes. We will apply these approaches to study the impact of cannabis on metabolism under physiological and pathophysiological conditions.
Brent Yeung, MD
Assistant Professor Clinical X
Department of Anesthesiology & Perioperative Care
My research is focused on identifying biomarkers to measure and identify intoxication/ impairment in individuals using cannabis and to quantify its impact on driving. I also am investigating its impact on various pain states and its potential role as an analgesic and reducing opioid use.