A new division within the Wayne State University School of Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences will focus on research and discoveries that inform evidence-based treatments related to cannabis and cannabinoids.
The Cannabinoids in Neurodevelopment, or CANDID, division, will advance understanding of cannabis, cannabinoids and the human endocannabinoid system through rigorous research focused on their effects on human brain development and mental health.
The more immediate goals of CANDID, directed by Hilary Marusak, Ph.D., associate professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, include developing a collaborative research network that will unite multidisciplinary researchers and students across the WSU campus to strengthen research capacity on cannabis, cannabinoids and their roles in neurodevelopment and health.
“We aim to advance understanding of cannabis, cannabinoids and the endocannabinoid system through rigorous research focused on their effects on human brain development and mental health,” Dr. Marusak said. “Public perception has far outpaced the science. We need to do a better job of educating both the general public and health care providers about the potential benefits and risks of cannabis, particularly for vulnerable populations. Evidence-based research is essential to ensuring that people make informed decisions that protect not only their own health but also the well-being of their children and loved ones.”
The division will foster new collaborations; establish partnerships that will lead to new research initiatives, training programs and opportunities for center or program grants; host seminars and guest speakers; organize internal seminars and external experts to present topics on cannabis, cannabinoids and research development; launch collaborative pilot projects; and initiate pilot studies to serve as foundations for securing larger National Institutes of Health grants.
“This is a rapidly emerging area with the potential for exciting and innovative new therapeutic discoveries with research into safety and neurodevelopmental risk equally important,” said David Rosenberg, M.D., chair of the WSU Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences.
At the heart of most research involving cannabis is the human endocannabinoid system, which plays a critical role in many essential physiological functions, including sleep, appetite, inflammation, and stress and anxiety regulation. The system interacts with constituents of cannabis, like THC.
“Although the endocannabinoid system has existed as long as the nervous system itself, it was only discovered in the 1970s, so there is still so much to learn,” Dr. Marusak said. “Our research has shown that this system undergoes dynamic changes during adolescence, playing a crucial role in fine-tuning neural networks and regulating anxiety. This is particularly important because many psychiatric disorders, especially anxiety, emerge early in life. We are investigating how the endocannabinoid system contributes to psychiatric risk and whether it could serve as a target for preventing or treating conditions like anxiety, PTSD, and, more recently, suicidal thoughts in youth.
“We are exploring various interventions that influence the endocannabinoid system, including exercise and meditation, as well as other approaches such as sleep modulation, fasting and hypo- or hyperbaric oxygen therapy,” she added, as well as pharmacological interventions that target the endocannabinoid system directly or indirectly, such as cannabidiol for pediatric epilepsy and anxiety, in collaboration with Aimee Luat, M.D., a clinical associate professor of Neurology at Wayne State University and pediatric neurologist and epileptologist at Children’s Hospital of Michigan; and antidepressants, in collaboration with Jeffrey Strawn, M.D., professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience and director of the Anxiety Disorders Research Program at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.
CANDID’s research aligns with work of the Wayne State Warriors Marijuana Clinical Research Program, led by Leslie Lundahl, Ph.D., professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences; David Ledgerwood, Ph.D., professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences; Christine Rabinak, Ph.D., professor of Pharmacy Practice at the WSU Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences; Eric Woodcock, Ph.D., assistant professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences; and Dr. Marusak, which is investigating cannabis as a treatment for PTSD in military veterans.
The team also is examining whether combination therapies, such as exercise, can enhance endocannabinoid signaling and augment the effects of fear extinction—the foundation of cognitive behavioral therapy for treating anxiety in youth. They also are collaborating with Jeanne Barcelona, Ph.D., associate professor of Community Health for WSU, and her team to implement exercise and meditation-based interventions in schools to improve academic and mental health outcomes.
While Dr. Marusak and colleagues are investigating the potential therapeutic applications of cannabis, she stressed that it also is critical to research risks, particularly in vulnerable populations like pregnant women and adolescents.
“In some of our studies, we have found that up to 30% of pregnant individuals in the Detroit area report using cannabis during pregnancy,” she said. “Our research suggests that prenatal cannabis exposure may have long-term effects on brain development and child behavior, including attentional problems and both internalizing and externalizing symptoms—effects that can persist for a decade or more.”
A new line of research being developed in collaboration with WSU Chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology David Bryant, M.D., and Lisa Blair, Ph.D., R.N., assistant professor of WSU Nursing, focuses on the role of the endocannabinoid system in maternal mental health and neonatal outcomes, and the impact of prenatal cannabis use on those outcomes. Dr. Marusak also is launching a new pilot study to examine whether the endocannabinoid system can serve as a biomarker for PTSD risk in children and their parents/guardians following pediatric intensive care unit admissions in partnership with Tehmina Shakir, M.D., assistant clinical professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, and Ramesh Sachdeva, M.D., chief of the Division of Pediatric Critical Care at Children’s Hospital of Michigan.
The division’s first seminar, “Endocannabinoid Regulation of Fear and Anxiety,” featuring Cecilia Hillard, Ph.D., the G. Frederick Kasten Jr. Chair in Parkinson’s Disease Research, professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology, director of the Neuroscience Research Center and associate dean for Research at the Medical College of Wisconsin, is scheduled to take place at 11:30 a.m. Feb. 26 in the Margherio Family Conference Center at Scott Hall. RSVP for the seminar here.
For more information on CANDID, sign up for its newsletter here. The division also posts to Bluesky and Instagram using @wsucandid.