2018 Speakers

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Dr. Howlett is a biochemical neuropharmacologist, whose expertise is on cannabinoid receptor signal transduction. She is noted for her discovery of the CB1 receptor for cannabinoid agonists, development of the radioligand binding assay for the cannabinoid receptors that led to their identification, and development of antibodies that have been made available to researchers world-wide. Dr. Howlett has worked with academic and private sector chemists in characterization of the structure-activity relationships of cannabinoid receptor agonists and her investigation of ligand-biased G protein activation has received editorial commentary. The Howlett laboratory investigates signaling via cyclic AMP, inositol triphosphate, Ca2+, NO, cGMP, and kinases using rodent brain and cultured cell models, biochemical and histochemical methods, pharmacological probes, and stable over-expression and knock-down of proteins. Recent studies are directed at our understanding of protein interactions that modulate the CB1 receptor by allosteric interaction, particularly targeting G protein isoforms, β-arrestins and CRIP1a (cannabinoid receptor interacting protein 1a). Dr. Howlett’s lab has developed antibodies that select for various sites on the protein that can identify functional domains, and over-expression and siRNA knock-down strategies for elucidated the regulatory mechanisms. As a result, we now know that CRIP1a alters CB1 preference for Gi/o subtypes, promoting the association with Gi1 and Gi2, but reducing the association with Gi3 and Go. In addition, CRIP1a and β-arrestin compete for binding to sites involved in internalization evoked by cannabinoid agonists as well as cellular signaling pathways. Students working on this project will move the field forward in our understanding of cannabinoid receptor regulation of neuronal properties, which is particularly important as this selectivity is critical to emerging new cannabinoid medicines. 1.

Clinical researcher and award-winning patient advocate with more than 20 years of experience.  For eleven years she worked as a senior researcher at Johns Hopkins University.  She was a member of the FDA expert panel that recommended the approval of Epidiolex.  Danielle has authored dozens of peer-reviewed journal articles, a children’s book, and a popular blog.  She has also developed an app that provides resources to families of children with special needs.  Danielle holds a Master’s in Public Health with a concentration in epidemiology and is close to completion of her Doctorate in Public Administration.

Dr. Koren is co-founder and CEO of SciCann Therapeutics Inc., a Canadian-Israeli speciality pharmaceutical firm dedicated to the development of cutting edge therapies and technologies in the pharmaceutical cannabinoid space. Prior to that, Dr. Koren served as VP BD of Mor Research Applications, the technology transfer office of Clalit Healthcare Services, Israel’s largest medical insurer and healthcare provider. He also served as VP BD of Talent Biotechs, a pharmaceutical company which developed CBD based therapies for GVHD (Graft Vs Host Disease), until its acquisition by Kalytera Inc. in 2017. Previously, Dr. Koren served as Co-founder, CEO and CFO of Cannabics Pharmaceuticals Inc. (OTCQB:CNBX), a developer of cannabis based therapies for oncology targets, and prior to that as Director of Business Development at Aposense Ltd (TASE:APOS), a developer of novel pharmaceutical products in the oncology, CNS and metabolic disease fields. Dr. Koren holds a Ph.D. and M.Sc. in Protein science and computational biology from the University of Haifa, and a B.Sc. in Mathematics, Physics and Biology from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Dr. Koren is a veteran of the prestigious “Talpiyot” program of the Israeli Defence Forces, an elite unit designed to qualify the top technology officers of the IDF.

Mr. Margolis has been an executive officer and BOD member of RespireRx since March 2013. Mr. Margolis has also served as President of Aurora Capital LLC, a boutique investment bank and securities firm specializing in the life science sector, since he founded its predecessor company, Aurora Capital Corp. in 1994.

• CEO Nemus Bioscience
• Chief Medical Officer, Eiger Biopharmaceuticals
• Chief Medical Officer, Valeant Pharmaceuticals
• VP Sales and Marketing, InterMune

Dr. Andrea Small-Howard leverages broad biopharmaceutical industry knowledge and contacts in her current dual roles as the Chief Science Officer and member of the Board of Directors at GB Sciences, Inc. Dr. Small-Howard has more than 15 years’ experience studying cannabinoids and the endocannabinoid system, immunology and cancer treatments; as well as executive experience in the biopharmaceutical industry where she supervised research and development, manufacturing and quality control divisions. She took the lead in obtaining regulatory approvals from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("US FDA") and multiple international regulatory agencies, and has assisted state jurisdictions in developing medical cannabis regulations. She brings to GB Sciences a passion for advancing clinical research on medicinal applications of cannabinoid compounds in cannabis plants, clinical experience in conducting cannabinoid research, strategic vision for creating a vertically integrated biopharmaceutical pipeline, and a track record of successes in the management of biopharmaceutical companies. Dr. Small-Howard originally received her AB from Occidental College (Magna Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa), in addition to receiving both an MBA (Beta Gamma Sigma) and a PhD (USC All-University Merit Fellow) in biological sciences from the University of Southern California. As a post-doctoral fellow at the Queens Medical Center in Honolulu, Hawaii, Dr. Small-Howard led a project group dedicated to the study of cannabinoids in the immune system and published peer-reviewed papers on the subject. At the John A. Bums School of Medicine – University of Hawaii, she led a productive research team as a Research Assistant Professor. Dr. Small-Howard has held management positions at AMDL, Inc. (a small public biotech company), where she took the lead in every stage of product development from discovery through commercialization. As Vice President of Scientific Oversight at Radient Pharmaceuticals Corp. (RPC), she provided strategic technical and regulatory oversight for global product development in multiple international business divisions. At RPC, she also played an active role in creating collaboration agreements with development partners and research institutions, and she contributed to critical licensing and distribution agreements. For a four year term, she served on the Board of Directors for the Center for Healthcare Innovation, a nonprofit, non-partisan, and independent organization based in Chicago that is committed to serving as a catalyst for stimulating ideas, people, companies, and institutions to collaborate and achieve excellence in healthcare innovation.

Dr. Adi Zuloff-Shani has served as Chief Technologies Officer at Therapix since February 2016, bringing with her more than 18 years of experience as an R&D executive. From 2012 until 2016, Dr. Zuloff–Shani served as a Vice President of Development at Macrocure Ltd. (NASDAQ: “MCUR”) where, aside from leading all research and development activities, she interacted, and was involved, with the activities of all departments including clinical, operations, quality assurance, quality control, finance, and regulatory affairs. Prior to that, Dr. Zuloff-Shani spent eight years as the Senior Scientist in the Research & Development Unit of Magen David Adom’s National Blood Services. Dr. Zuloff-Shani holds a Ph.D. in human biology and immunology from Bar-Ilan University, Israel.