Daniele Piomelli 
Distinguished Professor | UC Irvine
Irvine, CA, UNITED STATES
Daniele Piomelli's research is focused on the function of lipid-derived messengers, with particular emphasis on endogenous cannabinoids.
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Biography
Dr. Piomelli was trained in neuroscience and pharmacology. Research in his lab is focused on the function of lipid-derived messengers, with particular emphasis on the endogenous cannabinoids anandamide and 2-arachidonoylglycerol. Current research efforts converge on three areas: formation and deactivation of anandamide and 2-arachidonylglycerol; physiological roles of the endogenous cannabinoid system; development of therapeutic agents that target anandamide and 2-arachidonylglycerol metabolism.
Primary neural cell cultures and state-of-the-art analytical techniques such as liquid chromatography/mass-spectrometry are used to investigate formation and deactivation of anandamide and 2-arachidonoylglycerol in brain cells. Protein purification and cloning approaches are employed to characterize the molecular mechanisms underlying these processes. Cellular pharmacology and medicinal chemistry, in collaboration with leading international labs, are used to identify pharmacological agents that interfere with various aspects of endogenous cannabinoid function, and their therapeutic potential is explored in vitro and in vivo.
Areas of Expertise (5)
Anatomy & Neurobiology
Cellular Pharmacology
CBD
Marijuana
Neuropharmacology
Accomplishments (4)
The Ester Fride Award for Basic Research (professional)
2017 The International Association for Cannabinoid Medicines
The Mechoulam Award (professional)
2017 The International Cannabinoid Research Society
Avant-Garde Award for Innovative Medication Development Research (professional)
2010 National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
European Lipid Science Award (professional)
2012 European Federation of Lipid Science
Education (1)
Columbia University: PhD, Pharmacology 1988
Affiliations (7)
- American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) : Member
- American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP) : Member
- American Physiological Society (APS) : Member
- American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biolology (ASBMB) : Member
- American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET) : Member
- International Cannabinoid Research Society (ICRS) : Member
- Society of Biological Psychiatry (SBP) : Member
Links (5)
Media Appearances (25)
Health Benefits Of Cannabis, According To Experts
Forbes online
2023-09-07
THC is the compound that gives cannabis its reputation as an intoxicatingly psychoactive drug because of the feelings of euphoria, decreased anxiety, and increased relaxation it elicits. THC and other cannabinoids found in cannabis plants can have psychoactive effects on the human body due to how they interact with the endocannabinoid system, which regulates pain, appetite and the response to stress, says Daniele Piomelli, Ph.D., director of the Center for the Study of Cannabis [and professor of anatomy & neurobiology] at the University of California, Irvine.
The U.S. has a chance to regulate delta-8 THC. Will it?
NBC News online
2023-09-05
Safety concerns aren’t related to delta-8 THC itself — which weakly activates the same receptors in the body as delta-9 THC — but rather the other substances, such as chemicals or heavy metals, that unregulated delta-8 THC products may contain. There is also no federal age requirement to buy them. “That is the highest-priority problem in my mind,” said Daniele Piomelli, the director of the University of California, Irvine Center for the Study of Cannabis. “It’s paradoxical that legislation that is meant to protect public health ultimately has created these loopholes that now jeopardize public health.”
FDA widens door to research on psychedelics like ketamine, LSD for treatment of PTSD, depression
Daily Pilot online
2023-07-08
“We have anti-depressants that work in 30% of the patients with major depression fairly well,” Daniele Piomelli [professor of anatomy & neurobiology], neuroscientist and director of UC Irvine’s Center for the Study of Cannabis said during an interview Thursday. “They work OK in another 30% of the patients, and don’t work at all in the last third of the patients. With conditions like depression, we’re talking about millions of people in the United States.” Anti-depressants are even less effective at helping people handle PTSD, but are practically the only form of medication prescribed for its treatment, Piomelli said.
CBD Water: What It Is, Its Benefits And Where To Buy It
Forbes Health online
2023-06-27
CBD water is exactly what it sounds like: water with a small amount of CBD added to it, according to Daniele Piomelli, Ph.D., the director of the Institute for the Study of Cannabis at the University of California, Irvine and an anatomy and neurobiology professor at the university’s medical school. … Clinical research on CBD water specifically is incredibly limited, says Dr. Piomelli, which makes it difficult for consumers to determine the exact benefits and risks of consuming it. … “Since CBD water typically contains so little CBD (about 10 milligrams), CBD water is unlikely to have any benefit,” he says.
Eat, Vape, or Flame, Which Medical Cannabis Method is Right for You?
Cannabis & Tech Today online
2023-06-23
Professor Daniele Piomelli, the director of and a researcher with California-based UCI Center for the Study of Cannabis, says the impacts of medical marijuana on a patient “depends on the individual and what they are using the cannabis for.” There are three primary cannabis modalities: smoking, vaping, and all manner of edibles. They differ not only in the method of ingestion but also, “the THC is different in each product,” Piomelli noted. … No matter a patient’s age, medical conditions, and other considerations, the safe use of medical cannabis is of paramount importance. “We are talking about a strong drug, and it must be treated with respect,” Piomelli warned.
Frequent marijuana users tend to be leaner and less likely to develop diabetes. But the pseudo-health benefits come at a price, experts say
Fortune online
2023-06-03
The stereotypical cannabis connoisseur perpetually has the munchies but is, paradoxically, perplexingly thin. Now researchers at the University of California, Irvine, think they know why—and no, pot consumption isn’t the secret to a svelte figure. … “All too often we think of cannabis only as a psychoactive drug,” said Daniele Piomelli—one of the study’s authors, director for the university’s Center for the Study of Cannabis, and professor in its School of Medicine Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology …. “But its effects extend well beyond the brain.”
Despite getting ‘the munchies,’ marijuana users are skinnier — but that’s not a good thing
Study Finds online
2023-06-02
“All too often we think of cannabis only as a psychoactive drug,” says [Professor] Daniele Piomelli, PhD, director for the UCI Center for the Study of Cannabis, the Louise Turner Arnold Chair in the Nuerosciences, and professor in the UCI School of Medicine Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology. “But, its effects extend well beyond the brain. Its main constituent, THC, mimics a group of chemical messengers called endocannabinoids, which regulate important functions throughout the body.”
New research may explain why, despite 'the munchies,' frequent cannabis users are leaner than non-users
Medical Xpress online
2023-06-01
Despite getting "the munchies," people who frequently use cannabis are leaner and less prone to diabetes than those who don't. University of California, Irvine researchers have now uncovered a possible explanation for this paradox—and it's not good news. The findings are reported in a new study titled, "Adolescent exposure to low-dose THC disrupts energy balance and adipose organ homeostasis in adulthood," published today in Cell Metabolism. … "All too often we think of cannabis only as a psychoactive drug," said Daniele Piomelli, Ph.D., director for the UCI Center for the Study of Cannabis, the Louise Turner Arnold Chair in the Neurosciences, and professor in the UCI School of Medicine Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, "But, its effects extend well beyond the brain.”
What is THC-O? Similar to Delta-8, it's making waves in the cannabis market
USA Today online
2023-06-02
Calling THC acetate a cannabis product is a bit of a misnomer, though, said Daniele Piomelli, a professor of anatomy and neurobiology and the director of the Center for the Study of Cannabis at the University of California, Irvine. … Regular THC can be found naturally in the cannabis plant, while THC-O is synthetically produced. “Ingenuity never stops so they came up with this idea of adding an acetate to the chemical functionalities of the THC molecule,” Piomelli said.
Cannabis relieves pain, improves sleep, and lifts brain fog in cancer patients
Medical News Today online
2023-05-05
“This small study supports what oncologists have known for a long time: many cancer patients (half of them, according to some surveys) use cannabis to cope with nausea, pain, and sleeplessness caused by cancer drugs,” said [Professor] Daniele Piomelli, PhD, the director of the UCI Center for the Study of Cannabis. “Fortunately, the National Cancer Institute (part of the National Institutes of Health) is well aware of this and much needed larger studies are now looming,” he told Medical News Today.
Cannabis relieves pain, improves sleep, and lifts brain fog in cancer patients
Medical News Today online
2023-05-05
“This small study supports what oncologists have known for a long time: many cancer patients (half of them, according to some surveys) use cannabis to cope with nausea, pain, and sleeplessness caused by cancer drugs,” said Daniele Piomelli, PhD, the director of the UCI Center for the Study of Cannabis. “Fortunately, the National Cancer Institute (part of the National Institutes of Health) is well aware of this and much needed larger studies are now looming,” he told Medical News Today.
Is delta-8 THC legal? Here's where (and why) the hemp product skirts marijuana laws.
USA Today online
2023-04-29
With sales exploding across the country, legislators and medical professionals have begun to sound the alarm on not only the unchecked accessibility but also the unregulated production process. “What I am paranoid about is legalizing and using legally stuff that we don’t know anything about. And we know very little about delta-8,” said Daniele Piomelli, the director of the Center for the Study of Cannabis at the University of California, Irvine. As a state-by-state regulations begin to take shape, Piomelli worries that the right voices are not being heard. Most lawyers have no idea about the chemistry, he said.
Battle over delta-8 is heating up nationally. Here's what to know about the 'diet weed.'
USA Today online
2023-04-15
Delta-8 products – like smokable flower, tinctures, joints, vapes, gummies and other treats – may also contain trace amounts of delta-9 and delta-10. The dearth of research is also something to consider, said Daniele Piomelli, a professor of anatomy and neurobiology and the director of the Center for the Study of Cannabis at the University of California, Irvine. He cautioned against using a product so unknown to scientists and physicians. Piomelli said the lack of knowledge is partly due to the fact that the compound occurs only in small amounts in the plant itself. Though it is similar to delta-9 and produces some of the same effects, it is has a different structure. … The bottom line is that a lack of regulation means you don't always know what you're getting, increasing the safety risks.
New Study Shows Adolescent Cannabis Use May Create Reproductive Complications in Women
CULTURE online
2023-03-27
A new study from the University of California, Irvine found exposure to THC at a young age could lead to a reduction of ovarian follicles and matured eggs by almost 50 percent in adulthood. … “Given that more and more teenagers and young adults are using cannabis, especially with easier access to the substance, this study’s findings are especially important,” said senior and corresponding author Dr. Ulrike Luderer, professor of environmental and occupational health at the UCI Program in Public Health. … “Our findings provide unexpected new insights into the long-term impact of THC on reproductive function and aging,” said co-author Daniele Piomelli, Ph.D., distinguished professor of anatomy and neurobiology at the UCI School of Medicine and director of the UCI Center for the Study of Cannabis.
CBD Compounds May Help Reverse Opioid Overdoses
Healthline online
2023-03-28
Dr. Daniele Piomelli, director of the University of California, Irvine’s Center for the Study of Cannabis and a distinguished professor of anatomy and neurobiology at UC Irvine’s School of Medicine, said that it may not be “realistic to think of CBD as an alternative to naloxone.” However, he told Healthline, “It may possibly work as an adjunct therapy if the data are convincing,” adding: “We need to explore every possible path to better anti-opiate therapies.”
Health Benefits Of Cannabis
Forbes online
2023-02-27
THC is the compound that gives cannabis its reputation as an intoxicating, psychoactive drug, because of the feelings of euphoria, decreased anxiety, and increased relaxation it elicits. THC and other cannabinoids found in cannabis plants can have psychoactive effects on the human body due to how they interact with the endocannabinoid system, which regulates pain, appetite and the response to stress, says Daniele Piomelli, Ph.D., director of the Center for the Study of Cannabis at the University of California, Irvine.
CBD Doesn’t Mitigate Negative Effects of THC in Cannabis, Study Finds
Healthline online
2023-02-10
So why is it thought that CBD might aid in decreasing some of THC’s effects? “The possibility that CBD might counter the intoxicating effects of THC was suggested many years ago,” said Daniele Piomelli, PhD, Director of the UCI Center for the Study of Cannabis in Irvine, CA. It arose “as a possible explanation for the different effects of cannabis preparations that contain different ratios of the two chemicals,” he told Healthline.
CBD Sales Projected to Hit $11 Billion by 2027: Is It Safe, Effective?
Healthline online
2022-07-21
Daniele Piomelli, Ph.D., the director of the Center for the Study of Cannabis at the University of California Irvine, agreed. “Most claims, unfortunately, are driven by marketing rather than data,” he told Healthline. “Some are even funny, like claiming that CBD-infused pillows give you a good night of sleep or that a CBD latte relieves stress.”
What Is Delta-8?
U.S. News & World Report online
2022-05-26
Delta-8 has similar effects to marijuana but is less potent, says Daniele Piomeli, the director of the Center for the Study of Cannabis at the University of California Irvine and director of the National Institutes of Health-funded Center of Excellence to study the impact of cannabinoids in adolescence.
CBD for schizophrenia
Project CBD online
2022-03-16
CBD appears to provide antipsychotic relief by raising the levels of anandamide, an endogenous cannabinoid compound that acts on the same brain receptors as THC. Curiously, in an earlier study, Daniele Piomelli, director of the Center for the Study of Cannabis at the University of California in Irvine, discovered that people with schizophrenia had anandamide levels that were on average twice as high as mentally healthy people without the disorder. Some scientists speculated that perhaps people with schizophrenia were essentially too high on elevated levels of their own endocannabinoids! But in reality, it seems that the brain actually increases anandamide levels to buffer stress and ease the symptoms of psychosis. The preponderance of evidence suggests that the higher the anandamide levels are in people with schizophrenia, the less severe their symptoms.
What Is Delta-8?
U.S. News & World Report online
2022-02-08
Delta-8 has similar effects to marijuana but is less potent, says Daniele Piomeli, the director of the Center for the Study of Cannabis at the University of California Irvine and director of the National Institutes of Health-funded Center of Excellence to study the impact of cannabinoids in adolescence.
Let’s Break Down the New Cannabis and COVID-19 Research
Well + Good online
2022-01-26
A 2022 study published in the Journal of Natural Products suggests that two chemical components of Cannabis sativa (known as hemp) can block entry of the SARS-Cov2 virus into human cells, says Daniele Piomelli, PhD, director for the Center for the Study of Cannabis at University of California Irvine. Dr. Piomelli points out that the results are encouraging, but the study was done using cell cultures rather than live humans or even animals, "which is a limitation," he says. So can we count on cannabis as a COVID-19 cure or treatment at the moment? The study authors and Dr. Piomelli say no.
Read This Before You Get Excited About Weed Preventing COVID
U.S. News & World Report online
2022-02-07
“THC and CBD have very, very broadly different effects,” Daniele Piomelli, the director of the University of California Irvine Center of Cannabis, said. If you lump THC and CBD together, people might get the wrong idea that smoking pot or taking edibles might protect them from COVID.
The Cannabis Question
PBS NOVA tv
2021-09-29
NOVA investigates the story of cannabis from the criminalization that has disproportionately harmed communities of color to the latest medical understanding of the plant. What risks does cannabis pose to the developing brain? How much do we know about its potential medical benefits? As cannabis becomes socially accepted, scientists are exploring its long-term health consequences.
Using Cannabis Can Help You Lose Weight – But It Comes With Steep Consequences
SciTechDaily online
2023-06-30
“All too often we think of cannabis only as a psychoactive drug,” said Daniele Piomelli, PhD, director for the UCI Center for the Study of Cannabis, the Louise Turner Arnold Chair in the Neurosciences, and professor in the UCI School of Medicine Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, “But, its effects extend well beyond the brain. Its main constituent, THC, mimics a group of chemical messengers called endocannabinoids, which regulate important functions throughout the body. Our results show that interfering with endocannabinoid signaling during adolescence disrupts adipose organ function in a permanent way, with potentially far-reaching consequences on physical and mental health.”
Articles (6)
Cannabinoid CB 2 Receptors Mediate the Anxiolytic-Like Effects of Monoacylglycerol Lipase Inhibition in a Rat Model of Predator-Induced Fear
Neuropsychopharmacology2020 The endocannabinoid system is a key regulator of the response to psychological stress. Inhibitors of monoacylglycerol lipase (MGL), the enzyme that deactivates the endocannabinoid 2-arachidonoyl-sn-glycerol (2-AG), exert anxiolytic-like effects in rodent models via 2-AG-dependent activation of CB1 cannabinoid receptors.
Comparative Pharmacokinetics of Δ 9-Tetrahydrocannabinol in Adolescent and Adult Male Mice
J Pharmacol Exp Ther.2020 We investigated the pharmacokinetic properties of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC), the main psychoactive constituent of cannabis, in adolescent and adult male mice. The drug was administered at logarithmically ascending doses (0.5, 1.6, and 5 mg/kg, i.p.) to pubertal adolescent (37-day-old) and adult (70-day-old) mice.
N-Acylethanolamine Acid Amidase (NAAA): Structure, Function, and Inhibition
J Med Chem2020 N-Acylethanolamine acid amidase (NAAA) is an N-terminal cysteine hydrolase primarily found in the endosomal-lysosomal compartment of innate and adaptive immune cells. NAAA catalyzes the hydrolytic deactivation of palmitoylethanolamide (PEA), a lipid-derived peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-α (PPAR-α) agonist that exerts profound anti-inflammatory effects in animal models.
Inhibition of Fatty Acid Amide Hydrolase in the CNS Prevents and Reverses Morphine Tolerance in Male and Female Mice
Br J Pharmacol2020 Fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) is an intracellular serine amidase that terminates the signalling of various lipid messengers involved in pain regulation, including anandamide and palmitoylethanolamide. Here, we investigated the effects of pharmacological or genetic FAAH removal on tolerance to the anti-nociceptive effects of morphine.
Benzisothiazolinone Derivatives as Potent Allosteric Monoacylglycerol Lipase Inhibitors That Functionally Mimic Sulfenylation of Regulatory Cysteines
J Med Chem2020 We describe a set of benzisothiazolinone (BTZ) derivatives that are potent inhibitors of monoacylglycerol lipase (MGL), the primary degrading enzyme for the endocannabinoid 2-arachidonoyl-sn-glycerol (2-AG). Structure-activity relationship studies evaluated various substitutions on the nitrogen atom and the benzene ring of the BTZ nucleus. Optimized derivatives with nanomolar potency allowed us to investigate the mechanism of MGL inhibition.
