Daniele Piomelli

Distinguished Professor UC Irvine

  • Irvine CA

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

Anatomy & Neurobiology
Cellular Pharmacology
CBD
Marijuana
Neuropharmacology

Accomplishments

The Ester Fride Award for Basic Research

2017

The International Association for Cannabinoid Medicines

The Mechoulam Award

2017

The International Cannabinoid Research Society

Avant-Garde Award for Innovative Medication Development Research

2010

National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

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Education

Columbia University

PhD

Pharmacology

1988

Affiliations

  • 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
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Media Appearances

Up in smoke

Deseret News  online

2025-03-02

The endocannabinoid system relies on subtle nudges to modulate stress, appetite, hormones, memory, emotions, sleep, body temperature, pain and the immune system. That sweeping portfolio may in time uncover previously unimaginable treatments for difficult conditions, says UC Irvine’s Daniele Piomelli, who since the early 1990s has been a key player in endocannabinoid system research. Piomelli is a neuroscientist who argues that the brain cannot be considered separately from the body. “The endocannabinoid system works in all these tissues and all these organs,” Piomelli said.

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Best CBD Oil For Anxiety And Stress Relief In 2024

Forbes  online

2024-06-25

“There is limited clinical evidence for the use of CBD as a treatment for anxiety,” says Daniele Piomelli, Ph.D., director of the Center for the Study of Cannabis at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) and a distinguished professor at the UCI Anatomy and Neurobiology School of Medicine. … Additional clinical trials are necessary to better understand CBD’s effect on anxiety and stress.

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Best CBD Gummies Of April 2024

Forbes  online

2024-04-02

Once absorbed, CBD interacts with cannabinoid receptors that are part of the endocannabinoid system. “Endocannabinoids are chemical messengers that play a variety of roles in the body,” explains 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. “They work by binding to receptors present on the surface of neurons and many other cells. When bound to endocannabinoids, these receptors regulate appetite, pain, memory, the response to stress and the ability to store fat (among other things).”

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Articles

Cannabinoid CB 2 Receptors Mediate the Anxiolytic-Like Effects of Monoacylglycerol Lipase Inhibition in a Rat Model of Predator-Induced Fear

Neuropsychopharmacology

2020

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.

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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.

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N-Acylethanolamine Acid Amidase (NAAA): Structure, Function, and Inhibition

J Med Chem

2020

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.

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