Augusta University is Georgia's health sciences university and a national center for cyber security education. Home to the state’s only public academic medical center, Augusta’s world-class clinicians are bringing the medicine of tomorrow to patient care today. The university is comprised of nine colleges, including one of the nation's oldest medical schools, the Medical College of Georgia; the Hull College of Business; and the state's only dental school, the Dental College of Georgia.

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Regents’ Entrepreneur, Board of Regents, University System of GA

Distinguished Research Award, The Graduate School, Augusta University

Honorary Membership, Omicron Kappa Upsilon (OKU), Honor Dental Society

Membership, Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society

Featured Podium Presenter Award, Janssen Immunology Symposium, Johnson & Johnson Innovation

American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)

American Association for Advanced Sciences (AAAS)

American Association of Immunology (AAI)

American Association for Bioanalysis (AAB)

American Diabetes Association (ADA)

American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

American Dental Association (ADA)

American Heart Association (AHA)

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International Association for Dental Research (IADR)

European Predictive, Preventive and Personalized Medicine Association (EPMA)

International Cannabinoid Research Society (ICRS)

Association for Cancer Immunotherapy (CIMT)

The International Association For The Study Of Lung Cancer (IASLC)

Reprofiling synthetic glucocorticoid-induced leucine zipper fusion peptide as a novel and effective hair growth promoter

Altering biomolecular condensates as a potential mechanism that mediates cannabidiol effect on glioblastoma

Inhibiting MicroRNA-141-3p Improves Musculoskeletal Health in Aged Mice

Recombinant human DNase-I improves acute respiratory distress syndrome via neutrophil extracellular trap degradation

Inflammaging, cellular senescence, and cognitive aging after traumatic brain injury

Babak Baban, PhD, is a professor, immunologist and associate dean for research at the Dental College of Georgia at Augusta University where he has served for 13 of his 20 years as a translational and clinical immunologist.

Baban founded Medicinal Cannabis of Georgia, LLC with AU’s Bio-business Incubator, resulting in great strides in pre-clinical research. Through very productive collaborations with AU and DCG, they have published discoveries that brought promise for novel and potential treatments.

He has published 134 peer-reviewed articles, has four patents issued and several pending, and was named a Regents’ Entrepreneurs by the University System of Georgia Board of Regents in 2023.

He earned his Ph.D. degree from University of London in UK.

Cannabidiol (CBD)

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CANABIX, a Beverage with Combined CBD and Probiotics, Kindles the Fight Against Diabetes Type 2

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Marijuana ingredient could be therapy for a deadly brain tumor, Augusta University finds

Can Cannabis Help Treat Cancer? Researchers Are Getting Closer To An Answer

Inhalant CBD offers hope in fight against lung cancer, Augusta University study finds

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Augusta University's Babak Baban, PhD, was recently featured in "Medical News Today"

Associate Dean for Research, Dental College of Georgia

  In a recent Medical News Today article, Corrie Pelc reported on a study led by Babak Baban, PhD, in which inhaled CBD (cannabidiol) was tested in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease to examine its effects on neuroinflammation. Baban, associate dean for Research with AU's Dental College of Georgia and a professor with appointments in neurology and surgery in the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, explained that previous work from his group showed inhaled CBD to be more effective than oral or injected forms for certain neurological conditions, motivating them to explore its potential in Alzheimer’s research. He emphasized that Alzheimer’s is driven by multiple interacting biological processes – not just amyloid plaques – and sees inflammation as a promising new therapeutic target.

In the study, inhaled CBD  lowered activity in two major immune “alarm” pathways – IDO (indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase) and cGAS-STING – both implicated in chronic inflammation. By dampening these pathways, CBD reduced levels of inflammatory cytokines and helped restore a more balanced immune environment in the brain.

Baban framed this as a shift from symptom treatment to addressing underlying immune dysfunction, and noted that the findings could reorient how Alzheimer’s is approached. At the same time, he stressed that human trials are still needed: his team is preparing translational studies and holds an active Investigational New Drug (IND) application with the FDA for inhaled CBD in neuroinflammatory conditions, with Alzheimer’s disease as a natural next step.

Read the full article here:   Babak Baban, PhD, is a professor, immunologist and associate dean for research at the Dental College of Georgia at Augusta University where he has served for 13 of his 20 years as a translational and clinical immunologist. View his profile here Looking to know more about this important research or to connect with Babak Baban, PhD? He's available to speak with media – simply click on his icon to arrange an interview today.



Experts in the Media: CBD may help treat and reduce inflammation in Alzheimer's disease

expert-research-can-cbd-effectively-impede-growth-of-heterotopic-lung-cancer

Lung cancer is the most chronic form of cancer and the leading cause of cancer mortality in the world, according to studies by the American Lung Association. Despite recent advances in medical oncology, metastatic lung cancer remains incurable; however, a new discovery by Augusta University researchers has brought new hope to tackling the illness.

  
 
That discovery, which stems from a joint preclinic study conducted by scientists from the Dental College of Georgia and the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University and Medicinal Cannabis of Georgia, LLC, was published in the May 2023 issue of Human Cell.

 The study was led by Babak Baban, PhD, associate dean of research, immunologist and professor at DCG and one of the founders of Medicinal Cannabis of Georgia, an Augusta-based biomedical research and developmental company.

  
 
The study revealed for the first time that inhalant cannabidiol, commonly referred to as CBD, can effectively impede growth of heterotopic lung cancer.  
 

“The central core of our research has been studying inflammatory diseases and for that we picked two different directions: one is centered around chronic inflammation in our system and the other is neurologic diseases such as dementia. Because of their impressive anti-inflammation effects, CBD, CBC and other cannabinoids have attracted our attention,” Baban said.     “We have had some exciting findings before, and based on those, we built a new model of lung cancer. This is the first time the effect of the CBD has been assessed in inhalant format using an inhaler. This makes it more translatable into humans and more accurate,” he said.     “Obviously, we are just as excited about our discoveries on mechanisms by which CBD worked. They help advance our understanding of the pathophysiology of lung cancer. We have seen some effects on plasticity and cancer stem cells, which appear to be crucial for tumors to regenerate and renew themselves.”   Unlike most anti-angiogenesis drugs, inhalant CBD at the experimental dosage did not show any detectable side effects or toxicity. The findings support the notion that inhalant CBD has enough beneficial effects as a viable complementary modality to be included in combination with current standard treatments for lung cancer.

 Additionally, inhalant CBD delivered using a precisely metered dose is non-invasive, and has high translational value, warranting further research through clinical trials for lung cancer and possibly some other malignancies.

  
 
“The cannabis plant has over 113 cannabinoids, two of which are very famous: THC and cannabidiol, or CBD. We have conducted extensive research on medicinal cannabis since 2014, but cannabis has been utilized for medicinal purposes for over 1,000 years,” Baban said. “It is not until recently we have started understanding a little better mechanisms how cannabidiols like CBD work.”   Babak Baban is a professor, immunologist and associate dean for research at the Dental College of Georgia at Augusta University where he has served for 13 of his 20 years as a translational and clinical immunologist.

Babak is available to speak to media about this important topic - simply click on his icon now to arrange a time to speak today.


#Expert Research: Can CBD effectively impede growth of heterotopic lung cancer?

Dr. Babak Baban is a highly accomplished researcher and has been studying CBD and cannabinoids at the Dental College of Georgia at Augusta University for years where he is Associate Dean for Research, a professor and immunologist. One of Dr. Baban’s studies on how CBD helps reduce cytokine storms in COVID-19 made headlines last year, and that’s how we first noticed his work. 

More recently, I was blown away by a revolutionary study on mice that had severe familial Alzheimer’s Disease. Two weeks of high dose CBD seemed to reset how proteins are made in those Alzheimer’s impacted mouse brains!

Dr. Baban has published more than 100 peer-reviewed articles, presented at dozens of national and international research conferences and has served on international study sections and editorial review boards. He is a member of the American Association for Cancer Research, American Heart Association, and the International Cannabinoid Research Society among others.

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CBD could fix "underlying reason" for Alzheimer's - Dr. Babak Baban Prominent Cannabinoid Researcher

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