Dr. Abood's laboratory is investigating recently discovered endogenous compounds called the endocannabinoids and their cellular receptors. The endocannabinoid system is thought to play a role in addiction, pain control, motor control, learning, and memory as well as in regulating immune function and bone growth. Her lab has cloned the CB1 and CB2 receptors and identified some of the structural and concomitant functional features of these receptor molecules. These studies are designed to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of CB receptor action. The endocannabinoid system is also involved in neuronal cell fate and neurodegeneration; her laboratory has published several papers on the role of cannabinoids in excitotoxicity and in the neurodegenerative disease ALS. More recently, she has focused on identifying novel cannabinoid receptor subtypes. These efforts have led to the identification of GPR55 as a putative cannabinoid receptor and GPR35 as a novel target for inflammation.
