Keith Bisogno is Chair of the Global Cannabis Research Summit bringing his Fortune 500 experience to the conference leveraging his expertise in the legalization of cannabis spanning regulatory and policy matters, business supply chains, safety compliance and the emerging scientific landscape.

Bisogno recently spearheaded global business development initiatives for Thermo Fisher Scientific, including cannabis markets, where he led corporate efforts to engage regulatory, research and industry partners in the cannabis arena. He has also been a private cannabis industry investor since 2015 and lifelong advocate for cannabis science and social justice reform.

Keith Bisogno previously held a variety of senior-level corporate roles at Thermo Fisher Scientific, including Vice President Brand and Vice President Corporate Marketing where he executed global campaigns, commercial and digital marketing initiatives helping propel the world’s largest life science tools company beyond $22+ billion in sales with 70,000 employees in 50 countries.

Dr. Sandra Carrillo, Medical Doctor, Clinical Professor, Faculty of Medicine, University of Panama.  Dr. Carrillo is a Specialist in Cannabinoids Based Medicine, member of SCC (Society of Cannabis Clinicians), ICRS (International Cannabinoid Research Society), ICAM (International Association for Cannabinoid Medicine). As an expert speaker, educator and practitioner,  she is currently developing an educational program to train doctors and health care practitioners involving cannabinoids and endocannabinoid system. Dr. Carrillo is Professor in charge of the Scientific Program of Medical Cannabis Faculty of Medicine University of Panama and Member of the Review Board for the American Journal of Endocannabinoid Medicine, she is also Co-Founder of Medicann IPS Medical Cannabis Clinics (Colombia) where she was Professor of the first certification of medical cannabis for Medical Doctors program at CES University.(Colombia).

Trained and certified by Medical Cannabis Institute (TMCIGlobal) Society of Cannabis Clinicians, International Diplomate in Therapeutic Applications of Medical Cannabis, CES University  Colombia, Advanced Certificate in Cannabis Medicine, Oaksterdam University California, certified Expert Doctor in Cannabis Medicine, Pharmacology University Medical Cannabis Institute, Puerto Rico, and trained by Spectrum Academy, Cannabis Immersive program.

Dr Carrillo also holds a Masters in Health Services Management and is certified in Antiaging and Regenerative Medicine.

International speaker. International advocate for Cannabinoids-based Medicine.

Dr. Carrillo co-founded the Food Bank of Panama, and is a volunteer member of an Epilepsy Foundation, in Panama.

Mike Dixon is a professor in our School of Environmental Sciences and the Director of the Controlled Environment Systems Research Facility (CESRF). His research is focused on plant growth in controlled environment and he is specifically interested in developing biological life support systems for applications in space exploration.

Nethaji Gallage is the CEO and co-founder of Octarine, Copenhagen based, biotech company. Octarine’s mission is to harness synthetic biology to develop functionally superior cannabinoid and psilocybin derivatives targeting the pharmaceutical industry and improving the health and well-being of people worldwide. Natural cannabinoids suffer limitations as pharmaceutical therapeutics due to inherent issues such as insolubility, psychoactivity, chemical stability and low bioavailability. Octarine has developed in-cell enzymatic platforms to expand the chemical diversity of cannabinoids allowing the production of superior molecules with improved chemical and pharmacokinetic properties. Psilocybin and other psychedelic tryptamine derivatives are gaining momentum as breakthrough therapies for neurological and psychological disorders. Development of this unique class of molecules is hindered however by limited access to a reliable and cost-effective supply. Octarine’s biosynthetic platform provides scalable and cost-effective production of a range of natural and novel tryptamine derivatives for application as pharmaceutical drugs. Previously, Nethaji was a research group leader at University of Copenhagen. She obtained her PhD in Biochemistry and has a track record of several high impact publications and patents within the field of synthetic biology. Nethaji has previously led research on biosynthetic production of vanillin flavour from idea to commercialization with industrial partners.

Dr. Jahan Marcu has over 15 years of experience in cannabis research, policy, and operations. He has been a passionate advocate focused on consumer safety and the medical benefits of cannabis. He is also among a select group of professionals globally that has earned a PhD focused on the endocannabinoid system (with research on the structure and function of cannabinoid receptors, molecular pharmacology of the endocannabinoid system, and the role of the ECS in bone).

He is the Chief Science Officer and co-founder of the International Research Center on Cannabis and Mental Health, a community-based institute that collaborates with universities, researchers, foundations, state institutions, and others to leverage the highest caliber talent in the field. He is presently the Editor-In-Chief of the American Journal of Endocannabinoid Medicine. He is also founder and past-chair of the Cannabis Chemistry Sub-division of the American Chemical Society, the world’s largest and oldest professional scientific society. Further illustrating the recognition earned through his efforts, he has been asked to serve on multiple expert government advisory and trade association committees, as well as scientific organizations including ASTM (D37 Subcommittee chair), AHPA Cannabis committee (past-chair), ACS Cannabis Chemistry Subdivision (CANN), AOCS, AOAC, IACM(past BOD), and IMCPC (co-founder).

Dr. Marcu’s work has been instrumental to facilitating and supporting fact-based, scientific approaches vital to industry and patients. This has included research focused on solving the structure and function of cannabinoid receptors, the anti-cancer properties of cannabis compounds, as well as method development and validation for analyzing complex formulations. Furthermore, his efforts include the development of international certification and training programs, co-authoring American Herbal Pharmacopeia’s Cannabis Quality Control and Therapeutic Monographs, and assisting in the creation of the first standards for industry as chairman of the cannabis committee for the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA). His dedication to consumer safety is further evident in his work to co-develop a biotech application to predict drug-drug interactions between cannabis and commonly prescribed pharmaceutical drugs (Navigator Genomics). Additionally, Dr. Marcu published one of the first product safety study on CBD products.

Reflecting his dedication to the field, Dr. Marcu has received numerous awards including the Mahmoud Elsohly award for excellence in cannabis chemistry and the Billy Martin research achievement award from the International Cannabinoid Research Society for his work on THC and CBD synergy in aggressive brain cancers. He is also a court-qualified synthetic cannabinoid and cannabis expert. His work has been published and covered in publications such as Science, Nature, JAMA, the Washington Post, CNN, and many other media outlets.

Len May is Chief Executive Officer for Endocanna Health. Endocanna Health is a biotechnology research company that utilizes a patent-pending algorithm and genetic superchip to deliver personalized cannabinoid DNA variant reports. He is a Certified Medical Cannabis Specialist in Medicinal Genomics, with 25 years of cannabis-related experience. He is president of the Cannabis Action Network, and a board member and lifetime member of California Cannabis Association. May has a Masters of Medical Cannabis and an Endocannabinoid Formulation Specialist Certification from the Institute for the Advancement of Integrative Medicine.

Dr. Emmanuel S. Onaivi (B. Pharm, MSc, PhD) is Professor in the department of Biology at William Paterson University (WPU) in New Jersey, a Fulbright scholar and a Guest Scientist at the National Institute on Drug Abuse a part of NIH in Baltimore, MD. His research interests include the molecular biology of drug abuse and teaches Neural Basis of Behavior, Pharmacology, Bioseminar, and Anatomy and Physiology.  Professor Onaivi teaches cannabis as medicine in the Pharmacology course. He has authored and co-authored many papers and edited three books on cannabis including the Biology of Marijuana, Endocannabinoids: The brain and body’s marijuana and beyond, and Marijuana and cannabinoid research methods and protocols. Professor Onaivi’s pioneering research on cannabis, its constituent cannabinoids and the natural cannabis compounds produced by the human body called endocannabinoids led to:  

– Cloning of CB1 cannabinoid receptors in mice
– The discovery and identification of functional neuronal CB2 cannabinoid receptors
– Postsynaptic localization of CB2 cannabinoid receptors (CB2Rs)
– Ethnic and gender differences in cannabinoid receptors
– Creation and generation of cell type specific CB2R conditional knockout mice for which Dr. Onaivi and his collaborator Dr. Liu and the University have filed for global patent.
– Demonstration of the interaction between cannabinoid receptors and vanilloid receptors as a basis of why some like it hot and spicy and others do not.  This research was competitively selected, and presented on Capitol Hill in Washington DC to show case Undergraduate student research before the US Congress.

Professor Onaivi was the recipient of William Paterson University Award for Excellence in Scholarship and creative expression in 2007 and 2015.  The National Institute of Health funded his research titled Behavioral effects of CB2 receptors. He has supervised Doctoral, Pre- and Postdoctoral fellows, Masters and Undergraduate student research.  He is a member of the society for Neuroscience, and Newsletter editor for the International Drug abuse Research Society, and most recently selected as the Editor in Chief for Journal of Drug and Alcohol Research.

Barbara Koz Paley is Founder and Chair of Balco, a cannabis company and network of operating cannabis businesses with a shared mission of creating informed and conscientious cannabis products though its ecosystem of companies producing trusted “Products with Purpose” backed by rigorous science. Previously, Barbara was Founder and CEO of Art Assets LLC, a Manhattan-based consultancy and art advisory firm after an early career in commercial real estate. 

Dr. Suzanne Sisley, MD joined forces with her mother, Hanna Sisley, MD, a family practice physician to develop a thriving private practice in the inner city of Phoenix. They are reportedly the only mother-daughter MD-physician team in Arizona. Dr. Sisley transitioned to her full-time TELEMEDICINE practice starting in 2009, where she employs a full array of telecommunications technology to continue delivering high-quality medical care to populations across rural/underserved areas of Arizona. Sue is an Institutional Member of the American Telemedicine Association and serves on the ATA’s Legislative and Policy Committee. She frequently presents at ATA International Meetings focusing on research Using Telemedicine to provide Addiction Treatment in Rural AZ. Sue also serves as Clinical Faculty at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center at the MercyCare Adult Medicine Clinic for indigent patients.

Dr. Sisley completed her medical degree at the University of Arizona College of Medicine and proceeded to complete her five-year Residency Training at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in the fields of Internal Medicine and Psychiatry.

Sue founded and serves as CEO of a non-profit corporation entitled Ensuring Tomorrow Productions. This organization delivers health education through music, theater and dance. Sue has been a proud member of the Stage Actors Union since 2001, Actors’ Equity performing in professional theatre around the Valley.

Dr. Sisley has received many recent honors including the President’s Point of Light Award and the Leo B. Hart Humanitarian Award for “outstanding contributions made for social reform” by the University of Arizona College of Medicine.

She was also honored with the Dr. Clarence Salsbury Medal from the Maricopa County Medical Society for “her overwhelming commitment to health education, abiding interest in using the arts to promote healthy lifestyles among youths and her resolve to providing indigent health care services in our inner-cities”. Dr. Sisley was extremely humbled and grateful to be given Arizona Medical Association’s highest honor, the President’s Distinguished Service Award and to receive Arizona’s most prestigious recognition for volunteerism, the Hon Kachina Award.

Professor, Dr. Techn. Anne Ladegaard Skov, Technical University of Denmark, heads a large research group focused on preparation and novel uses of silicone elastomers. She is a world-leading scientist within silicone elastomers as well as materials for dielectric elastomers. Her level of contribution is underscored by her collaboration with other leading scientists from e.g. Harvard, MIT, and a number of international companies. Ladegaard Skov is the author of more than 130 publications in peer-reviewed journals and holds 10 patents. She has received multiple prizes for her work on elastomers.

Stacia Woodcock is a Doctor of Pharmacy and serves as Director of Education for the IRCCH. After receiving her PharmD from the University of Kentucky, Stacia served as a clinical speciality pharmacist with an emphasis in Medication Therapy Management as well as fertility and women’s health issues. She became a dedicated cannabis clinician after seeing first-hand the ability of medical cannabis to reduce the polypharmacy rampant in today’s society and significantly improve patient outcomes with minimal side effects. Stacia delights in using her clinical expertise to help educate practitioners, patients, and communities in an effort to remove the pervasive stigma surrounding cannabis as medicine. She has previously served as the Assistant Director of Dispensary Operations and Practitioner Outreach Liaison for Curaleaf New York and has recently been appointed Secretary for the Association of Cannabis Specialists, a national organization dedicated to increasing awareness of cannabis as medicine and safeguarding patient care with clinical best practices. Stacia has been a featured medical expert on The Dr. Oz Show and The Rachael Ray Show, among others, and is a devoted clinical advocate in the medical cannabis space.