Building Knowledge and Community Engagement: Inside the University of Illinois’ Groundbreaking Cannabis Research Program

Reginald Gaudino, PhD, Director of Cannabis Research Insititute and Discovery Partners Institute

The key to moving the cannabis industry forward is through education. Promoting cannabis education can help inform individuals who harbor preconceived notions about cannabis to better understand its benefits and therapeutic potential. This is particularly important for people in power who can either hold back or facilitate the progress of cannabis through legislation. That is why jurisdictions that have legalized cannabis devote so many resources to study the plant and its impacts on people, the economy, and its environment, continuing to build upon the growing body of knowledge about the value of cannabis.

The Cannabis Research Institute (CRI) which is a part of the University of Illinois System, is among the latest efforts to study cannabis and promote its education. CRI was conceived based on a desire from Illinois Governor, JB Pritzker to be able to have a science-based and equity driven cannabis program. Funded through the cannabis regulation and tax act (CRTA), the University of Illinois was given $7 million to form CRI. Not long after its introduction did Dr. Reginald Gaudino join the team as CRI’s Director. Distinguishing its program from other states, CRI has to follow certain mandates which include having a community-focused program that puts equity and community engagement front and center. With a strong focus on community, CRI is able to identify what information needs to be developed and what policies need to be built.

Seed Science: Tailoring Cannabis for the Midwest

Illinois is known as a big agriculture state and CRI is looking to grow the state’s cannabis and hemp cultivation, but efforts to cultivate cannabis as a crop have not been successful. “Nobody has taken the time to develop a variety of hemp that grows really well in the Midwest,” says Gaudino. CRI hopes to develop an economic impact study so that those interested in the hemp space can learn what it takes to grow hemp, where hemp is brought after its harvested, and how the industry works throughout the state. The organization also hopes to help inform the state on what steps need to be taken to increase participation in hemp agriculture so that Illinois’s position in hemp agriculture resembles more closely it’s position in corn and soybean agriculture.

Illinois growers have gotten burned by being uninformed and believing that the environment of Illinois would be similar to those in Colorado and the Pacific Northwest. Cultivators purchased seed wherever they could get their hands on it and those seeds did not perform well due to differences in climate and growing zones. To figure out what cannabis strains can be successfully grown in the state, CRI is seeking to identify genetic lineages that are well suited for hemp cultivation, such as feral cannabis that has evolved to do well in that area. “By looking at that type of hemp or cannabis, we can start to look at what genes are responsible for growing well in the Midwest and start to build markers that would allow us to build varieties that we know will do well in the Midwest,” Gaudino explains.

This project is being done in conjunction with the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Campus (Champaign County, Illinois) and is still in the discussion stages. The data collected will help to instruct policymakers in the ways hemp cultivation can be improved to increase acreage and ultimately revenue for the state.

Inclusive Research: Bridging Gaps and Unlocking Cannabis’s Healing Potential

One research initiative from CRI related to cannabis therapeutics is focused on pain mitigation for endometriosis and sickle cell disease. This research is being done in collaboration with the University of Illinois Chicago, led by Jagadeesh Ramasamy, PhD, Director of Bioscience Research.

Using mouse and human models, researchers are analyzing the pain markers that seem to overlap between sickle cell disease and endometriosis. Gaudino mentions that we are aware of the analgesic benefits of the cannabinoids tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD), but this new research is investigating other cannabinoids, such as cannabichromene (CBC) and cannabigerol (CBG), and observing how they may be impacting pain response and through what mechanisms. With equity as one of its mandates, these research initiatives are a great fit for CRI since they are seeking out solutions for underrepresented populations.

“If you look at the history of clinical trials, most clinical trials have been done on white males. More recently, they’ve included white females, but people of color are still kind of on the low end of that spectrum of being included in some of these things,” says Dr. Gaudino. “But in this particular case, endometriosis, while it affects all women, tends to affect women of color more. Sickle cell disease is a disease that affects people of color more or less exclusively, and these overlapping pain markers made it a very interesting case study because the one experiment may actually be able to give us information for the two different diseases because of those overlapping pain markers.”

CRI is also involved with studying the impacts of cannabis on a childhood cancer known as aggressive central giant cell granuloma (CGCG) which is a fairly rare cancer and is often benign, but impacts the patients’ jaw area with a very large and fast-growing tumor. Surgery has not always been an effective option for the illness because if every last piece of the tumor isn’t removed, it will grow back immediately. Dr. Gaudino explains that the tumor creates a population of cells called osteoclasts which are involved in bone remodeling. That means the bone is resorbed causing skull deformation. Due to its location by the throat, the tumor can also invade the sinuses, making it difficult forpatients to breathe and eat.

Dr. Gaudino has been involved with a family for several years that has used a specific hemp extract to treat their daughter’s CGCG. The use of this extract has essentially cured the daughter, who has been cancer free for five years, and the same hemp extract has allegedly cured eight children around the world. The extract is produced through a specific cultivar and the family has provided Dr. Gaudino and his team with both the extract and seeds so that CRI can identify what mechanics are involved in causing regression or elimination of this type of cancer so that maybe it can help others suffering from the disease.

According to Dr. Gaudino, preliminary results showed that the tumor cells died when exposed to the extract, but it didn’t provide a lot of information as to the mechanics of what went on. “Now we have to dial it back and start to look at lowering concentrations til we find the specific activity,” he explains. “Once we have that specific activity, we will fractionate the extract, which means using chromatography and collecting different fractions and testing those fractions to be able to see if we can isolate the fractions that have that activity. And then we will continue to reiterate on that process until we get to a point where we have something fairly pure. From there, we can identify what those compounds are and then once we have those compounds in hand, then we can start to go back and ask, ‘okay, in the plant, what genes are making these compounds,’ so that we can start to breed for those compounds specifically, and augment that by marker assisted breeding.”

Dr. Gaudino further continues that other hemp or cannabis lineages may be useful in various ways for treating cancer and other illnesses because of the different compounds they are made up of.

Community-Driven Research: Addressing Local Needs

Working with the communities in Illinois is a main focal point for CRI. To educate the communities on its research programs, CRI is working through the Community Health Services (CHS) department to host a number of community outreach events. At these appearances, CRI is able to meet with different communities to spread awareness and better understand the needs of those communities.

“Once we get all of these events done, then we will correlate the data and identify kind of the top-level priorities that we will then invest some of that money into doing community academic partnered research, so that we can address specifically those areas that will help raise everybody’s information level, as well as potentially provide insight for policymakers,” says Dr. Gaudino.

A community advisory board is tasked with assisting CRI on what important research projects the organization should focus on to make the biggest impact. For example, CRI is actively working on creating a STEM-related education initiative in hopes of starting a STEM program to give high school students in underrepresented school districts an educational opportunity. CRI is also interested in collaborating with community colleges who have established cannabis research or education programs and invite their students to spend a period of time at CRI to get hands-on experience because not every college may have a laboratory or other tools beneficial to working in the industry.

Aside from the STEM program, CRI is hoping to create a credentialing program. Dr. Gaudino says that hands-on lab experience, learning molecular biology, and working with data is training that extends far beyond cannabis. Skills such as marker-assisted breeding can be used to find work in any plant lab, he explains. “They’ll have the ability to do qPCR and analyze data and all of these other things. From there, we can try to help level them up so that when they go into a cannabis lab or cultivation facility, they’re not just going in as an entry level where they are learning the ropes and getting minimum wage; they can go in with confidence and with skills that might allow them to earn at a higher level and walk into that at a higher level as well,” says Dr. Gaudino.

By investing in the community, CRI is helping strengthen the cannabis and hemp industries within Illinois.

Conclusion

The Cannabis Research Institute (CRI) at the University of Illinois System is a pioneering force in advancing the cannabis industry through comprehensive, science-based, and equity-driven initiatives. By focusing on cultivation specific to the Midwest climate, therapeutic research for underserved populations, and robust community engagement, CRI is setting a new standard. Their work, from identifying optimal hemp genetics to investigating cannabinoids for pain management and cancer treatment, demonstrates the plant’s vast potential. Moreover, CRI’s commitment to STEM education and credentialing programs aims to empower communities and provide individuals with the skills needed for meaningful careers in the burgeoning cannabis and hemp sectors. Ultimately, CRI’s multifaceted approach underscores the critical role of education and research in destigmatizing cannabis, fostering economic growth, and improving public health.