RESEARCH BIOGRAPHY:Professor Dr. Dr. (h.c.) Marilyn A. Huestis recently retired as a tenured senior investigatorand Chief, Chemistry and Drug Metabolism Section, IRP, National Institute on Drug Abuse,
National Institutes of Health, after 23 years of conducting controlled drug administration
studies. She is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Preventive
Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Maryland Baltimore. She thoroughly enjoys
mentoring doctoral students in Toxicology, has to date directly overseen the research of 16
distinguished new toxicologists, and currently has 2 students pursuing their dissertation
research. Her research program focused on discovering mechanisms of action of
cannabinoid agonists and antagonists, effects of in utero drug exposure, and theneurobiology and pharmacokinetics of novel psychoactive substances, the emerging face ofdrug abuse. Professor Huestis’ research also explored new medication targets for cannabis
dependence, including oral tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and Sativex, a 1:1 ratio of
tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol. She is interested in the disposition of drugs andmetabolites in a wide variety of biological fluids and tissues following controlled drugadministration; data that provide a scientific database for interpreting drug concentrations inalternative matrices. Recently, Professor Huestis and colleagues documented that CB1cannabinoid receptors are significantly down regulated in specific brain regions in chronic
daily cannabis smokers, but these receptors significantly increased with sustained cannabis
abstinence. Residual active cannabinoids could be quantified for up to 30 days in somechronic smokers during sustained abstinence and, furthermore, psychomotor impairmentwas documented in these same subjects for at least 21 days. An area of special interest forProfessor Huestis is investigating the effects of in utero drug exposure on child development
and whether concentrations of drugs and/or metabolites in meconium predict adverse
outcomes of in utero drug exposure. She has published 408 peer-reviewed manuscripts andbook chapters and more than 490 abstracts were presented at national and international
meetings. Professor Huestis received a bachelor's degree in biochemistry from Mount
Holyoke College (cum laude), a master's degree in clinical chemistry from the University ofNew Mexico (with honors), and a doctoral degree in toxicology from the University ofMaryland (with honors). Professor Huestis received a Doctor Honoris Causa from theFaculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki in Finland in 2010. Other important awards

include, 2016 Marian W. Fischman Lectureship Award from the College on Problems ofDrug Dependence, 2016 Saferstein Memorial Distinguished Lecturer at Northeastern
University to be awarded April 2016, Excellence in Scientific Research, Women Scientist
Advisory NIDA Investigator Award March 27, 2015, Norman P. Kubasik LectureshipAward, AACC Upstate New York Section May 7, 2015, Distinguished Fellow Award fromthe American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) in 2015, The International Associationof Forensic Toxicologists (TIAFT) Alan Curry Award in 2010, the American Associationfor Clinical Chemistry Outstanding Contributions in a Selected Area of Research Award in2008, the International Association of Therapeutic Drug Monitoring and Clinical
Toxicology (IATDMCT) Irving Sunshine Award in 2007, the AAFS Rolla N. Harger Awardin 2005, and the Irving Sunshine Award for Outstanding Research in Forensic Toxicology in1992. The journal Clinical Chemistry featured her as an “Inspiring Mind”. She currentlyserves on the new National Commission on Forensic Sciences, and the Organization ofScientific Area Committee on Toxicology, World Anti-doping Agency’s Prohibited ListCommittee, the Scientific Working Group on Toxicology (SWG-TOX), Transportation
Research Board Committee on Alcohol and Other Drugs, and the National Safety Council’s
Alcohol, Drugs and Impairment Division Executive Board. Professor Huestis is pastpresident of the Society of Forensic Toxicologists, past Chair of the Toxicology Section ofthe American Academy of Forensic Sciences, and the first woman president of The
International Association of Forensic Toxicologists.