Inflammation is a normal process by which the body defends itself against injury or infection, and, in this way, it very beneficial. However, inflammation can be damaging when it occurs in healthy tissues or lasts too long. This is referred to as chronic inflammation. When inflammation exists for days, weeks, months or years, this can result in health related issues. Our lab focuses on the impact of chronic inflammation in neurological and neurodegenerative diseases (stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, traumatic brain injury, etc.), as well as cardiovascular disease and cancer. We are interested in determining the genes and proteins that contribute to these disorders be testing in cell culture models, animal models and eventually in human studies. In addition, I am the Director of the Botanical Medicine Research and Education Consortium (BMREC) at USF which focuses on the impact of cannabis derived compounds for therapeutic use.