An RI-MUHC researcher with global outreach, Dr. Gobbi is dedicated to advancing the science for mental health
Source: Health E-News. Gabriella Gobbi, MD, PhD, is the 2022 recipient of the International College of Neuropsychopharmacology Sumitomo/Sunovion Brain Health Basic Research Award for her outstanding contributions in neuropsychopharmacology. A senior scientist in the Brain Repair and Integrative Neuroscience Program at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) and professor in the Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, McGill University, Dr. Gobbi received the award virtually during a hybrid meeting held in June 2022.
“Receiving a prize is always very emotional for me since it recognizes not an individual scientist, but many people who have worked very hard over the past 20 years in my lab at McGill, investing their passion, intelligence, and curiosity about novel discoveries, and running often very long experiments,” says Dr. Gobbi. “It is as if in a single moment of glory, you can see the mountain of effort, and the thousands of days and nights spent in advancing the science for mental health.”
Dr. Gobbi leads a basic science laboratory (Neurobiological Psychiatry Unit), holds the Canadian Research Chair in Therapeutics for Mental Health, and is a staff psychiatrist at the Mood Disorder Clinic of the McGill University Health Centre.
Dr. Gobbi’s lab is interested in understanding the pathophysiology of mental diseases and discovering new treatments and cures for them, studying the short- and long-term effects of cannabis use in mood and anxiety, and the potential beneficial effects of the drugs acting on the endocannabinoid system (endogenous cannabis) in the cure of mental diseases. Her research team also discovered and developed novel selective agonists of the melatonin MT1 and MT2 receptors for pain, insomnia, and anxiety. More recently, she published research unveiling the mechanism of action of LSD and psychedelics in social anxiety and post-stress anxiety.
A trilingual speaker, Dr. Gobbi has been invited to speak at conferences around the world and served as reviewer/editor for many journals and international granting agencies in Europe and the United States. She has served as an expert witness for the Canadian Senate (2012), the Ministry of Health (2019) and the Ministry of Justice (2019) of Quebec regarding cannabis legislation, and her studies on cannabis have influenced policies, including raising the minimum legal age for cannabis consumption from 18 to 21 in Quebec as well as banning the advertisement of cannabis.
Congratulations, Dr. Gobbi!
October 11, 2022