Professor Michelle Glass

Research

Michelle Glass is a molecular pharmacologist who joined the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology at the University of Otago as Head of Department in 2018, moving here from the University of Auckland where she worked for 18 years.

She returned to the department where her working career began 23 years ago. Professor Glass’ first role after graduating with a PhD from the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Auckland in 1995 was as an Assistant Lecturer in the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Otago.

Her initial stint at Otago was brief as she took up a fellowship in the United States the following year. She worked as a postdoctoral Fellow in the Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Regulation at the National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, Maryland for 18 months before moving on to work as a Visiting Fellow in the Laboratory of Cell Biology at the National Institute of Deafness and Other Communications Disorders in Rockville, Maryland. She returned to New Zealand in 2000 and took up a role as a Lecturer within the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Auckland.

Professor Glass’ research focuses on the expression, function and molecular pharmacology of the cannabinoid receptors and their potential role in treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. Her recent research interests have extended to identifying the mechanism by which synthetic cannabinoids are resulting in high levels of toxicity in the community and advising on the development of clinical trials for medicinal cannabis products.

Currently, Professor Glass is a member of the Medical Cannabis Research Collaborative (NZ), which aims to ensure robust clinical research of medical cannabis products in New Zealand is undertaken. It will also set informal standards for the development and testing of medical cannabis products, as well as increasing understanding and the base of evidence for or against the use of medical cannabis products in specific clinical conditions. Her contributions to the field have been acknowledged by an early career award from the International Cannabinoid Research Society in 2009 and by election to President of this society.

She acknowledges it is an interesting time with change potentially in the wind with so many countries legalising cannabis.

“I think it’s important that the science keeps up with the public debate.”

Read more in Otago Bulletin:
Synthetic cannabis under spotlight for new Pharmacology head