Dr. O'Banion is an internationally recognized scientist specializing in brain inflammation, epilepsy, brain radiation, and many neurological disorders. A veteran, in neuroscience, Dr. O'Banion's current research focuses upon pro-inflammatory cytokines and lipid mediators in traumatic brain injury, Alzheimer's disease, radiation injury, and psychiatric illnesses.
"We are very fortunate to welcome such a respected industry leader to serve on our Board," stated Bill Chaaban, President & CEO. "Dr. Obanion brings both clinical knowledge and business acumen to CEN Biotech. He has his finger on the pulse of cutting edge treatment for patients living with neurological conditions and will undoubtedly be a critical resource for our development and use of providing ground breaking medicinal cannabis solutions."
Dr. O'Banion is a distinguished leader at the University of Rochester Medical Center where he directs the NIH-funded Medical Scientist Training Program as Principal Investigator and serves as the Director of Medical Neurosciences courses. Dr. O'Banion is a research leader in individual and program grants with an outstanding record of NIH funding. His research in neuroinflammation provided the mechanistic underpinnings that led to the development of Vioxx and Celebrex, the COX-2 inhibitor pain relievers, for which he and colleagues were awarded U.S. patents. As a result he was appointed Assistant Professor of Neurology, and initiated research into neuroinflammation and its role in neurodegenerative disease.
Dr. O'Banion received both his M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Illinois School of Medicine, Champaign-Urbana, IL, where he graduated Summa Cum Laude and served as valedictorian for his graduation class.
About CEN Biotech CEN Biotech, Inc. was established in 2013 as a partially owned subsidiary of Creative Edge Nutrition (otc pink:FITX) (pinksheets:FITX) for the sole purpose of supplying the Canadian public with pharmaceutical-grade medical cannabis under the newly established Marihuana for Medical Purposes Regulations (MMPR). CEN Biotech Inc. has submitted a comprehensive application to become a licensed producer (LP) of dried marihuana for medicinal purposes and has received a ready-to-build approval from Health Canada.
