Vincenzo Di Marzo, PhD

Biography

Vincenzo Di Marzo is one of the world's most prolific and influential cannabinoid scientists, with over 700 publications and more than 80,000 citations. Formerly at the Italian National Research Council in Naples, he relocated to Université Laval in 2018 to lead a Canada Excellence Research Chair program. Di Marzo's laboratory discovered the "endocannabinoidome" — the expanded family of endocannabinoid-like lipid mediators — and has been central to understanding how the endocannabinoid system regulates metabolism, appetite, gut function, and the microbiome. His work on the role of endocannabinoids in obesity and metabolic syndrome has opened new therapeutic avenues for cannabinoid-based medicines targeting metabolic disease.

Key Contributions

• 1Coined and defined the "endocannabinoidome" — the expanded family of endocannabinoid-related lipid mediators
• 2Elucidated the biosynthesis and degradation pathways of anandamide and 2-AG
• 3Demonstrated that the endocannabinoid system regulates energy balance and appetite ("the endocannabinoid system and the control of food intake")
• 4Established the gut microbiome as a regulator of endocannabinoid tone
• 5Discovered that obesity is associated with overactivation of the peripheral endocannabinoid system
• 6Identified FAAH and MAGL as therapeutic targets for endocannabinoid-based medicines

Selected Publications