A University of Guelph psychology professor has won the 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Cannabinoid Research Society (ICRS).

Linda Parker received the honour during the ICRS’s annual symposium in Bukovina, Poland, the last week of June.

The award recognizes a senior researcher who has dedicated his or her career to cannabinoid and endocannabinoid studies. The award selection committee said her work has had a “profound and longitudinal impact in both basic and clinical arenas.”

Parker studies how cannabinoids and endocannabinoids regulate emesis (vomiting). She has found that marijuana may help prevent anticipatory nausea, unlike many existing anti-vomit and anti-nausea drugs currently available for cancer chemotherapy.

A behavioural neurologist, Parker has held the Canada Research Chair in Behavioural Neuroscience at U of G since 2006. She studies how basic neural processes help to modulate the impact of drugs.

As well, Erin Rock, a post-doctoral researcher in Parker’s lab, received an award for her poster presentation on rat models of nausea and anxiety.

With more than 500 members, the ICRS advises on the science of cannabis and its chemical constituents, as well as their behavioural, psychological and social effects.