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Andrea Olaizola was a finalist in the 2024 UBC Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition. Andrea presented their research, "Can CBD be used to treat Parkinson’s disease?" They hope to determine if Cannabidiol shows neuroprotective effects in the context of Parkinson’s disease by measuring oxidative stress and cell death upon co-treatment and pave the way for novel therapeutic approaches that can halt PD progression, improving prognosis for people affected by this disease. Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the fastest-growing neurological condition, affecting 8.5 million people worldwide. PD is characterized by the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons. Current medications provide temporary symptomatic relief but fail to address the underlying cause. Cannabidiol (CBD) shows promise as a potential treatment, as it has demonstrated the ability to reduce the protein accumulation, oxidative stress, and cell death associated with PD in both in vivo and in vitro animal models. Andrea’s thesis aims to validate these findings using a human dopaminergic neuron cell model, which mimics PD after exposure to the MPP+ neurotoxin. This induces the same protein accumulation, oxidative stress, and cell death associated with PD. Andrea Olaizola is completing their Master of Science in Pharmaceutical Sciences in the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences under the supervision of Dr. Jessica Kalra.