217. Dr. Mark Chandy | Cannabis and Cardiovascular Disease-Clearing the Haze

What are the effects of cannabis on the cardiovascular system? Dr. Chandy helps clear the haze. The American Heart Association has established the facts.

Dr. Mark Chandy earned his MD and Ph.D. in 2008, at Pennsylvania State University. After completing

medical school, Dr. Chandy trained in Internal Medicine at the University of British Columbia, followed

by a Cardiology fellowship at the University of Toronto. He also completed a fellowship in

Echocardiography and enrolled in the Clinician Scientist Training Program at the University of Toronto.

With a desire to learn stem cell biology, Dr. Chandy trained in induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs)

disease modeling at Stanford University. Dr. Chandy’s research has been published in Cell and other

high-impact journals. He holds patents for his novel discoveries. As a recently appointed Assistant

Professor at the University of Western Ontario, Dr. Chandy is an independent physician-scientist using

iPSC disease modeling, next-generation sequencing (NGS), proteomics, and gene editing to

understand the mechanisms of cardiovascular disease. Dr. Chandy's current research focuses on

understanding the pathophysiology of environmental exposures such as air pollution, e-cigarettes, and

cannabis on cardiovascular disease using human iPSC-derived tissue. The overarching goal of his

research is to 1) investigate the effects of the environment on the cardiovascular system, 2) discover

biomarkers to risk stratify patients, and 3) discover druggable target genes for cardiovascular disease.

The relationship between cannabis and cardiovascular disease: clearing the haze. Nature Reviews. Jan 2025