LCGC and Cannabis Science and Technology to Host Two-Day Live Virtual Symposium: “Grow Your Skills in the Budding Cannabis Industry”

On February 10th and 11th, LCGC and Cannabis Science and Technology will host a live virtual symposium called “Grow Your Skills in the Budding Cannabis Industry,” which will focus on ideas for leveraging the research capabilities of academics to enhance problem solving and workflow optimization when working with the cannabis industry. The symposium is sponsored by Agilent and Lake Superior State University. The sessions will run on Thursday, February 10, 2022 from 9:00 am–4:00 pm EST and Friday, February 11, 2022 from 8:30 am–5:00 pm EST.

On day one of the virtual symposium, presentations will focus on three session topics: Building a Cannabis Lab (session one), Product Safety (session two), and Product Quality (session three). The presenters are from Lake Superior State University, Lion Labs, Agilent Technologies, Cambium Analytica, and Delic Labs. There will also be an “Ask the Experts” Question and answer forum that will be held for an hour at the end of the day.

Session one on February 10th will begin with a talk by Steven Johnson, PhD (Dean, College of Science and the Environment, Lake Superior State University) titled “Coming into the Light; Educating the 1st Generation of Cannabis.” Dr. Johnson will review cannabis education and offer insight into what’s ahead. Ryan Ratzloff, the CEO and President of Lion Labs, will then present a talk titled “Success in Cannabis: Building an Effective Lab.” This session will aim to reveal some common areas where mistakes can be made as well as best practices to set your organization up for success.

Session two will kick off with a presentation by Anthony Macherone (Strategic Technical Scientist, Agilent Technologies) titled “The THC Isomer Controversy: Facts and Fictions about ∆8-THC and ∆10-THC.” This presentation will discuss the ongoing controversy surrounding isomers of ∆9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).

Derek Wright, PhD (Associate Professor of Environmental Science, Lake Superior State University) will present next with a talk titled “Trace Metals: How Did It Get There?” Based on more than two decades of experience in trace analysis, Dr. Wright will describe how to manage contamination in trace element workflows, while ensuring the production of accurate data.

Finally, Alexander Adams, CEO of Cambium Analytica, will close out session two with a talk titled “Building a Cooperative & Versatile Laboratory Team.” Adams will discuss the host of challenges when operating an analytical laboratory and opportunities that need to be tackled with efficiency daily.

Session three starts off with a talk from Dr. Markus Roggen (President and CSO of Delic Labs) titled “Cannabis & Hemp Analysis with FT-IR.” Dr. Roggen plans to present an IR platform as a rapid, reliable, and cheap solution for QC steps. Next, R. Adam Mosey, Associate Professor of Chemistry at Lake Superior State University will focus on strategies for identification, isolation, and chemical characterization of unknown chemicals in cannabis mixtures using LC-TOF and NMR. His talk is titled “Complementary Techniques: Use of NMR and LC-TOF for the Characterization of Unknown.” Finally, Jonathan Kane, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer at Lion Labs, will close out the session with a talk titled “Bringing a Cannabis Product To Market: Branding, Production, and Quality Management.”

After the presentations conclude, attendees will be invited to special Zoom breakout rooms to pose questions directly to the session speakers in an “Ask the Experts” Q&A forum from 4:00–5:00 pm EST.

Day Two presentations will focus on Best Practices and Advanced Topics (session one), followed by an interactive Certificate-Based Cannabis Testing Master Class session and workshops (session two). Presenters are from 1st Choice Labs, Arcaea, and Agilent. There will be two “Ask the Experts” Q&A forums will be held this day.

Session one on February 11th will kick off with a talk by Julie Kowalski, Lab Director at 1st Choice Labs, titled “Cannabis Testing Best Practices: Making a Case for Understanding Fundamentals.” This talk will make the case that understanding fundamentals of the techniques used is critical to establishing suitable methods that will not stumble and fail when implemented for daily use. Next, Edward A. Palumbo II, a Senior R&D Scientist at Arcaea, will present “Characterizing xenobiotic hemp metabolites in the raw honey of Western honeybees (Apismellifera) by UHPLC-MS/MS.”

Following that talk, Christophe Deckers, an Application Scientist for Sample Preparation at Agilent, will discuss how to simplify your sample preparation to get better potency testing in difficult samples with less instrument maintenance. His talk is titled “What is Next for Potency Testing? Part 1, Sample Prep.” Closing out this morning session will be Jean-Francois Roy, a Mass Spectrometry Application Scientist at Agilent, who will present “What is Next for Potency Testing? Part 2, Analytical Methodologies.” Roy will discuss various potential approaches to tackle analytical challenges for potency testing.

After the presentations are over, the attendees are invited to participate in a live Q&A session with the speakers from 11:15 am–12:15 pm EST.

Friday afternoon’s exciting “Interactive Master Class Certification” will teach attendees about several of the key analytical workflows and how they can implement strategies and best practices in their laboratories to promote success. The class will include the following presenters and topics:

• Benjamin J. Southwell (Assistant Professor of Bio-Analytical Chemistry, Lake Superior State University), “Workshop Topic: Sample Prep.”
• Brian Whiteley (Application Engineer, Agilent), “Workshop Topic: Potency Testing.”
• Jean-Francois Roy (Mass Spectrometry Application Scientist, Agilent), “Workshop Topic: Pesticides Testing”
• Ron Honnald, PhD, and Simon Jones, PhD (GC/GCMS Application Scientists, Agilent), “Workshop Topic: Terpenes and Residual Solvents Testing.”
• Jenny Nelson and Craig Jones (Application Scientists, Agilent), “Workshop Topic: Heavy Metals Testing.”
• Heather Ebling (Applications and Support Manager, Medicinal Genomics Corporation), “Workshop Topic: Microbial Testing.”

After the presentations are over, the attendees are invited to participate in a live Q&A session with the speakers from 4:30–5:00 pm EST.

Those most encouraged to attend are any future or current cannabis laboratory managers, future or current cannabis testing laboratory analysts and chemists, and entrepreneurs considering starting a cannabis testing laboratory.

Click here to register for the free event and to learn more about each presentation and speaker.