A major focus of my work has been the endogenous cannabinoid system, with particular attention on inflammation and pain. In this context, three of my most highly-cited publications investigated vasoactivity of anandamide (the first identified endocannabinoid), neuroprotection via cannabinoid activation of PPARα and the regulation of dopaminergic neurotransmission in the striatum. My central area of research concerns the pharmacology and biochemistry of G protein-coupled receptors (in particular, cannabinoid, adenosine and glutamate) in the CNS and peripheral tissues. I am interested in how activation of one of these classes of receptor leads to modification of the response to other receptor classes (cross-talk), as well as how different ligands can provoke different signalling profiles at the same receptor (agonist bias).

An additional focus of my research has been an investigation of enzymes (particularly those involved in turnover of endocannabinoids, hydrogen sulphide and cyclic nucleotides), as convergence points for signalling cross-talk, as well as quantifying enzyme activities ex vivo, for example, in pathological conditions or following drug exposure. I also investigate key enzymes as targets for drug discovery, generating high-throughput assays in vitro. A third area of research is the role of mitochondria in cell survival and/or toxicity following drug exposure or under substrate-limited conditions.