Dr. Michelle Peace took her research to the Virginia State Capitol Building! She testified in the General Law Committee of the House of Delegates regarding the nature of the cannabis industry in Virginia and the absence of quality assurance in the unregulated market. This is how she and her lab team #MakeItReal The cycle from lab bench to real application is already unusually short for her research program - but from lab bench to affecting public policy?! That’s like lightening striking!

As usual, she encourages her team to go along with her. Alaina Holt is one of her doctoral students, Laerissa Reveil is employed in her lab as a research associate, and Amanda Ferreira is an international fellow through the State Department’s Humphrey Program (She’s a controlled substances forensic scientist in Trinidad Tobago!!).

“What concerns me is that people don’t know what they’re taking,” said Michelle Peace, a forensic science professor at VCU who has drawn nationwide recognition for her research in the field. “The products are not quality tested but consumers are trusting they are made in a sanitary environment and that the label is accurate.”