Dr. Marion McNabb, a distinguished Public Health Doctor, brings over two decades of extensive experience in global and domestic business, research, policy, and public health. Her expertise spans a wide array of fields including cannabis, medical cannabis, digital health, HIV/AIDS, epidemiology, sexual reproductive health and rights, and community-based health interventions.
Currently, Dr. McNabb holds the role of Senior Director of Research and Learning at United Way of Massachusetts Bay, spearheading the implementation of an innovative measurement framework and co-creating an organizational research agenda. Her educational background is impressive, with a Bachelor's Degree of Arts from St. Louis University, a Masters in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, and a Doctorate in Public Health (DrPH) from Boston University School of Public Health.
As the CEO of 510 Innovations, LLC, and President of the Cannabis Center of Excellence, Dr. McNabb is deeply involved in cannabis research and policy. She is a Cannabis Retail Appointee to the MA Cannabis Advisory Board (CAB), a role nominated by Massachusetts Treasurer Goldberg. Her responsibilities include chairing the Research Sub-Committee of the CAB, where she has been instrumental in developing recommendations for regulatory revisions in the cannabis sector.
Since 2018, Dr. McNabb has led seven research studies on medical and adult use cannabis, approved by the UMass Dartmouth Institutional Review Board. These studies focus on self-reported cannabis use and include diverse groups such as veterans. Her work, published in peer-reviewed literature and presented in educational forums, is conducted through the Virtual Cannabis Center of Excellence, Inc., a non-profit organization she leads as President. The CCOE is dedicated to advancing excellence in cannabis research and education, particularly in the realms of community engagement, medical and adult-use cannabis, and social justice.
Dr. McNabb's research portfolio includes studies on veterans, healthcare provider perspectives on medical cannabis, cannabis legalization and social justice, COVID-19 impacts on cannabis use, environmental sustainability in cannabis cultivation, and comprehensive surveys of medical cannabis patients and consumers.
The Cannabis Center of Excellence, under Dr. McNabb’s leadership, has been recognized with several awards, including the 2017 Boston University Questrom School of Business and Green Lion Partners cannabis startup competition, the NECANN community awards for cannabis research in 2018 and 2022, and the 2023 NECANN award for Healthcare Provider of the Year.
Beyond her role at the CCOE, Dr. McNabb is also a Senior Director at United Way and was the CEO and co-founder of the Cannabis Community Care and Research Network (C3RN). Her career has been marked by significant contributions in global public health, including projects in Africa and Haiti, and work in digital health strategy with UNICEF and Health Enabled.
Dr. McNabb's expertise extends to digital health, sexual and reproductive health, HIV/AIDS prevention, care, treatment implementations, and capacity building. Her work has consistently demonstrated excellence in research, continuing medical education, digital and online learning, telemedicine, and the design, management, and evaluation of public health programs.
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