Prof. Dr. med. Thomas Herdegen studied human medicine in Würzburg and Vienna. He received neuroscience training at universities including Heidelberg, Yale (USA), San Diego (USA) and Brisbane (Australia) and was supported by a Heisenberg fellowship from the DFG.

In 1996 he was appointed Professor of Pharmacology at the University Hospital Kiel and was deputy head of the Institute of Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology at UKSH Kiel until 2023.

As a specialist in pharmacology and toxicology, he has worked in pain research since 1988. His focus areas are neuropharmacology and pain pharmacology.

Herdegen has made a name for himself in the research of medical cannabis, contributed to the Cannabis practice guideline, published in 2023 in the Deutsches Ärzteblatt on the drug safety of THC and CBD, and was scientific director of the Medical Cannabis Congresses in Berlin from 2021 to 2024.

He is an expert in the 420Pharma Circle of Experts and received the German Pain Award in 2024 for his research and teaching.