Graduate research shows promise for fibromyalgia relief with medicinal cannabis

Published: 9 October 2026

It’s a safe bet that few researchers arrive at a PhD in medicinal cannabis after a career in environmental engineering and the wastewater industry. But for Dr Inna Kurlyandchik, following unconventional paths has become something of a specialty.

This former engineer and newly minted graduate of Southern Cross University transformed a personal interest in nutrition into a career as a naturopath and research that is breaking new ground in pain management.

Her PhD research focused on Australia’s first placebo-controlled feasibility trial of oral medicinal cannabis to treat fibromyalgia, one of the least understood conditions in modern medicine.

Fibromyalgia may be described as ‘the body’s pain volume dialled up high.’ It’s characterised by widespread pain, fatigue, poor sleep, cognitive difficulties and sometimes associated mental health symptoms. There is no cure for it and treatment focuses largely on pain management.

Inna, who trained as an engineer in Kazakhstan before emigrating to Australia nearly twenty years ago, where she completed a Master of Environmental Engineering, has an engineer’s instinct to look for the root cause of a problem. How to more effectively treat chronic pain was no different.

“The PhD experience was fantastic. I had wonderful supervisors and although our study was a small one, the results prove that we have just scratched the surface with regards to non-opioid solutions for chronic pain management.”

Her interest in naturopathy began while searching for answers to her daughter's severe eczema. Frustrated by treatments that addressed symptoms but not underlying causes, she immersed herself in the science of nutrition and gut health. That curiosity ultimately inspired a complete career change and later helped her identify her own undiagnosed autoimmune condition.

“Like many people living with chronic pain, I spent years searching for answers,” she said. “That experience, combined with many patients I was seeing as a naturopath, made me curious about why some people develop persistent pain and what can be done to help.”

That led her to Southern Cross University and a central role in the CANN-RELIEF trial.

Seventy per cent of patients who were given the cannabis preparation during the trial achieved a 30% reduction in pain, a result that was maintained over the 12-week treatment period.

Student standing with poster about their research

Participants also reported significantly better sleep, better mental health and improvements in daily and social functioning, which are often severely impacted by the condition.

“The PhD experience was fantastic. I had wonderful supervisors and although our study was a small one, the results prove that we have just scratched the surface with regards to non-opioid solutions for chronic pain management.”

The trial also examined the effect of medicinal cannabis on the endocannabinoid system – the body’s natural pain-regulating mechanism. Researchers think fibromyalgia may be a result of a dysfunction of this system. The results, however, showed no, or inconclusive effects of medicinal cannabis on the three naturally occurring compounds in the blood that are related to this system.

“Researching with medicinal cannabis carries a certain amount of complexity. In recruitment for the study for example, many people were concerned about driving as small amounts of THC even in legitimate prescriptions, can appear in a roadside saliva test,” said Inna.

Lab setting of gloved hands using pipette

Associate Professor Janet Schloss, Inna’s supervisor and Chief Investigator on the CANN-RELIEF trial, said there was still a long way to go with cannabinoid research.

“What we are seeing is the potential for wide ranging pain relief of these products but there are challenges in conducting clinical trials that often sit outside our control as is the case with drug driving laws,” she said.

“Given the success of this pilot trial however we think it’s worth pursuing. It could significantly improve the quality of life for thousands of people.”

The primary findings of the CANN-RELIEF research have been published in Pain Research and Management with findings related to the endocannabinoid system published in Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research (2026).

The research team were also recognised in the recent 2026 Cannabiz Awards, where the trial took out the Best Use of Data Award.

Little Green Pharma supplied the investigational product and co-funded Inna’s PhD scholarship.

This research was approved with ethics number: SCU HREC 2022/146 (GU HREC 2023/137)