Program Officer
John A. Matochik, Ph.D.
Focus Area
Biographical Summary
Dr. John Matochik is a Program Officer in the Division of Neuroscience and Behavior at the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). He manages an extramural research grant portfolio, encompassing studies on the neural and behavioral aspects of Alcohol Use Disorder, with a focus on neuroimaging, computational neuroscience, cognitive neuroscience, and developmental processes.
Dr. Matochik represents NIAAA on the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study, which is the largest long-term study of brain development and child heath in the United States. He has been involved from the beginning in the planning and then in the management of this landmark study.
Dr. Matochik is the NIAAA lead for the NIDA-NIAAA Neuroscience Working Group, which brings together Program Officers from both institutes for a monthly meeting to share common interests related to neuroscience and to view a presentation by a new or junior investigator. The working group is charged with planning the NIDA-NIAAA Frontiers in Addiction Research Mini-Convention that is held as a satellite event just before the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience.
Dr. Matochik also works with NIDA colleagues as a member of the joint NIAAA-NIDA Scientific Review Committee, which reviews the scientific merit of research protocols submitted to the Intramural Research Programs of both institutes.
Dr. Matochik represents NIAAA on a number of trans-NIH activities, including the Human Connectome Project, the Collaborative Research in Computational Neuroscience initiative, and the NIH BRAIN Initiative.
Dr. Matochik received his Ph.D. degree from Vanderbilt University and did a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California Los Angeles School of Medicine. His research career used positron emission tomography and magnetic resonance imaging in the study of the neurobehavioral effects of attention deficit disorders, drug addiction, and aging.
Selected Publications
Cui C et al. Brain pathways to recovery from alcohol dependence. Alcohol 2015; 49:435-452.
Volkow ND et al. The conception of the ABCD study: From substance use to a broad NIH collaboration. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience 2018; 32:4-7.
Hagler DJ Jr et al. Image processing and analysis methods for the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study. Neuroimage 2019; 202:116091.
Chaarani B et al. Baseline brain function in the preadolescents of the ABCD Study. Nature Neuroscience 2021; 24:1176-1188.