Deputy Division Director
Mark D. Egli, Ph.D.
Focus Area
Biographical Summary
Dr. Mark Egli is Deputy Director of 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 (AUD), as well as research on associated chronic pain conditions, cognitive impairment, and recovery processes.
Dr. Egli represents NIAAA on the NIH Helping to End Addiction Long-term® (HEAL) Initiative, contributing to funding opportunities for research on treatments for co-occurring AUD-OUD, and the influence of alcohol misuse on chronic pain. He provides expert advice to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) Preclinical Screening Platform for Pain (PSPP) program aligned with the HEAL goal of identifying and profiling non-addictive therapeutics for pain. Dr. Egli also represents NIAAA on the NIH Pain Consortium.
Dr. Egli launched the NIAAA Preclinical Medication Efficacy Testing Program in 2007 and continues to promote discovery of therapeutic mechanisms for AUD. He represents NIAAA on the NIH Common Fund's Complement Animal Research In Experimentation (Complement-ARIE) Program to promote lab or computer-based research approaches that more accurately model human biology, and complement or replace traditional research models.
Dr. Egli was a founding member and previous Chair of the NIH Program Leadership Committee, contributed to the NIH Sex as a Biological Variable policy, and led recommendations for innovative scientific collaborations as part of the ongoing NIH COVID-19 Response Intra-Action Review.
Dr. Egli received his doctorate in psychology from the University of Minnesota with an emphasis on the experimental analysis of behavior and behavioral pharmacology. He conducted research on environmental and genetic influences on behavior and cognition in people with intellectual disabilities at the Vanderbilt University Kennedy Center. He continues to be motivated by the profound impact NIH has on improving public health and seeks opportunities to expand research and policy in the behavioral and health sciences.
Selected Publications
Egli M. (2018) Advancing pharmacotherapy development from preclinical animal studies. In: Grant K., Lovinger D. (eds) The Neuropharmacology of Alcohol. Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology, 248:537-78. LINK
Guizzetti M, Davies DL, Egli M, Finn DA, Molina P, Regunathan S, Robinson DL, Sohrabji F. (2016) Sex and the Lab: An alcohol-focused commentary on the NIH initiative to balance sex in cell and animal studies. Alcoholism: Experimental and Clinical Research, 40(6):1182-91. LINK
Suchankova P, Yan J, Schwandt ML, Stangl BL, Caparelli EC, Momenan R, Jerlhag E, Engel JA, Hodgkinson CA, Egli M, Lopez MF, Becker HC, Goldman D, Heilig M, Ramchandani VA, Leggio L. (2015) The glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor as a potential treatment target in alcohol use disorder: evidence from human genetic association studies and a mouse model of alcohol dependence. Translational Psychiatry. 2015 Jun 16;5:e583. doi: 10.1038/tp.2015.68. LINK
Egli M, Koob GF, Edwards S (2012) Alcohol dependence as a chronic pain disorder. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 36:2179-92. LINK