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National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)

Our Work
Guided by our mission to lead the nation’s research efforts on alcohol use disorder, NIAAA supports research conducted within the Institute, as well as in institutions around the world. The Institute's Strategic Plan serves as a roadmap for optimizing the allocation of resources to areas of alcohol research most likely to benefit from additional support, translating scientific discoveries for the...
Molecular mechanism underlying ethanol activation of G-protein-gated inwardly rectifying potassium channels

Alcohol produces a wide range of pharmacological effects on the nervous system through its actions on ion channels. The molecular mechanism underlying ethanol modulation of ion channels is poorly understood. NIAAA scientists used a unique method of alcohol-tagging to demonstrate that alcohol activation of a G-protein-gated inwardly rectifying potassium (GIRK or Kir3) channel is mediated by a defined alcohol pocket...

Clinical NeuroImaging Research Core
What we do The Clinical NeuroImaging Research Core (CNIRC) serves two functions: Conducting independent addiction neuroimaging and psychophysiological studies and providing expertise in these areas, through collaborations and support to clinical investigators. We are looking to add a post-doctoral researcher to our team. Learn about the position and how to apply. Research interests include: Investigate the neural correlates of cognition...
NIAAA Launches COMBINE Clinical Trial - Eleven universities to test behavioral and pharmacologic treatments for alcoholism

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) today announces the start of Combining Medications and Behavioral Interventions (COMBINE), a nationwide study that targets persons with the diagnosis alcohol dependence, commonly known as alcoholism. COMBINE is the first national study to evaluate the effectiveness of behavioral treatments alone and in combination with medications. It begins at a time when...

El síndrome de Wernicke-Korsakoff
El síndrome de Wernicke-Korsakoff (Síndrome de WK) es un trastorno cerebral grave que, por lo general, pero no solamente, se asocia con el abuso crónico de alcohol y el trastorno grave por consumo de alcohol (AUD, por su sigla en inglés)
Bernice Porjesz, Ph.D., to Present Mendelson Lecture May 20

Bernice Porjesz, Ph.D., will present the Jack Mendelson, M.D., Honorary Lecture on May 20, 2014. The lecture is titled: “Neurophysiological Endophenotypes in the Search for Genes for Alcoholism.” The event will take place at the National Institutes of Health from 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm, in Lipsett Amphitheater, NIH Clinical Center, Bethesda, Maryland. The lecture is free and open to...

Division of Epidemiology and Prevention Research (DEPR)
The Division of Epidemiology and Prevention Research (DEPR) promotes and supports applied, translational, and methodological research on the epidemiology and prevention of hazardous alcohol consumption and related behaviors, alcohol use disorder, alcohol-related mortality and morbidity, and other alcohol-related problems and consequences. DEPR advances its mission by: identifying scientific opportunities and gaps in current knowledge; setting research priorities; stimulating and supporting...

High Intensity Drinking Working Group Meeting
NIAAA Working Group on High-Intensity Drinking -- Working Group Meeting Panelists: Nancy Barnett, Ph.D., Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs, Brown University School of Public Health; Professor, Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Brown University Lee Boot, M.F.A., Research Associate Professor and Director of the Imaging Research Center, UMBC Ian Colrain, Ph.D., President, SRI Biosciences Elizabeth D'Amico, Ph.D., Senior Behavioral Scientist...
Dr. Craig J. McClain to Deliver 19th Annual Mark Keller Honorary Lecture at the National Institutes of Health

WHAT: The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the National Institutes of Health, announces that Craig J. McClain, M.D. will deliver the 19th Annual Mark Keller Honorary Lecture. Dr. McClain is an internationally distinguished clinician and scientist in the fields of gastroenterology, alcohol abuse, nutrition, cytokine research, and hepatic drug metabolism. The title of his talk...

Elizabeth Parra Dang, CDC
Elizabeth Parra Dang, M.P.H. Behavioral Scientist Health Communication and Research Translation Team Infant Outcomes Monitoring, Research, and Prevention Branch Division of Birth Defects and Infant Disorders National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 4770 Buford Hwy NE, MS S106-3 Atlanta, GA 30341 Phone: (404) 498-3947 Email: edang@cdc.gov Biographical Summary Elizabeth Parra Dang, M.P.H...
NIAAA Data and Safety Monitoring Plan Requirements for NIAAA-funded Clinical Trials

Purpose To provide grant applicants with guidance and information on the development of data and safety monitoring plans (DSMP) for NIH-defined clinical trials funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). Introduction In June 1998, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) issued a policy on data and safety monitoring requiring oversight and monitoring of all NIH funded...

Our Funding

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the National Institutes of Health, is the primary U.S. agency for conducting and supporting research on the causes, consequences, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of alcohol use disorder. Each year, NIAAA submits its budget request to NIH. This request is incorporated into the full NIH budget request, which is sent...

RSA Selects Deputy Director Warren for Lifetime Achievement Award

The Research Society on Alcoholism has selected NIAAA deputy director Dr. Kenneth R. Warren to receive the RSA Lifetime Achievement Award. The award recognizes a person with a long, balanced career whose contributions to alcohol research, training, service and advocacy have had a lasting impact on the field. Warren is a distinguished scientific administrator and a foremost expert on the...

Researchers Identify Alcoholism Subtypes

Analyses of a national sample of individuals with alcohol dependence (alcoholism) reveal five distinct subtypes of the disease, according to a new study by scientists at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). “Our findings should help dispel the popular notion of the ‘typical alcoholic,’” notes first author Howard B...

Study Finds Reduced Brain Growth in Alcoholics with Family Drinking History

The brains of alcohol-dependent individuals are affected not only by their own heavy drinking, but also by genetic or environmental factors associated with their parents’ drinking, according to a new study by researchers at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Researchers found reduced brain growth among alcohol-dependent individuals with...

Levetiracetam Study Data Access
NIAAA Protocol NCIG 002: A Multisite Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial of Levetiracetam Extended-Release in Very Heavy-Drinking Alcohol-Dependent Patients Study Details This multisite clinical trial evaluated the efficacy and safety of levetiracetam XR, for the treatment of alcohol use disorder (AUD). Sponsor: The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism’s Clinical Investigations Group (NCIG) NCT #: 00970814 Phase: Phase 2 Treatment Arms...
Gene combinations help predict treatment success for alcoholism medication

NIH-funded study says five-marker genotype panel can guide ondansetron use An experimental treatment for alcohol dependence works better in individuals who possess specific combinations of genes that regulate the function and binding of serotonin, a brain chemical affected by the treatment, according to a study supported by the National Institutes of Health. A report of the finding appears online in...

Naltrexone Approved for Alcoholism Treatment

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism welcomes the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announcement of an indication for use of the pharmacologic agent naltrexone (REVIA tm) as a safe and effective adjunct to psychosocial treatments for alcoholism. Naltrexone offers new hope for preventing relapse in many of the more than 1 million Americans treated each year for the...

NIAAA Honors Penny S. Mills with Senator Harold Hughes Award
Penny S. Mills, executive vice president and CEO of the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM), received the Senator Harold Hughes Memorial Award today from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), one of the National Institutes of Health. NIAAA Director George F. Koob, Ph.D., announced the Institute’s selection during the 146th meeting of the National Advisory Council...
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