In an effort to address the complex issue of alcohol abuse among college students in a comprehensive, scientific manner, NIAAA's National Advisory Council created a Subcommittee on College Drinking in February, 1998. Comprised of college presidents and alcohol researchers, the subcommittee provides expertise and guidance to NIAAA based upon this unique dialogue among the administrators and scientists. Subcommittee activities are coordinated by Stephen Long, Fred Donodeo, Vivian Faden, and Gayle Boyd.

The long-term goal of the subcommittee is to advise NIAAA on research gaps that need to be explored in order to improve campus prevention and treatment programs. A short-term goal is to provide college presidents and researchers with reliable information on the overall quality and effectiveness of current interventions.

To address this complex issue most effectively, the subcommittee created two distinct panels which focus on specific aspects of college drinking. Each panel, consisting of subcommittee members and selected outside experts, has commissioned a series of papers on specific topics (see below) which will be integrated into final panel reports, to be completed in approximately 6 months. The panel reports will then be used to create a final subcommittee report which will be presented to the advisory council at the February 2001 meeting and, ultimately, to Dr. Gordis.

Panel 1: Context and Consequences, is descriptive in nature and provides an in-depth view of the context and characteristics of college drinking. Recognizing the need to translate research data more effectively for university staff, the goal of the subcommittee is to help increase college administrators' comprehension of current information. Papers commissioned for Panel 1 include:

Panel 2: Prevention and Treatment, is evaluative in nature and focuses on the effectiveness of prevention and treatment interventions currently being used, the degree to which they are researched and evaluated, and the outcomes being achieved. Papers commissioned for Panel 2 include:

Using these commissioned papers as a base, science writers assigned to each panel will prepare individual panel reports. Through the use of a separate science writer, these panel reports will then be combined into an overall subcommittee report which will include recommendations for further research. The final report is scheduled for completion by the end of 2000.

The Subcommittee on College Drinking is comprised of 10 college Presidents and 12 alcohol researchers, and is working cooperatively with a variety of federal agencies, alcohol industry representatives, parent groups, and students. The commissioned papers are being prepared by noted specialists in the field. The Subcommittee is co-chaired by Rev. Edward A. Malloy, President of the University of Notre Dame and Dr. Mark Goldman, Distinguished Research Professor, University of South Florida. Presidents: Rev. Malloy, Judith Ramaley, U. of Vermont, John T. Casteen III, U. of Virginia, Robert Carothers, U. of Rhode Island, Susan Pierce, U. of Puget Sound, William Jenkins, Louisiana State U., William Kirwan, Ohio State U., James Lyons, Cal. State - Dominguez Hills, Edward Foote, II, U. of Miami, and Tomas Arciniega, Cal. State-Bakersfield. Researchers: Mark Goldman, Sharon Wilsnack, U. of North Dakota, Harold Holder, Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, Ken Sher, U. of Missouri, Robert Zucker, U. of Michigan, Henry Wechsler, Harvard U., Alan Marlatt, U. of Washington, Don Kenkel, Cornell U., Michael Fleming, U. of Wisconsin-Madison, Marcus Rothschild, VA Medical Center, Marilyn Aguirre-Molina, Columbia U.Additional Panel Members: Ellen Gold, American College Health Association, Patrick Johnson, CASA, Robert Saltz, Pacific Institute, David Anderson, George Mason U., Bill DeJong, Higher Education Center.

Since the September Council meeting, NIAAA Director Enoch Gordis, M.D. accomplished the following activities:

• Participated, along with senior NIH officials, in a meeting with representatives of a newly established alliance between Meharry Medical College and Vanderbilt University Medical Center. The formal alliance was created to "enhance the educational, scientific, and clinical programs in and between both institutions." The meeting was held September 15 on the NIH Campus. Both Medical institutions are located in Nashville, Tennessee.
• Gave an invited talk to the National Advisory Council of the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) on September 15 in Washington, D.C. Dr. Gordis spoke with the National Advisory Council about alcohol as a substance of abuse.
• Delivered a keynote address at a scientific meeting in Mannheim, Germany celebrating the inauguration of the first addiction chair in Germany and the appointment of Dr. Karl Mann as its Chair. In his keynote address, Dr. Gordis spoke on "The Promise of Research for Prevention and Treatment." Dr. Gordis also participated in a meeting held in conjunction with this event to discuss U.S.- German Collaboration in Alcohol Studies. The theme of this meeting was "Setting a Research Agenda." Participants included senior researchers from the United States and for Germany. The three-day inauguration and collaboration meeting was held September 29-October 1.
• Attended the 1999 NIH Research Festival held October 5-8 on the NIH Campus. Included in the Research Festival were poster sessions, mini-symposia on various science topics, and meetings with postdoctoral fellows.
• Attended the 1999 Annual meeting of the Institute of Medicine. The meeting was held October 11-12 in Washington, D.C. Among the topics presented on and discussed were memory, including how memory functions; social, behavioral, and clinical research; the IoM and the uninsured.
• Presented information on alcohol research progress at the Eighth Doris Siegel Memorial Colloquium held October 15 at the Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York, New York. Doris Siegel was Director of Social Work Services at the Mount Sinai Hospital and Edith J. Baerwald Professor of Community Medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. The theme of this year's colloquium was, "Behavioral/Social Sciences and Health Care in the 21^st Century: Contributions and Opportunities."
• Met with the NIH Council of Public Representatives (COPR) on October 21 on the NIH Campus. Dr. Gordis discussed how NIAAA involves the public in its activities.
• Attended the 29^th Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience held October 23-28 in Miami Beach, Florida and gave opening remarks at a Satellite Symposium sponsored by NIAAA entitled, "The Cerebellum and Alcohol: Roles in Cognitive and Motor Functions. The Symposium was organized by Dr. Ellen Witt of NIAAA and Dr. Yuan Liu, now with the NINDS.
• Participated in a December 1planning meeting for the joint NIAAA-CSAT Researcher in Residence Program.
• Presented on NIAAA Research Activities at the 10^th Annual National Leadership Forum of the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA). The meeting was held December 104 in Washington, D.C. At 4,000 members, CADCA is one of the largest organizations representing alcohol and other drug abuse issues.
• Attended the 38^th Annual Meeting of the American College of Neuropsycho-pharmacology, December 12-16 in Acapulco, Mexico.
• Presented information on alcohol policy research to The Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research Funding at their breakfast meeting held January 19 in the Rayburn House Office building.
• Presented on alcohol research and its implications for health policy to the Health Chairs of state legislative committees of the National Conference of State Legislatures at their Winter meeting, December 4 in Washington, D.C.
• Attended the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence Reception and Awards Dinner, October 29 in Washington, D.C.
• Delivered a keynote address at the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) State-of-the-Art Conference on Neuroscience, Clinical Practice And Services Research, held November 4-6 in Washington, D.C. The topic of Dr. Gordis' talk was, "A Report from NIAAA: Research to Practice Program.
• Participated with members of the Governors' Spouses Initiative Leadership Committee and Mrs. Millie Webb, National President of Mothers Against Drunk Driving in national briefings on underage drinking for the Editors of teen-oriented publications and for Editors of Women's/parenting oriented- magazines. The Governors' Leadership Committee was represented by Mrs. Susan Knowles, First Lady, Alaska; Mrs. Columba Bush, First Lady, Florida; Mrs. Hope Taft, First Lady, Ohio; and Mrs. Martha Sundquist, First Lady, Tennessee. Mr. Rick Delano represented Scholastic Inc. which hosted the teen oriented meeting at its Broadway offices; Dr, Vivian Pinn, Director, Office of Research on Women's Health/, NIH, participated in the second set of meetings with the Editors of women's and parents' magazines.

• Annual meeting and scientific conference of the Directors, NIAAA-funded Alcohol Research Centers. The meeting was held December 8-9 in Indianapolis, Indiana.
• NIAAA-sponsored workshop entitled, "Social Identification Theory: Implications for Alcohol Research," November 15 in Bethesda, Maryland.
• NIAAA-sponsored Expert Meeting on Developing an Alcohol Policy Information System, November 30 in Bethesda, Maryland.
• Governors' Spouses Initiative on Underage Drinking Executive Working Group Meeting, October 29 in Washington, D.C.
• North Carolina Research to Practice Forum, November 3, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.
• NIAAA Treatment Portfolio Review, November 8-9 in Bethesda, Maryland.

• With WAMU, the National Public Radio affiliate at The American University to discuss alcohol research progress.

Since the September Council meeting, NIAAA Deputy Director Mary C. Dufour, M.D., M.P.H. accomplished the following activities:

• On September 23, Dr. Dufour gave welcoming remarks at the first meeting of the Executive Working Group of the Leadership to Keep Children Alcohol Free. This meeting was held in Washington, D.C.
• Dr. Dufour attended Hazelden's 50th Anniversary Celebration held in Center City, Minnesota, October 14-16. She participated in the Workshop entitled "The Science for Change: The Science of Addiction and Recovery." Dr. Dufour's presentation was entitled "Research in the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism."
• Dr. Dufour was an invited speaker at the University of Michigan's Alcohol Research Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan, October 21-22. The Conference was entitled "Putting Special Populations on the Alcohol Research Agenda: A Tribute to Edith S. Gomberg's Work." Dr. Dufour's presentation was entitled "Alcohol and the Older Individual: Weighing the Risks and Benefits." Dr. Dufour also chaired the afternoon session of the conference held on October 22.
• On October 29, Dr. Dufour gave introductory remarks at the Second Governor's Spouses and Executive Working Group Meeting of the Leadership to Keep Children Alcohol Free held in Washington, D.C.
• Baton Rouge, Louisiana was the location for the State of Louisiana's 1999 Fall Conference on Prevention and Treatment. Dr. Dufour was an invited speaker at the conference and the title of her presentation was "National Alcohol Research Updates: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism." The conference was held November 1-4.
• Dr. Dufour attended the Joint Panel Meeting on NIAAA's Subcommittee on College Drinking which was held in Bethesda, Maryland, November 11-12.
• Dr. Dufour chaired the afternoon session of the Social Identification for Alcohol Research Meeting held in Bethesda, Maryland, November 15.
• Dr. Dufour participated in a round table discussion at the NIAAA-sponsored workshop entitled " Developing An Alcohol Policy Information System." The meeting was held in Bethesda, Maryland, November 30.
• Dr. Dufour gave the opening remarks and chaired a morning session at the 3rd Planning Mee ting of the Executive Working Group for the Leadership to Keep Children Alcohol Free, Governor's Spouse's Initiative. The meeting was held January 12 in Washington, D.C.
• Dr. Dufour continues to serve as the NIAAA's representative to the NIH Hispanic Task Force and also to the Coordinating Committee on Research for Women's Health, NIH.

• Jennifer Warner from CBS Health Watch interviewed Dr. Dufour on her paper "Alcohol and the Elderly," in January.
• Dr. Dufour also gave several interviews regarding the press release of Dr. Bridget Grant's paper on "Estimates of U.S. Children Exposed to Alcohol Abuse and Dependence in the Family."

The mission of the Office of Collaborative Research Activities (OCRA) is to: (a) foster collaboration activities with other NIH Institutes, governmental agencies, and other organizations interested in alcohol research; (b) provide momentum and guidance to projects in collaboration with appropriate program administrators or subject matter experts in other NIAAA offices or divisions; (c) coordinate and administer collaborative international research programs and scientific exchanges; and (d) develop and coordinate science education projects and initiatives.

Currently, the Interagency Coordinating Committee (ICC) on FAS consists of representatives from ten government organizations, agencies, and Institutes. Three Cabinet departments are represented: Health and Human Services, Education, and Justice. The meetings are attended by representatives of advocacy groups and state health departments. Drs. Mary Dufour and Faye Calhoun chair the committee.

During the summer the Department of Education took the lead in forming a working group of the Committee to address issues related to the special needs of children with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) and alcohol-related neural deficits (ARND) (ages 0-8) and their families. Representatives from FAS organizations at the state level and several ICCFAS agencies (including NIAAA) were represented.

In addition to presentations of Institute and agency portfolios related to FAS, the ICCFAS has sponsored four workshops. A fifth workshop entitled, "Early Childhood Neurobehavioral Assessment for the Differential Diagnosis of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Alcohol-Related Neurological Disorder" will be held on March 8-10, 2000 at the Bethesda Marriott.

Two of the three guides intended for health care providers in prenatal care and pediatric settings have been printed and are available for distribution. The third, a Woman's Guide, is in final preparation for printing. The Guides are:

• Identification of At-Risk Drinking and Intervention with Women of Childbearing Age: A Guide for Primary-Care Providers (NIH Publication No. 99-4369)
• Identification and Care of Fetal Alcohol-Exposed Children: A Guide for Primary-Care Providers (NIH Publication No. 99-4368)
• Personal Steps to a Healthy Choice: A Woman' Guide (companion volume)

This project is being funded collaboratively with the NIH Office of Research on Minority Health (ORMH). The guides were edited by Dorothea de Zafra, MPIA. As mentioned in earlier reports, the guides are intended to increase awareness of at-risk drinking and fetal alcohol exposure among primary-care clinicians, and to provide brief screening and intervention protocols. OCRA is planning to develop a curriculum to train clinicians in the use of each guide and to determine the effectiveness of using the guides in actual clinical practice.

Copies of the first two publications may be obtained by writing to:

This study was created through a cooperative agreement of NIAAA with NICHD, Howard University Hospital, Providence Hospital, DC General Hospital, and Research Triangle Institute. Funds from the NIH Office of Research on Women's Health supplemented NIAAA support. The findings of Phase I of this project provide data from comprehensive prospectively gained information on prenatal drinking in an inner city African American community. Further, the ultimate aim is to provide information that would be useful in structuring prevention and intervention efforts. 

The general purpose of the study was to address the lack of data on the amount of alcohol consumed by women during pregnancy within the District of Columbia. An objective was to assess the effectiveness of using the Audio-Computer-Assisted Self Interview (ACASI) method in conducting the survey. A second objective was to develop a screening questionnaire on alcohol consumption by pregnant women that would be sensitive and effective in the detection of any amount of alcohol use during pregnancy. It was important that the instrument could be easily administered to and acceptable to the patient population

A total of 507 women, mostly African American, from 9 clinic sites within the District of Columbia vicinity completed the interview. An overwhelming majority of the 507 women (over 80 percent) enjoyed taking the screen and (96 percent) found it not difficult to take. While the majority said they stopped drinking during pregnancy, over 30 percent either decreased drinking, stayed the same, or increased their drinking. Drinking behavior was evaluated for quantity and frequency and assigned a risk status:  low, moderate, and high. Data are being analyzed for publication and presentation. Further studies will determine how alcohol questions might be easily incorporated into the busy prenatal care settings in Washington, D.C.

This collaborative research study made use of the unique room-sized calorimetric facilities at the Diet and Human Performance Laboratory of the Human Nutrition Research Center (Agriculture Research Service, USDA) in Beltsville, MD to assess the nutritional interaction between alcohol and the energy derived from food. In addition, the Behavioral Pharmacology Research Unit, Department of Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine had the primary responsibility for subject recruitment and clinical care during the study. The data collection phase of the study is now complete and most of the data analysis has been completed. A manuscript describing the results is in preparation for submission to a peer reviewed journal and an abstract of the results will be submitted for the annual meeting of the Research Society on Alcoholism in Denver. This work has been conducted under an interagency agreement between the NIAAA and the Agriculture Research Service of the USDA, and is coordinated by Dr. Tom Gentry.

A report on the workshop on the In vivo Pharmacokinetics of Alcohol is scheduled for publication in the March issue of Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. The report includes an overview of the meeting as well as individual contributions from each of the fifteen speakers. The meeting, believed to be the first specifically on the topic of alcohol pharmacokinetics, provided a variety of perspectives on the absorption, distribution and elimination of alcohol, and the methodologies used to assess in vivo alcohol pharmacokinetics. Topics include: a) A historical overview of alcohol pharmacokinetic research, b) Alcohol absorption, bioavailability and first-pass metabolism, c) The effect of food and beverage alcohol concentration on alcohol absorption and elimination, d) Distribution dynamics and the significance of various sites of sampling, e) Pharmacokinetic issues in experimental design and forensics, f) Gender and ethnic differences in alcohol pharmacokinetics, and g) Innovative new techniques, including the use of physiologically-based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modeling. This report was edited by Dr. Tom Gentry.

A two-year project to develop and test a curriculum supplement for middle schools (grades 6-8), tentatively titled Understanding Alcohol: Separating Fact from Fictionwas launched February 1. This project is being conducted in collaboration with the NIH Office of Science Education (OSE) and under the guidance of Dorothea deZafra, NIAAA's Science Education Program Coordinator, who will serve as project officer. An advisory Committee consisting of extramural research scientists and intramural and extramural program staff will monitor the progress of the project. The tested curriculum kit which will result at the end of two years, to include both print-based and Internet-based materials and activities, will be distributed to schools nationwide. The purpose of the curriculum supplement is to enable young students to frame and investigate important scientific questions about alcohol, and to be able to use those skills and findings to make informed personal choices about their future alcohol use.

NIAAA has been highly successful in developing projects for co-funding and collaboration with the NIH Office of Research on Minority Health. In December and January progress reviews were held at each of the three Collaborative Minority Alcohol Research Development Programs (Howard University School of Medicine, Charles Drew Medical School and North Carolina Central University). As detailed in previous reports to Council, several successful collaborations with expert alcohol research scientists have developed at each institution. There is a new initiative to build collaborations between alcohol treatment research scientists and alcohol treatment professionals in minority serving institutions. A workshop to provide an opportunity for orientation and an exchange of information between treatment professional and researchers will be held the first week in May, 2000. Co-funding for additional grants to study alcohol issues in specific minority populations was obtained from the NIH Office of Research on Minority Health.

The NIH Office of Science Policy's Division of Evaluation, the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke (NINDS), and NIAAA are collaboratively funding a one-year feasibility study to evaluate minority institution alcohol research development programs awarded as cooperative agreements. NINDS and NIAAA are among a few NIH Institutes which are using the cooperative agreement mechanism, involving comprehensive programmatic involvement and support by the respective Institute as well as collaboration with established investigators, to build research capacity at institutions with a history of serving target populations. Dorothea de Zafra, Senior Program Analyst in OCRA, is the Task Leader on this contract, which was awarded on September 24 to Quantum Research Corporation of Bethesda, MD. The purpose of the feasibility study is to determine and each of the very different participating institutions under the NIAAA and NINDS programs might be evaluated. The project advisory group for the evaluation effort includes representatives from several other NIH Institutes.

The International Research and Training program is responsible for coordinating the Institute's international research activities and fostering research collaborations between U.S. and foreign scientists in all areas of alcohol research. In addition, the Program serves as the focal point for Institute activities with international organizations and participation in on bi-national commissions. NIAAA remains an integral part of the health working groups of the Gore-Mbeki Bi-National Commission for South Africa and the Bi-National Commission for Russia.

On September 29 to October 1, 1999 NIAAA and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research Division of Health Research co-sponsored a research development workshop that brought together U.S. and German researchers in a number of areas to develop ideas for international collaborations in alcohol research. Topics under discussion included Epidemiology, Genetics, Medications Development, Treatment Research, and Health Services Research. Dr. Enoch Gordis, Dr. Richard Fuller, and Ms. Peggy Murray represented NIAAA at the meeting. U.S. researchers included Raymond Anton, Medical University of South Carolina; Thomas Babor, University of Connecticut Health Center, Carlo Di Clemente, University of Maryland; Raul Caetano, University of Texas, Harold Holder, Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation; Marc Schuckit, University of California, San Diego.

The above workshop was held in conjunction with an international conference to inaugurate the 1st Chair in Addiction Research in Germany, Professor Karl Mann. The conference was entitled, The Future of Addiction Research and Treatment and included a keynote address by Dr. Gordis.

Ms. Peggy Murray met with officials of the Hungarian Ministry of Health, Dr. Nora Sinegar, President of the Hungarian Society on Alcoholism, and Dr. Gabor Kleman of the University of Pecs in Budapest on December 9-10 of this year. Planning has begun for a course for primary care faculty from the five Hungarian medical academies to take place in early December 2000.

Peggy Murray spoke on NIAAA's program International Medical Education and Research Training at the Trieste Meeting on Alcoholism, October 11 and 12. While in Italy, she met with officials of the U.S. Embassy science office and officials of the Italian government to develop areas for cooperation for the new U.S./Italy Science and Technology Agreement which is scheduled to be signed by President Clinton and Italian Prime minister in April, 2000.

Work continues under the Gore-Putin Commission in three major areas:

Progress is continuing on several projects related to the incidence of FAS, the neurobehavioral assessment of FAS and ARND children and the metabolic and genetic risk factors involved. The Institute is co-sponsoring the Ninth International Conference on Treatment of Addictive Behaviors to be held September 21-25, 2000 in Cape Town, South Africa. Alcohol treatment professionals from many countries in Africa will attend. Practitioner workshops will teach clinical intervention and research methods based on recent research findings. Prominent researchers will provide an overview of current research knowledge and its implications for clinical practice.

The Office of Policy, Legislation, and Public Liaison (OPLPL) monitors alcohol-related policy developments and proposals; is responsible for liaison and outreach activities in support of NIAAA's policy and research agendas; conducts and supports studies of alcohol-related policy issues; and develops recommendations for action by the Secretary and Congress based on research findings. Policy studies are carried out both directly and by contract.

Following a one-day symposium entitled "Adolescence and Alcohol, Implications For College Drinking," held in collaboration with the American Psychological Society (APS) and the Academy of Clinical Psychology, NIAAA has received numerous requests for summaries and transcripts. In response to this demand, Fred Donodeo prepared an article summarizing the presentations and discussions of the conference, which was sent to a variety of NIAAA constituency groups. The American College Health Association has agreed to run the piece as a cover story in it's February 2000 newsletter.

OPLPL, through Geoff Laredo, continues in its role as Institute liaison with policy staff at NIH, DHHS, other Executive Branch agencies, and ONDCP in matters related to the National Drug Control Strategy. This is accomplished through both formal and informal mechanisms, including Geoff's seat on ONDCP's Staff Agency Representatives Committee, which provides input and support to the Interagency Demand Reduction Workgroup. Senior NIAAA staff provide significant input to NIH and DHHS as to the contents of the Strategy (pertaining to our specific involvement around underage drinking). Strategy documents have been reviewed and commented upon, and policy positions have been clarified and negotiated when necessary. This function includes the facilitation of NIAAA's "drug budget" (that portion of the budget pertaining to underage use of alcohol, which is included in the National Drug Control Budget) submission.The President's 2000 National Drug Control Strategy has just been published, and copies will be made available to all interested Council members.

At the request of the staff of the House Government Reform Committee, Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy and Human Resources, Geoff Laredo, Acting Director of NIAAA's Office of Policy, Legislation and Public Liaison gave subcommittee staff an overview briefing of NIAAA programs and activities. The meeting was held on January 12, 2000.

In his briefing, Mr. Laredo reviewed NIAAA's size/budget relative to the problem of alcohol abuse and alcoholism, mentioning that (1) the economic costs of alcohol abuse are $185 billion per year in 1998 dollars, (2) this is a public health pandemic far greater than the important public health issue of illegal drug abuse, yet it gets far less funding and attention, (3) alcohol is the number one drug of abuse among youth, and (4) every year, deaths related to alcohol abuse are many times more than deaths associated with illegal drug abuse. Mr. Laredo emphasized that NIAAA's first and only priority is research. The following issues were touched upon: Genetic research, Dissemination/ Prevention, ONDCP Media Campaign, Surgeon General's Underage Drinking Initiative, Governors' Spouses Initiative on Underage Drinking, Kettering Issue Forums, Alcohol Screening Day, treatment manual, and research on early-onset/adolescents.

OPLPL, primarily through Geoff Laredo, is responsible for liaison activities as they relate to Council meetings (and associated "liaison group meetings"). Currently, over 260 outside groups comprise our contact list, and we share information on a regular basis. Liaison representatives meet informally with NIAAA Director Dr. Enoch Gordis and senior staff following the adjournment of Council meetings. Each liaison meeting draws approximately 35 organizational participants. Dozens of groups have been able to join us at these meetings since we expanded NIAAA's outreach effort. In addition, we are in constant communication with a large number of these groups on a variety of issues, as they arise.

In addition to the broad range of informal collaborative activities and contacts between the Institute and its constituent organizations, NIAAA does implement an annual plan of specific, formal collaborations with outside groups. Geoff Laredo continues his efforts in this area; activities since the last Council meeting included:

• American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry: NIAAA continued its partnership with the AAAP in 1999 by cosponsoring the organization's annual conference through workshop support.
• Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America: NIAAA sponsored two workshops and preconference workshops on topics of interest and importance to the CADCA members at its annual Leadership Forum in December. Dr. Gordis was also a keynote speaker at this annual event.
• North Carolina Research to Practice Forum: The Research to Practice Forum was held for clinical supervisors in North Carolina in November, in Research Triangle Park. This Forum represented an outstanding collaboration between NIAAA, CSAT, the state of North Carolina, the various medical schools across the state, and the treatment providers from across the state. Attendance was heavy, presentations from researchers and their provider colleagues were focused and practical, and the discussion surrounding each topic was substantial. Feedback from forum attendees was extremely positive. Planning for phase II of the effort is under way (see below).
• In 2000, events to look forward to include:
• Addiction Providers of New York State: Continuing the Institute's effort to move research into practice, NIAAA is sponsoring a full day research symposium at the 2000 meeting of the APNY. Scheduled for April 6, this symposium is being planned and conducted in close collaboration with the national office of the Addiction Technology Transfer Centers, through its research to practice committee, as well as the Northeast Regional ATTC (NY).
• American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry: NIAAA will continue its partnership with the AAAP in 2000 by cosponsoring the organization's annual conference through workshop support. Further collaboration will revolve around a special edition of the American Journal of Addictions, in association with work being conducted as part of the annual convention of the American Psychiatric Association (see below).
• American Psychiatric Association: NIAAA is working with APA to collaborate on a special alcohol series as part of APA's annual convention in the year 2000. This series will be comprised of symposia, workshops, and special lectures. The special series is shaping up extremely well, and will also include the production of a special issue of the American Journal on Addictions.
• American Psychological Association: NIAAA continues to support efforts to include alcohol research issues on the agenda of the annual APA convention. This year, the Institute is working with the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment to cosponsor several working sessions on aspects of treating alcohol and drug addiction.
• American Psychological Society: As in past years, NIAAA will cosponsor with the APS a preconference research symposium. This year's event will focus upon co-occurring alcohol and mental illness issues, and will be chaired by Dr. Ken Sher.
• Community Anti Drug Coalitions of America: NIAAA will again sponsor workshops and preconference workshops on topics of interest and importance to the CADCA members at its annual Leadership Forum.
• Mothers Against Drunk Driving: NIAAA and MADD staff have continued to build a strong relationship, to further inject the science of alcohol research into the work of the organization. NIAAA will again sponsor a research symposium at MADD's annual convention (Washington, D.C.), to help members understand the science behind their concerns. NIAAA is also a cosponsor of the upcoming Youth Summit 2000 (October 2000; Washington, D.C.). Further, OPLPL, through Geoff Laredo, was heavily involved in the January 24, 2000 Editors' Roundtables organized by MADD (see OSA/SCB writeup).
• National Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors: NIAAA will continue to work with NAADAC to bring science to bear on the practice of alcohol abuse and alcoholism counseling. In 2000, the Institute is cosponsoring the group's annual meeting, and supporting a preconference research symposium on using medications in treating patients with alcoholism. This symposium is being planned and conducted in close collaboration with NAADAC and the national office of the Addiction Technology Transfer Centers, through its research to practice committee.
• The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University: CASA has organized a conference, "Substance Abuse in the 21^st Century," scheduled for February 29 through March 3. NIAAA is a cosponsor of the event, and Dr. Gordis will speak as part of a panel exploring "Substance Abuse: Is it all in the Brain?" Experts from around the United States will discuss and evaluate the responsibility of key segments of our society regarding alcohol and other drug issues. Each panel throughout the conference will assess how well our nation is poised to address alcohol and other drug issues and make recommendations for achieving various goals.
• New York Collaboration, Phase II: NIAAA continues its work with New York State, the provider's association, and CSAT on moving ahead on phase II of this project. Six programs have been selected to participate in the Best Practices/Researcher in Residence Program, and work is now underway in the next steps of the program. Meetings were held with NIAAA, CSAT, the State, and selected researchers to determine specific details, and each researcher in residence activity is currently underway in some form.
• North Carolina Collaboration, Phase II: As with the New York State project, NIAAA and CSAT are moving ahead, in conjunction with our North Carolina colleagues, to phase II of the research to practice effort. Discussions are underway to determine the exact nature of the phase II activities, and expectations are that a process similar to that underway in New York will be designed for North Carolina.
• Public Policy Meeting: This annual meeting, sponsored by several organizations in the alcohol and illegal drug field (and led by the National Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors) just occurred in Washington, D.C. Dr. Gordis presented the second annual Senator Harold Hughes Memorial Award at this meeting. NIAAA also jointly sponsored, with NIDA, an educational workshop for counselors prior to the start of this meeting.

The NIAAA Strategic Plan, 2001-2005 was completed in late December, 1999. This plan, which received input from NIAAA Liaison Group Organizations, describes NIAAA's major goals and objectives, strategies for achieving them, and performance indicators that are to be used to report on progress to the public and the Congress. The plan will be printed, as well as posted on the NIAAA Website.

For this Council cycle, the Branch staff have run 15 review meetings, for a total of 83 applications. Review committees in the Center for Scientific Review evaluated 127 applications for this Council meeting.

In addition to standard review activities for unsolicited applications, several additional activities have already started for the May Council review cycle:

Since the last Council meeting, two Alcohol Research & Health issues have been printed and distributed, Update on Approaches to Alcoholism Treatment and Alcohol and Craving. Work continues on upcoming issues focusing on stress, tobacco, and violence. The latter issue on violence is being developed in collaboration with the National Institute of Justice.

The Alcohol Alert issue entitled, "Are Women More Vulnerable to Alcohol's Effects?" has been printed and distributed. Work continues on the next issue which focuses on imaging.

On February 1, the Tenth Special Report to the U.S. Congress on Alcohol and Health was delivered to NIH for review. The report, consisting of 30 manuscripts, covers eight broad areas: Epidemiology, Neuroscience/Neurobehavior, Etiology, Medical Consequences, Pregnancy, Economics and Health Services Research; Prevention; and Treatment. Topics of sections include measuring health risks and benefits of alcohol; alcohol involvement over the life span; acute and chronic neurological effects; animal and human genetics perspectives; effects on various body systems; mechanisms of damage to the fetus from prenatal alcohol dependence; and community-based prevention programs. Following the NIH review, the Report will be sent to the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services for review, prior to sending to Congress.

SCB staff have completed the remaining NIAAA-sponsored clinical trials database records and transmitted them electronically to the National Library of Medicine. Each record includes the following fields: a unique identifier, NIH grant number, brief title, official title, lead sponsor, brief summary written for the public, study status, study phase, study type, study design, medical condition, intervention type, primary name of drug, synonyms, inclusion criteria, exclusion criteria, eligibility gender, eligibility minimum age, and eligibility maximum age. NIAAA's clinical trials will be available as part of the large NIH clinical trials database as well as on NIAAA's Website.

NIAAA will be developing public service announcements for television and radio on underage drinking. This activity is being co-funded by the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, a component of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

On January 24, MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) and NIAAA hosted two briefings: one for editors of teen magazines and the other for editors of women's magazines. Editors from teen magazines such as Seventeen, Talking Straight, and Scholastic and from women's magazines such as McCalls, Ladies Home Journal, Redbook, and Women's Day attended the half-day briefings which featured Dr. Gordis; Ms. Webb, President of MADD; teens telling their stories; and several Governors' Spouses representing the Leadership to Keep Children Alcohol Free initiative. For the briefing for editors of women's magazines, Dr. Vivian Pinn, Director, Office of Research on Women's Health, also participated.

NIAAA has selected the National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (NOFAS) to implement a public education campaign on fetal alcohol syndrome targeting African-American women in the Washington DC area. The campaign's goal is to increase awareness among this audience about the consequences of drinking during pregnancy and will utilize a variety of communications methods. A communications plan directing the 3-year campaign was developed and approved; work is underway in developing messages for the target audience.

NIAAA's new exhibit debuted at the Society for Neuroscience's Annual Meeting in Miami, Florida. The new design feature panels that can be adapted for specific topics and audiences. The new exhibit was well received.

The Division of Biometry and Epidemiology (DBE) Staff along with staff from the Alcohol Epidemiology Data System (AEDS) have participated in the following activities.

• Dr. Vivian Faden in the Epidemiology Branch is currently serving as the NIAAA liaison to Panel 1 - contexts and consequences of the NIAAA National Advisory Council on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Subcommittee on College Drinking. Meetings of this panel were held October 12-13, and February 8-9 in Bethesda.
• Gregory Bloss in the Office of the Director planned and organized the Expert Meeting on Developing an Alcohol Policy Information System held on November 30. Scientists at this meeting encouraged continuing development of a data resource to support alcohol policy research and identified a range of considerations and design features to maximize the benefit to the research community of such a resource.
• Darryl Bertolucci, Chief, Epidemiology Branch played a key role in the third meeting of the intergovernmental workgroup on "Substance Abuse Data Needs for the Elderly: 2010 and 2020. This meeting was held on the NIH Campus at the Natcher Building, December 17.
• From December 30, 1999 to January 7, 2000, Drs. Gordis, Grant and Dufour participated in media interviews regarding NIAAA's Press Release on "Estimates of U.S. Children Exposed to Alcohol Abuse and Dependence in the Family," a research manuscript prepared by Dr. Bridget Grant, Chief, Biometry Branch and was published in the January 2000 (the millennium issue) issue of the American Journal of Public Health.
• AEDS and DBE staff presented the following five posters at the 127th Annual Meeting of the American Public Health Association which was held in Chicago, November 7-11:
• Hanna, E.Z., Dufour, M.C., Yi, H., and Whitmore, C.C. Drinking, smoking, and blood pressure: Do their relationships among youth foreshadow what we know among adults?
• Saadatmand, F., and Faden, V.B. Sociodemographic characteristics and birth outcomes associated with alcohol consumption during pregnancy among American Indian women.
• Whitmore, C.C., Hanna, E.Z., Yi, H. and Dufour, M.C. Marital status and drinking behavior: A comparison of cohabitors and traditionalists within the NHANES III.
• Yi, H., Stinson, F.S., Hanna, E.Z., and Whitmore, C.C. The influence of community poverty rate on drinking behavior and alcoholism.

AEDS and DBE staff completed the following new surveillance reports:

• Yi, H, Stinson, F.S., Williams, G.D., and Bertolucci, D. Surveillance Report #49: Trends in Alcohol-Related Fatal Traffic Crashes, United States, 1979-97. Bethesda, MD: NIH/NIAAA, Alcohol Epidemiologic Data System, December 1999.
• Whitmore, C.C., Stinson, F.S., and Dufour, M.C. Surveillance Report #50: Trends in Alcohol-Related Morbidity Among Short-Stay Community Hospital Discharges, United States, 1979-97. Bethesda, MD: NIH/NIAAA, Alcohol Epidemiologic Data System, December, 1999.
• Nephew, T.M., Williams, G.D., Stinson, F.S., Nguyen, K., and Dufour, M.C. Surveillance Report #51: Apparent Per Capita Alcohol Consumption: National, State, and Regional Trends, 1977-97. Bethesda, MD: NIH/NIAAA, Alcohol Epidemiologic Data System, December, 1999.
• Saadatmand, F., Stinson, F.S., Grant, B.F., and Dufour, M.C. Surveillance Report #52: Liver Cirrhosis Mortality in the United States, 1970-96. Bethesda, MD: NIH/NIAAA, Alcohol Epidemiologic Data System, December, 1999.

• Cushman, W., Cutler, J., Hanna, E., Bingham, S., Follman, D., Harford, T., Dubbert, P., Allender, S., Dufour, M. et al. for the PATHS Research Group (1998) The Prevention and Treatment of Hypertension Study (PATHS): Effects of an Alcohol Treatment Program on Blood Pressure. Archieves of Internal Medicine, 158:1197-1207.
• Hanna, E.Z., Grant, B.F. (1999) Parallels to early onset alcohol use in the relationship of early onset smoking with drug use and DSM-IV drug and depressive disorders: Findings from the National Longitudinal Epidemiologic Survey. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 23:513-522.
• Caces, M.F., Harford, T., Williams, G. and Hanna, E.Z. (1999) Alcohol and divorce rates in the United States. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 60:647-652.
• Hanna, E.Z., Yi, H-Y, Dufour, M.C., Whitmore, C.C. (1999) The relationship of early onset smoking to depression, alcohol and other drug use as well as other risky behaviors in early adolescence: at what age should prevention begin. Alcoholism:Clinical and Experimental Research, in review.
• Hanna, E.Z. (2000) Approach to the patient with excessive alcohol consumption. In Primary Care Medicine. Fourth Edition (Ed.) AH Goroll, L. May, A Mulley (JB Lippincott, Philadelphia), in press.

• Fuller, R.K. and Hiller-Sturmhoffel, S. Alcoholism Teatment in the United States: An Overview. Alcohol Research and Health 23:69-77, 1999.
• Ghunney, J. K., Greer, J. M. & Allen, J. P. African Spiritual Worldview: Its Impact on Alcohol and Other Drug Use by Senior Secondary School Students in Ghana. Research in the Social Scientific Study of Religion 10:191-216, 1999.
• Allen, J. P. and Sillanaukee, P. Carbohydrate Deficient Transferrin is a Useful Marker for the Detection of Chronic Alcohol Abuse. European Journal of Clinical Investigation 24:556-557, 1999.

The 1997 NIAAA-funded workshop on Treatment and Alcohol Craving provided multiple perspectives from basic and clinical science on the nature and dynamics of alcohol craving. On November 15-16, 1999, NIAAA sponsored a small working group to extend findings from the 1997 workshop to include evaluation of approaches to craving assessment in treatment research. The 1999 working group focused on the need to identify and develop reliable and valid craving assessment instruments for inclusion in different types of clinically relevant studies; for example, laboratory studies (e.g., cue reactivity assessment), epidemiologic studies, natural history and community studies, and most important, treatment outcome studies and clinical trials, especially pharmacological trials. Members of the working group will collaborate in the production of a document that discusses the status of craving assessment in alcohol studies today, available instruments appropriate for use in craving assessment, and future research needs on craving assessment. NIAAA staff, Drs. Cherry Lowman and Raye Litten, organized the workshop; Stephen T. Tiffany of Purdue University served as workshop moderator. The workshop was held in the Neuroscience Center at 6001 Executive Boulevard in Rockville, Maryland.

NIAAA is participating in an RFA (Odd-00-006) which was recently released by the NIH Office on Behavioral and Social Sciences on Compliance to Pharmacological Interventions. The RFA resulted from meetings held during the fall of 1999 by representatives from most of the NIH Institutes and represents a joint initiative. NIAAA representatives were Dr. Margaret Mattson from the Treatment Research Branch and Dr. Kendall Bryant from the Prevention Research Branch.

• Dr. Joanne Fertig Organized and moderated a session "Pharmacological Effects of Alcohol and other Drugs" for ASAM's State of the Art conference "Neuroscience, Clinical practice and Services Research" November 4, 1999.
• Dr. Joanne Fertig presented paper "Perspectives from Alcoholism Treatment Research on the Use of Control Groups in Psychosocial Research" NIMH workshop on "Control Groups in Psychosocial Intervention Research: Ethical and Methodological Issues, December 1, 1999.
• Dr. Raye Litten presented "NIAAA's Portfolio for Medications Development," before the Extramural Scientific Advisory Board for Treatment, Bethesda, Maryland, November 8, 1999.
• Dr. Raye Litten presented "NIAAA's Overview and Strategies for Introducing New Medications," at ASAM's State of the Art Conference: Neuroscience, Clinical Practice and Services Research, Washington, D.C., November 5, 1999.

The Researcher in Residence Program is a joint activity of NIAAA and the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT), and co-funded by CSAT.

Dr. Michael Hilton has taken a leadership role in the Researcher in Residence Program effort, organizing two Director's Planning meetings for the Researcher in Residence. The first of these was held in New York City for the purpose of clarifying which research advances merited translation into clinical practice (October 18, 1999). The second was held in Rockville (December 1, 1999) and brought together the participating researchers and clinic directors to plan the content of the residency visits.

As part of an ongoing liaison between NIAAA and the American Psychological Society (APS), opportunities are sought to advance alcohol research through cross-discipline exchanges of research findings, models and methodologies. Research on the formation of personal and social identities was identified as an example of natural convergence between social psychology and ongoing alcohol-related research. Dr. Wendy Smith planned and coordinated a workshop, Social Identification Theory: Implications for Alcohol Research (November 15-16, 1999). This workshop included both social identity researchers and cognitive development alcohol researchers and served to encourage social psychologists to address alcohol problems in their research and advance our understanding of alcohol and youth.

• Dr. Michael Hilton participated in two meetings of a CSAT panel "Connecting Services to Research" which is one of five panels charged with developing a national plan to guide CSAT's activities. The first meeting was held September 28 and 29, 1999, and the second was held December 7 and 8, 1999. At the September meeting, Dr. Hilton gave a presentation describing the Institute's activities and programs in health services research.
• Dr. Michael Hilton attended a Research to Practice Forum sponsored by NIAAA and CSAT in North Carolina, laying the basis for the launching of another Researcher in Residence program in that state. The forum was held November 4 and 5, 1999 in Research Triangle Park, NC.
• Dr. Michael Hilton participated in a CSAT expert panel to oversee the production of a document compiling the National Spending Estimates for drug, alcohol abuse, and mental health treatment. December 10, 1999, Rockville.
• Dr. Michael Hilton participated in a meeting of CSAT's Practice-Research Collaborative Network, a "bridging the gap" activity designed to bring researchers and practicing clinicians into closer collaboration. December 2 and 3, 1999.
• Dr. Harold Perl was appointed to represent NIAAA on two Working Groups encompassed under the auspices of Secretary Shalala's Quality Interagency Coordinating Task Force (Quality Improvement Initiative): Working Group on designing a national reporting system to lead to the production of a comprehensive "Report to the Nation on Health Care Quality"
• Working Group on promoting research that improves quality.
• Dr. Wendy Smith served as a member of Task Force Planning Committee for Office of Behavioral and Social Science Research, NIAAA, and NIMH co-sponsored conference on qualitative research methods: Qualitative Methods in Health Research: Opportunities and Considerations in Application and Review, September 30, 1999-October 1, 1999, Rockville, Maryland. Dr. Wendy Smith continues to serve as a member of Task Force Committee in its ongoing responsibilities in the development of guidelines developed from this workshop.
• Dr. Wendy Smith represents the Health Services Research Program on the trans-institute Committee on Managed Care Research, August 30, 1999 and on its subcommittee on research collaborations with managed care companies.

• Dr. Michael Hilton attended the Seventh Conference on Survey Research Methods, which the Institute co-sponsored with AHCPR and a variety of other federal agencies. The conference was held in Williamsburg, Virginia, September 24-27, 1999.
• Dr. Michael Hilton prepared the Institute's Fiscal Year 2000 Information Collection Budget for NIH's OMB Project Clearance Branch, Office of Policy for Extramural Research Administration.. The report summarized all Institute activities expected to require OMB clearance for the coming fiscal year and provides estimates of the total respondent burden of both new and continuing projects.
• Dr. Harold Perl edited 10 manuscripts on state-of-the-art health services research methodologies for inclusion in special supplement to journal, Addiction.
• Dr. Wendy Smith reviewed seven articles and served as guest editor for the special section on women and alcohol problems in the journal, Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research
• Dr. Wendy Smith served as ad hoc expert reviewer on behavioral medicine for the National Cancer Institute review committee on behavioral research in cancer control, November 1999.

Laboratory of Neurogenetics Staff Participation at the 7th World Congress on Psychiatric Genetics, Monterey Ca, 14-18 October 1999

• Mary Anne Enoch presented the abstract Personality Traits Associated with the 5-HT2A Promoter Polymorphism -1438GA
• David Goldman served as Co-Chair of session on Substance Abuse
• Chiara M Mazzanti presented the abstract The Human THO1 Tetra-tandem Repeat and Its Role in Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder

• Burton J Litman (LMBB) presented lecture Receptor and Effector Enzyme in G Protein-Coupled Visual Transduction Pathway are Diffentially Modulated by Ethanol
• Drake C Mitchell (LMBB) presented paper Ethanol and Cell Signaling is Potentiated by Solution Osmolarility
• Robert W Peoples (LMCN) presented lecture Studies on Site of Alcohol Action on NMDA Receptor-Channels

• Janet A. Brooks attended
• Jeffrey C Long (LNG) co-presented the lecture Association Between Alcohol Dependence and VI-Locus Haplotypes on Chromosome 11P15.5 in American Indian Populations

• Allyson J Bennett (LCS/NN) presented abstract Cardiac Signal Complexity Correlates with CSF 5-HIAA Concentrations and is affected by Ketamine
• Philip J Brooks (LNG) attended
• Misa Fukuzawa (LMCN) attended
• James D Higley (LCS/NN) Chaired a symposium and present lecture titled CRH as a Mediator of Stress in Non-Human Primates
• Daniel W Hommer (LCS) presented a poster
• Masako Hosoi (LMCN) attended the short course DNA Microarrays: The New Frontier in Gene Discovery and Gene Expression Analysis
• Brian Knutson (LCS) presented a poster
• Chiara M Mazzanti (LNG) presented the poster Func Catechol-O-Methyltransferase (COMT) Polymorph: Transmission Disequilibrium Test (TDT) for Schizophrenia...vs CSF Monamine Metabolite Concentration
• Robert W Peoples (LMCN) presented the abstract Enthanol Inhibition of NR1/NR2B NMDA-Gated Ion Channels Does Not Require the Intracellular C-Terminus
• Judy G Pushkas (LCS/NN) presented the abstract Antalarmin Suppresses Non-Human Primates' Responses to Social Stress
• Jeffrey J Schoenebeck (LMCN) attended the short course DNA Microarrays: The New Frontier in Gene Discovery and Gene Expression Analysis
• Joannie C Shen (LCS) attended
• Randall R Stewart (LMCN) presented the abstract Expression of GABAA Receptor Subunit S Cloned from Neuronal Precursor Cells of the Anterior SVZ of the Neo-Natal Rat Forebrain
• Jonathan T Walker (LCS) attended
• Forrest Weight Jr (LMCN) attended a short course on DNA Microarrays: The New Frontier in Gene Discovery and Gene Expression Analysis
• Ke-Ming Xiong (LMCN) presented the abstract Inhibition of P2x4 Receptor Function by Zinc
• Pingjun Zhu (LMCN) attended

• Allyson J Bennett (LCS/NN) presented the poster Interindividual Differences in CSF 5-HIAA Concentrations Alter Rhesus Monkeys' Cardiac Signal Complexity in Response to Serotonergic Agents
• David Goldman (LNG) presented the lecture PTSD in American Indian Communities: Interplay of Genes, Environment and Pathology
• Joseph R Hibbeln (LMBB) presented the poster Infant Formulas with DHA and AA Improve Motor Skills and Visual Orientation Skills in Infancy and Heart Rate Variability in Adolescence
• James D Higley (LCS/NN) presented the poster Phenotypic Outcomes in CNS Serotonin-Mediated Behavior: Developmental and Genotypic Influences Using a Nonhuman Primate Model

• Klaus Gawrisch presented the poster Order Parameter Profile of DHA as Determined from 2H-NMR

• Burton J Litman and Drake C Mitchell co-presented the poster Reduced Water Activity Amplitudes the Potentiation of Metarhodopsin Formation by Ethanol
• Shui-Lin Niu presented the poster Dependence of G-Protein Binding by Metarhopdopsin II on Bilayer Lipid Composition
• Ivan V Polozov presented the poster Deuterium NMR Studies of Protein-Lipid Interactions and Rhodopsin's Preference for Polyunsaturated Lipids
• Alla Polozova presented the poster Acyl Chain-Based Molecular Sorting of Lipids by G-Protein Coupled Receptor:Specific Association of Rhodopsin with Polyunsaturated Lipid
• Wai-Ming Yau presented the poster Electric Dipolar Interactions between Tryptophan and Phospholipid

• David Goldman (LNG) presented a lecture Genetics of Alcohol Response and Alcoholism at the conference New Directs in Pharmacogenetics and Ecogenetics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor MI, 10/3-6/99
• Jeffrey C Long (LNG) presented the lecture Incidence of Simple and Complex Genetic Diseases in...Populations with Reference to Native Americans at the Society for Advancement Chicanos & Native Americans in Science Conference, Portland OR, 10/7-10/99
• Joannie C Shen and Kimberly Moon (LCS) attended the 1st Annual Conference on Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Practical Application and Evaluations, San Francisco CA, 10/14-17/99
• Joseph G Lorenz (LNG) presented the paper What Does DNA Tell Us About the Relationships Among California Indians and Beyond, at the 14th California Indian Conference at Cuesta Coll, San Luis Obispo CA, 10/15-16/99
• Byoung J Song (LMBB), discussion of collaboration with Seoul National University Medical School, Korea Prod Center for Alcohol Research, Seoul Hospital, Korea; attended Korea University 3rd Symposium on Human Dis Biotech, Seoul; Korea; and attended Conference of Korean Association N Biol Science, Iksan, Korea, 10/27-11/12/99
• Darleen Mckeane-Mckenzie (LNG) attended the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Fall Symposium III, Lake Tahoe CA, 10/29-11/1/99
• Philip J Brooks (LNG) presented poster Inhibition of Gene Expression by Oxid DNA LES 8, 5'-Cyclo-2'-Deoxyaden: A Possible mechanism for Neurodegeneration in Xeroderma Pigmt... at the American Society for MICR Meeting, Hilton Head SC, 11/1-7/99
• David Goldman (LNG) present lecture Genetic Research in Alcohol Dependence at the Society for the Study of Addiction to Alcohol & Other Drugs Annual Symposium, Edinburgh, Scotland, 11/4-5/99
• Alan L Chedester (LAS) attended the 50th Annual Meeting of the American Association of Laboratory Animal Science, Indianapolis IN, 11/7-11/99
• Jeffrey C Long attend a Choctaw Tribal Meeting, Durant OK, 11/10/99
• Joannie C Shen (LCS) attended the conference Complementary and Alternative Therapies in the Academic Medical Center: Issues in Ethics and Policy, Philadelphia PA, 11/10-12/99
• Richard L Veech (LMBB) participated in The Renaissance Medicine Colloquium, Center for Health Futures, Orlando FL, 11/30-12/03/99
• Joannie C Shen (LCS) presented a paper at the 6th Annual Symposium On Complementary Health Care, Exeter UK, 12/2-4/99
• Ronald Finnegan and Shashaank Vattikuti (LNG) co-presented the poster SNP Genotyping with SOL Server English Query Services at the Pacific Symposium on Biocomputing 2000, Honolulu HI, 1/4-8/00
• David Goldman (LNG) presented the lecture Genetic Diversity of Human Dopamine and Serotonin Receptors at the Keystone Symposium Genetics of Alcohol and Substance Abuse, Tahoe City CA, 1/23-28/00

Denkins YM, Woods J, Whitty JE, Hannigan JH, Martier SS, Sokol RJ, Salem N: Effects of gestational alcohol exposure on the fatty acid composition of umbilical cord serum in humans. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2000;71(1):300S-6S (Suppl.)

Bergen AW, Wilhelm L, Vallejo R, Kim S, McKeane D, Robin R, Goldman D, Long JC: Association between alcohol dependence and 5-locus haplotypes on chromosome 11p15.5 in an American Indian population. American Journal of Human Genetics 1999;65(4):69 (Suppl)

NIAAA-SPONSORED WORKSHOPS

"Early Childhood Neurobehavioral Assessment for the Differential Diagnosis of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Alcohol-Related Neurological Disorder"

Contact: Dr. Thomas Kresina,301-443-6537 tkresina@willco.niaaa.nih.gov

Appointment of New Scientific Director

Elena A. Fedorova-Werby, Ph.D., was appointed as a Postdoctoral IRTA (Intramural Research Training Award) Fellow (12/06/99 - 12/05/01) in the Section of Molecular Neuroscience, Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Neurobiology. Dr. Werby received her PhD (1996) in Biological Sciences from Odessa State Medical University, Ukraine and her MS (1990) in Biology from Mechnikov Odessa State University. Prior to joining the LMCN, Elena held the post of Research Scientist, University of Southern Mississippi, Department of Psychology, Behavioral Neuroscience Laboratory. She has also served as a Research Scientist at JV Interchem and as a Research Associate, Bogatsky Physico-Chemical Institute, Department of Physico-Chemical Pharmacology. While with LMCN, Dr. Werby will receive training in various techniques used to study the cellular and molecular physiology and pharmacology of the mammalian nervous system, including molecular biological techniques used to prepare and express cDNA and cRNA from cloned receptors and ion channels or mRNA from brain. She will also receiving training in electrophysiological techniques used to study function of recombinant receptors and ion channels expressed in Xenopus oocytes or cell lines. Dr. Werby's work will focus on examining the cellular and molecular physiology and phamacology of neuronal receptors and ion channels and the interaction of alcohol and other neuroactive substances with these mechanisms.

Yuhong Lin, PhD, was appointed as a Research Fellow (Visiting Program) (11/15/99 - 11/14/01) in the Office of the Chief, Laboratory of Membrane Biochemistry and Biophysics. Dr. Lin received her PhD (1996) in Medical Science from Shanghai Second Medical University, Peoples Republic of China and her MS (1992) in Neuropharmacology and BS (1987) in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the Zhejiang University School of Medicine and Pharmacy, Hangzhou, PRC. Prior to joining the LMBB, Dr. Lin held the post of Associate Professor, Shanghai Second Medical University where she also served as a Lecturer, Research Laboratory of Cell Regulation (11/92-10/98). Dr. Lin is being trained to use mass spectral assays to measure essential fatty acid (EFA) metabolism and catabolism and will assist in establishing GC/MS methods to measure EFA catabolism. She will participate in the analytical phase of basic and clinical research designed to measure elongation/desaturation of EFAs. Animal studies will focus on the quantitative relationships between blood and organ EFA measures and pharmacokinetic analyses will strive to define a realistic model that can be applied to clinical research where only the blood component is available. The goal is to determine how acute and chronic alcohol use and other pathological variables modulate pathways.

Walter Teague, PhD, was appointed as a Postdoctoral IRTA Fellow (12/15/99 - 12/14/00) in the Section of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Laboratory of Membrane Biochemistry and Biophysics. Dr. Teague received his PhD (1999) in Physical Chemistry from the James Cook University of North Queensland, Australia. Dr. Teague will participate in ongoing investigation on the influence of the lipid matrix on the function of neural receptor proteins, particularly, the influence of high concentrations of polyunsaturated hydrocarbon chains with six double bonds. He will receive training in solid state NMR and thermodynamics of elastic membrane deformations and receptor protein-lipid interaction. His research will focus on investigating membrane-bending elasticity following transitions of docosahexaenoic-containing phospholipids into inverse hexagonal phase states. The goal is to verify if membrane curvature stress caused by lipid polyunsaturation is responsible for DHA's influence on neural receptor function.

Yang Qingfeng, PhD, was appointed as a Research Fellow (Visiting Program) (09/17/99 - 09/16/01) in the Unit of Clinical and Biological Pharmacology, Laboratory of Clinical Studies. Dr. Qingfeng received her PhD (1998) in Neuroscience from the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College, People's Republic of China and his MD (1989) in Pathology with minor in Tumor Immunology and BS (1986) in Medicine from Chongqing University of Medical Sciences, China. Between 1995-99, Dr. Qingfeng's research focused on studying the action modes of neurotrophic factors, their expression and receptors after sciatic nerve lesion, mechanisms of degeneration and regeneration of nerve and gene transfer of neurotropic factor for therapy of neurotrauma. From 1989-95 he served as Chief, CNS Injury Group, Research Institute of Surgery, 3rd Miliary Medical University where his research focused on neuronal cytoskeletal and sera immunological changes following brain and spinal cord injury. While with LCS, Dr. Qingfeng will examine the effects of alcohol exposure on cellular mechanisms of toxicity mediated by calcium-activated proteases, their inhibitors and the 5HT3 receptor. In the course of this investigation, he will learn and apply various techniques such as denaturing and non-denaturing SDS-PAGE, quantitative PCR, immunoprecipitation, chromatography of proteins and peptides and basic cell culture methods.

Grant Award

Dr. Richard Veech, Chief, Unit of Metabolic Control, Laboratory of Membrane Biochemistry and Biophysics, is the recipient of a $15,000 grant from the Office of Rare Diseases. Investigators responded to a request for proposals issued by the NIH Office of Rare Diseases. These funds will support a "Rare Disease Research Workshop and Symposium," organized by Dr. Veech, to be held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the National Academy of Sciences in April 2000.

October 2000