CONTENTS

NIAAA Budget

FY 2004 Appropriation Congress passed the legislation for the FY 2004 appropriations on January 22 and it was signed by President Bush on January 26. The FY 2004 NIAAA appropriation of $428.4 million provides a 3.1 percent increase over the FY 2003 level of $415.5 million. Included in the appropriation is $26.8 million for HIV/AIDS research.

FY 2005 President's Request The FY 2005 budget request for the NIAAA is $441.9 million including HIV/AIDS, an increase of $13.5 million and 3.1 percent over the FY 2004 comparable level. The budget request for HIV/AIDS research is $27.4 million. The following highlight some of the major components of the FY 2005 budget request:

• Research Project Grants: Under the President's request, the Institute plans to support approximately 201 competing research project grants and fund approximately one-third of approved applications. The FY 2005 request provides average cost increases for competing research project grants (RPGs) at approximately 1.5 percent over the FY 2004 level. Noncompeting RPGs will be funded at committed levels.
• Alcohol Research Centers: The centers program budget will support 16 research centers at $31.3 million.
• Other Research: $10.6 million is provided to support 83 research career awards in FY 2005. Cooperative agreements will be funded at $10.4 million.
• Research Training: Research training is provided $11.5 million for 253 pre- and post-doctoral trainees in full-time training positions, an increase of three over FY 2004. Stipend levels for NRSA trainees will remain constant in FY 2005.
• Research and Development Contracts: Research and development contracts are provided $34.8 million.
• Intramural Research Program: $45.5 million has been allocated to maintain the intramural research program's overall level of effort with 110 FTE's for FY 2005.
• Research, Management, and Support (RMS): RMS activities are provided $23.1 million with 136 FTE's for FY 2005. The RMS level for FY 2004 was $22.4 million and for FY 2003 $21.3.
  

Institute Highlights

NIAAA Administrative Offices Move NIAAA's administrative offices relocated in January from the Willco Building to newly-built quarters at 5635 Fishers Lane in Rockville, MD. NIAAA offices occupy the second and third floors of the building. Three other NIH institutes (The National Eye Institute, the National Institute of Mental Health, and the National Human Genome Research Institute) are scheduled to occupy space on other floors. NIAAA intramural laboratories will eventually move to a building also on the site which is scheduled for completion in fall 2004.

NIAAA Reorganization NIAAA's reorganization went into effect on October 1. In addition to the restructuring of the extramural program into four divisions, 17 interdisciplinary research strategies teams emerged, a reflection of the response of the scientific staff to this process. Senior staff are now looking at consolidating a number of the teams to concentrate on research areas that the Institute has flagged as priorities, and foster a stronger interdisciplinary focus.

Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2005 The Dietary Guidelines for Americans are issued jointly by the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and of Agriculture. In anticipation of the 2005 update of the Guidelines, DHHS asked NIAAA to assess the strength of the evidence related to health risks and potential benefits of moderate alcohol consumption, with particular focus on cardiovascular disease, breast cancer, obesity, birth defects, breastfeeding, and aging. NIAAA scientific staff in the areas of metabolism, toxicity, neuroscience, nutrition, and epidemiology prepared a state-of-the-science report and on November 21, an expert panel of external researchers met at the Willco Building to provide feedback on the report. Based on that discussion, a revised report was sent to NIH Director Elias Zerhouni, who concurred with the findings and forwarded the report to DHHS Secretary Tommy Thompson.

In addition to a discussion of relevant research findings, the report notes that the relationship between moderate alcohol consumption and disease outcome is confounded and modified by numerous individual differences: age, gender, genetic susceptibility, metabolic rate, co-morbid conditions, lifestyle factors, and patterns of consumption, for example. (The current guidelines identify groups of people at particular risk who should not drink at all: anyone under 21, individuals at any age who cannot restrict their drinking to moderate levels, women who may become or are pregnant, individuals who plan to drive or operate machinery, and individuals taking medication that can interact with alcohol.) Protective and detrimental levels of alcohol consumption cannot be generalized across the population, but instead should be determined by an individual in consultation with her or his physician. Given that caveat, the report concluded: "The current scientific knowledge on the risks and benefits related to various levels of alcohol consumption does not suggest a need to modify the existing guidelines on moderate alcohol use. Except for those individuals at particular risk (as are described in the current guidelines), consumption of two drinks a day for men and one for women is unlikely to increase health risks. As risks for some conditions and diseases do increase at higher levels of consumption, men should be cautioned to not exceed four drinks on any day and women to not exceed three on any day."

Workshop on Binge Drinking NIAAA sponsored a workshop on binge drinking on November 4-5 in Washington. This session was aimed at determining the factors that define heavy episodic drinking or distinguish it from other patterns of alcohol use and abuse, including cut-off points, amounts, or timeframes; predictive factors; trajectories; and outcomes. A task force chaired by NIAAA Associate Director Mark Goldman was charged with developing a recommended definition of binge drinking (heavy episodic drinking) for use in the field's future research efforts. Serving on the task force are Raul Caetano, Sandra Brown, Kenneth Hoffman, George Koob, Sean O'Connor, and Kenneth Sher. Over the two days of the workshop, the task force heard invited presentations in the areas of neurobiology, physiology, psychology, sociocultural contexts, and measurement issues. After reviewing the presented material, they reconvened on February 4 to produce a consensus definition. This recommendation will be submitted to the full Council for approval.

Idaho First Lady Testifies Before Senate Subcommittee First Lady of Idaho Patricia Kempthorne, a founding member of Leadership to Keep Children Alcohol Free, testified before the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services on September 30th. Senator Mike Dewine (R-OH) is chair of this subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Current and emeritus Leadership members expressing their support for Mrs. Kempthorne's recommendations at the hearing were Columba Bush (FL), Mary Herman (ME), Theresa Racicot (MT), Sharon Kitzhaber (OR), Michele Ridge (PA), Martha Sundquist (TN), Sue Ann Thompson (WI), and Sherri Geringer (WY).

Mrs. Kempthorne's recommendations to the subcommittee included the following: (1) hold further hearings on youth drinking as the impetus for significant policy deliberations and proposals; (2) ask the U.S. Surgeon General to issue a "Call to Action on Childhood Drinking," with the resulting report to be released in a timely way; (3) collect national data on alcohol use and attitudes that include children as young as nine years of age; and (4) increase the National's investment in underage drinking research, prevention, and treatment to bring it in line with what is spent on illicit drugs and tobacco. Following the hearing, Senators DeWine and Christopher Dodd (D-CT) wrote to Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson, requesting that the Surgeon General issue a report on underage drinking.

Mark Keller Honorary Lecture Dr. Adolf Pfefferbaum gave the Mark Keller Honorary Lecture at NIH on November 18. Dr. Pfefferbaum is professor of psychiatry and behavioral science at Stanford University School of Medicine and director of the Neuroscience Program, SRI International, Menlo Park, California. Dr. Pfefferbaum has been at the forefront of research using quantitative neuroimaging to study the effects of chronic alcohol abuse on living human brain structure. The title of his lecture was "Alcohol-Induced Insult to the Living Brain: Views from Magnetic Resonance Imaging."

NIH-Wide

NIH Employees Win First Large A-76 Competition National Institutes of Health (NIH) employees have won their first large competition under a competitive sourcing program known as A-76. A-76 refers to a circular by the executive branch's Office of Management and Budget. A-76 dates from 1966 and establishes that the Government will provide only what the private sector cannot. It mandates that the Government obtain commercial services at the best price through open and fair competition with the private sector. The Bush administration has identified competitive sourcing as one of its five government-wide initiatives and is actively pursuing the A-76 mandate. NIH's Extramural Administrative Support Service Group won the competition to provide technical and secretarial support to scientists who review and administer NIH grants. Under the "most efficient organization" proposal that won the competition, extramural services will now be an independent organization in the NIH Office of Extramural Research and will centrally provide services to all the NIH institutes and centers. The transition to this new organizational structure will take place over the next 6 months.

Director's Activities

Waggoner Center of Alcohol and Addiction Research On October 3, Dr. Li was the keynote speaker at the fifth anniversary of the Waggoner Center of Alcohol and Addiction Research at the University of Texas at Austin, TX. The topic of the address was "Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism: Common Complex, Personal, and Societal Problems."

Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic Dr. Li gave a talk entitled "Genetic and Environmental Influences on Alcohol Drinking Behavior" on October 23 at the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. The talk was a part of the visiting professorship program at the Center.

American Society of Addiction Medicine The American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) is an association of physicians dedicated to improving the treatment of alcoholism and other addictions through research, prevention, and education. On October 30, Dr. Li spoke during a plenary session of the ASAM Conference on the State of the Art in Addiction Medicine in Washington, DC. His talk was entitled "Pharmacogenomics: Future challenges for Alcoholism Treatment."

NIH Neuroscience Seminar Series Sponsored by several NIH institutes, the NIH Neuroscience Seminar Series features lectures and discussion by leading neuroscientists. As part of this series, Dr. Li gave a lecture entitled "Genetic and Environmental Influences on Alcohol Drinking Behavior" on November 3 on the NIH campus.

American Association of Chairs of Departments of Psychiatry On November 9, Dr. Li made a presentation to the American Association of Chairs of Psychiatry at their annual meeting in Washington, DC. The Association represents the leaders of departments of psychiatry in all of the medical schools in the United States and Canada.

Scientific Conference for Trainees Dr. Li gave the opening address at the third NIAAA Trainee Workshop held November 22-23 in Indianapolis. NIAAA and the Indiana University Alcohol Research Center sponsored the workshop (more information is available in the section of this report on workshops and symposia). Dr. Li's opening talk was entitled "Alcohol Research in the 21st Century." He also made a presentation on the NIAAA reorganization.

International Conference on Application of Neuroimaging to Alcoholism The NIAAA Center for the Translational Neuroscience of Alcoholism at Yale University School of Medicine hosted the International Conference on Application of Neuroimaging to Alcoholism in New Haven, CT, January 17-19. Dr. Li gave the opening welcome and introduction to the conference which featured sessions on cutting edge neuroimaging techniques and their use in studying alcohol-related behavior and neurophysiology.

NIAAA in the Media

Alcohol, Genes, and Worms News coverage on research by NIAAA scientists on a gene linked to alcohol sensitivity in C. elegans appeared in the Washington Post, the San Franciso Chronicle, and on CNN. (Additional information is in the section below on Advances/Significant Papers.)

NOFAS Poster on "Law and Order" NBC's Law and Order: Special Victims Unit aired an episode with an FAS storyline on November 4. Through the work of NIAAA's partner, the National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (NOFAS), the NIAAA/NOFAS public awareness campaign posters appeared as a scene backdrop during the episode.

AAAS Radio NIAAA's Dr. Sam Zakhari, Director of the Division of Metabolism and Health Effects, gave an interview to the radio service of the American Association for the Advancement of Science for broadcast in January on local WMET, 1150 AM. The interview dealt with the risks and benefits of drinking.

NIAAA on NPR's Diane Rehm Show NIAAA's Dr. Kenneth Warren and grantees Drs. Sandra Jacobson and Claire Coles were the three featured guests on a one hour broadcast of The Diane Rehm Show November 10 discussing alcohol, pregnancy, and fetal alcohol syndrome. The show aired in Washington on WAMU-FM. National Public Radio distributes The Diane Rehm Show across the nation.

Workshops/Symposia

Role of Fatty Liver, Dietary Fatty Acids, and Obesity in the Progression of Alcoholic Liver Disease NIAAA staff organized and co-chaired a symposium on the Role of Fatty Liver, Dietary Fatty Acids, and Obesity in the Progression of Alcoholic Liver Disease in Bethesda, Maryland on October 3. NIAAA's Dr. Vishnu Purohit organized the symposium which was co-sponsored by NIH's Office of Dietary Supplements. The proceedings of the symposium will be published in the journal Alcohol.

QTL to Gene NIAAA supported a collaborative, interdisciplinary conference entitled "QTL to Gene: New Strategies and Recent Progress for Alcohol-Related Behaviors," in Portland, Oregon on October 8-10. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the latest data, technologies, and strategies for identifying the genes within rodent and human QTL regions. Four alcohol research centers-the Portland Alcohol Research Center, Midwest Alcoholism Research Center, Scripps Research Institute, and University of Connecticut School of Medicine-sponsored the conference along with the School of Medicine of the Oregon Health & Science University and the Portland Veterans Affairs Research Foundation. About 80 scientists attended.

NIAAA Trainee Workshop The Indiana University Alcohol Research Center and NIAAA sponsored the third NIAAA Trainee Workshop, "Building a Foundation for Advances in Alcohol Research," on November 22-23 in Indianapolis. The workshop featured presentations by pre- and postdoctoral fellows supported by NIAAA institutional training (T32) grants. Dr. Li gave the opening address and NIAAA staff Dennis Twombly, Bob Huebner, and Faye Calhoun also made presentations at the conference.

Public Representation/Liaison Activities

North Carolina Presidents' Summit on Alcohol Use and Abuse Leadership co-chair Mary Easley, First Lady of North Carolina, hosted 68 college presidents, chancellors, and legal counsels from around her state at the North Carolina Presidents' Summit on Alcohol Use and Abuse on September 24 at the executive mansion in Raleigh. The Summit highlighted research findings and recommendations of A Call to Action: Changing the Culture of Drinking at U.S. Colleges, the report of the NIAAA Task Force on College Drinking. Summit sponsors were NIAAA, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, the Governor's Institute on Alcohol & Substance Abuse, Inc., and Wake Forest University.

Smart and Sober Celebration On October 15th, First Lady of Ohio and Leadership co-chair Hope Taft hosted the 2nd "Smart and Sober Celebration" for Ohio middle-school students. Over 7,000 students attended the full-day event. Among the celebrities there were producer/director/actor Henry Winkler, Ohio Governor Bob Taft, and rap artist Bow-Wow. The success of this event is prompting other Governors' spouses to consider similar youth-oriented activities in their states in the coming years.

New Multi-Media Products from NIAAA

Alcohol Research & Health An issue of Alcohol Research & Health on "Epidemiology in Alcohol Research," has been printed. The new issue includes the following articles: classification of alcohol use disorders, tracking alcohol consumption over time, alcohol-related morbidity and mortality, harmful alcohol use, epidemiology and consequences of drinking and driving, alcohol use among adolescents and young adults, alcohol use and related problems among ethnic minorities in the United States, international comparisons of alcohol consumption, and accidental alcohol poisoning mortality in the United States, 1996- 1998. Work continues on finalizing three issues-two on the liver and one on the brain.

The AR&H Editorial Advisory Board meeting was held November 3, 2003 in Rockville, MD. The meeting included discussions about ways to improve the journal and the selection of new topics for the coming year. Board members identified a number of topics, prioritized them, and for the more popular ones, recommended subject matter to be included as well as potential authors.

Assessing Alcohol Problems: A Guide for Clinicians and Researchers, 2nd edition Printed copies of this 700-page book have been received and are being disseminated. The book offers discussion of the state of research and practice in a variety of alcoholism assessment areas, among them screening, diagnosis, and alcohol behavior assessment. We are working to make the full text available on the NIAAA website.

A Family History of Alcoholism: Are You at Risk? and Harmful Interactions: Mixing Alcohol with Medications Both of these public education pamphlets, adapted for Hispanic audiences, were pretested in focus groups for the Spanish translation. Printed copies have been received and are being disseminated. Both pamphlets will be included in the National Alcohol Screening Day kits to be sent to sites serving Hispanic audiences. Copies can be viewed, printed, or ordered on the NIAAA website.

Helping Patients with Alcohol Problems: A Health Practitioner's Guide NIAAA's new Health Practitioner's Guide is being reprinted to include updated data from the 2001-2002 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC). The data will appear in the appendix section entitled "Drinking Patterns: Rates and Risks." A table delineates five categories of drinking patterns (based on alcohol screening limits) and the associated prevalence of alcohol abuse and dependence. In addition, the table was simplified graphically and a new distinction was made between drinkers who exceed only the weekly limits and those who exceed both the weekly and the daily limits.

NIAAA Newsletter The Fall 2003 issue featured an update on the NIAAA reorganization and an article about the NIAAA-sponsored summit on college drinking in North Carolina. Also included were announcements about new and retiring personnel, new publications, upcoming conferences and workshops, and information about registering for National Alcohol Screening Day.

Updates on Key Programs

College Drinking Prevention Website In September, NIAAA's college drinking prevention website had a record number of hits (1,016,175), surpassed only by the number of hits in the month the site was launched (April 2002). The increase is attributable to increased marketing efforts in September. In addition, MSN added a link to the site within an article aimed at college students on MSN Women.

NICHD Funds Leadership The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) has made a 3-year funding commitment to Leadership to Keep Children Alcohol Free. NICHD Director Duane Alexander wrote that "this is one of the most important issues in child health, and I am glad to see the leadership role you [NIAAA] is taking." NIH's Office of Research on Women's Health and the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities also support the Leadership.

NESARC The Wave 1 NESARC (National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions) data has been cleaned and the NESARC website that will house the public use data is under construction. It will take several weeks to finalize the website and complete ancillary materials. Wave 2 NESARC is in the full planning stage and will be fielded in September 2004. NESARC data have been pivotal in our updating of the Health Practitioner's Guide, as well as in the crafting of our research priorities to focus on adolescent and young adult drinking.

Advances/Significant Papers

Breakthroughs of the Year in the Journal Science Each year, the editorial and news staffs of the journal Science select a list of top scientific breakthroughs for that year. For 2003, the runner up (the top breakthrough being the confirmation of the existence of "dark energy" in the universe) cited a series of papers on genes, brain function, and mental illness, including two on which NIAAA intramural scientists were coauthors (Egan, M.F., et al, Effect of COMT Val108/158 Met genotype on frontal lobe function and risk of schizophrenia. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the U.S.A. 98(12)6917-6922, 2001 and Egan, M.F., et al, The BDNF val66met polymorphism affects activity-dependent secretion of BDNF and human memory and hippocampal function. Cell 112:257-269, 2003). The advances cited by Science are beginning to show how gene variants shape brain functions related to memory and emotional reactions to experience. Ultimately, this work is aimed at explaining how genes and the environment interact to result in mental illness.

Alcohol Sensitivity Linked to Gene in C. elegans Variations in genes that alter response to alcohol in invertebrates may provide clues to analogous alcohol-related genes in humans. These investigators screened mutant C. elegans for altered responses to alcohol, and found that worms with reduced sensitivity to alcohol had loss-of-function alleles, or gene variants, in a gene (slo-1) that encodes a potassium channel. Normally, alcohol activates the channel, inhibiting neuronal activity. The so-called BK potassium channel may be an important, though not the only, target for alcohol in C. elegans. Genes for BK channels are also present in humans, so this work may provide an avenue for exploring the mechanisms of alcohol's effects, and genetic differences in alcohol sensitivity, in humans. (Davies, A.G. et al, Cell 115(6):655-666, 2003.)

COGA Identifies Gene Associated With Alcoholism Risk Many lines of research suggest that receptors for the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) are involved in alcohol's effects on the brain. NIAAA's Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism has identified a gene for the GABAA receptor that is associated with risk for alcohol dependence. The study involved 262 families and 2,282 individuals. The mechanism by which this gene affects risk is not known, but these results support speculation that one feature of increased risk of alcoholism may be an inherited state of nervous system overexcitability. (Dick, D.M. et al, Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research 28:2042-2047, 2004.)

Alcohol, Folate and Chronic Disease in Women Folate is a B-vitamin available in some fruits and vegetables and in fortified foods. This study examined the joint association of alcohol and folate intake with risk of cardiovascular disease or cancer and other nontraumatic death in women. Among the almost 84,000 women in the study, heavy drinkers (consuming more than 30 grams or about two drinks a day) with a lower total folate intake had the highest risk of chronic disease. Risk was diminished in women with higher folate consumption. Adequate folate intake may be important in the primary prevention of overall major chronic disease in women, especially among younger women consuming more than two alcohol drinks a day. (Jiang, R., et al, American Journal of Epidemiology 158(8):760-771, 2003.)

Genes for Folate and Alcohol Metabolism: Impact on Cancer Risk Individuals with low intakes or circulating levels of folate have an increased risk of colorectal cancer and adenomas that are a precursor to cancer, especially if alcohol intake is high. This study looked at the relationship between cancer risk and genetic polymorphisms in genes involved in folate and alcohol metabolism in men participating in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study. The results suggest that high intake of alcohol (more than 30 grams, or about two drinks per day) is associated with an increased risk of colorectal adenoma, particularly among those with genotypes associated with higher activity of an enzyme that breaks down folate and slower breakdown of alcohol. The interaction between alcohol and variations in alcohol-metabolizing enzymes is stronger among those with low folate intake. The authors suggest the alcohol's affect on colorectal cancer risk may be mediated through folate. (Giovannucci, E., et al, Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention 12(10):970-9, 2003.)

Heritability of Major Depression in Adolescent Women Little data exist on the heritability of major depressive disorder (MDD) in youth. This study of 3,416 female adolescent twins found that genetic variance in risk of MDD was 40.4 percent, similar to the variance in adults. Shared environmental effects were not significant. The authors suggest that these data are consistent with an understanding of adolescent and adult MDD as having similar etiologies (Glowinski, A.L., et al, J. Child Psychology and Psychiatry 44(7):988-996, 2003.)

Alcohol Metabolism Genes and Alcohol Dependence in American Indians Variants in genes that encode enzymes involved in the metabolism of alcohol have been shown to influence the risk of alcoholism. This study identified several alleles or variants of an alcohol dehydrogenase gene (ADH1C), and a neighboring genetic marker, that were associated with risk for alcohol dependence and binge drinking in a population of American Indians. These results strengthen the case for ADH1C being a candidate gene for vulnerability to alcoholism. (Mulligan, C.J. et al, Human Genetics 113(4):325-336, 2003. Epub ahead of print July 12.)

G Proteins and Ion Channels One of the ways neurotransmitters alter the activity of neurons is through their effect on ion channels in the cell membrane and, as a result, the flow of ions across the membrane. G proteins are molecules that play a central role in intracellular signaling-this study now shows that a G protein subunit acts in a way not previously demonstrated in that it enhances the effect of the neurotransmitter glycine on its target ion channel protein. The results suggest that this interaction between the G protein subunit and glycine receptor regulates both motor and sensory functions in the central nervous system. (Yevenes, G.E., et al, Nature Neuroscience 6(8):819-824, 2003.)

Protein Kinase C and Serotonin Receptors Protein kinases are a class of enzymes that have important roles in regulating synaptic transmission and brain function. Protein kinase C (PKC) is known to help modulate neurotransmitter effects on ion channels. Results from this study suggest that PKC can enhance the effect of the neurotransmitter serotonin on its ion channel receptor by increasing the movement of receptor to the cell surface. Alcohol has an impact on serotonin neurotransmission, so knowledge of its receptor function can aid understanding of alcohol's effects. (Sun, H., et al, Journal of Biological Chemistry 278(36):34150-34157, 2003. Epub June 5, 2003.)

Site of Ethanol Action in a Neurotransmitter Receptor Alcohol reduces the excitatory actions of the neurotransmitter glutamate. This report describes a site on the protein chain making up the NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate) receptor for glutamate that is key to alcohol's effect on the receptor, an ion channel. Substituting amino acids at this site altered the effect of ethanol on the ion channel. This suggests that this site is one, but probably not the only, location at which ethanol acts on the receptor. (Ren, H., et al, Journal of Biological Chemistry 278(49):48815-48820, 2003. Epub Sept. 2003.)

Childhood Adversity and Alcohol Dependence Among Native Americans American Indians have high rates of trauma and alcoholism. This study of multiple tribal communities demonstrates a strong correlation between the stress of adverse childhood exposures and later alcoholism and other psychopathologies. Such studies on the effects of environmental exposures are critical towards understanding interindividual variation in vulnerability and variation across communities with widely differing rates of alcoholism. (Koss, M.P., et al, American Journal of Preventive Medicine 25(3):238-244, 2003.)

Promising Biomarker of Fetal Exposure to Alcohol Results of this study suggest that testing for a byproduct of alcohol metabolism-ethyl oleate-in the meconium of newborns provides a reliable indicator of maternal consumption of alcohol during pregnancy. A clinically useful biomarker for drinking during pregnancy would permit earlier identification and intervention of infants affected by fetal alcohol syndrome. (Bearer, C.F., et al, Journal of Pediatrics 143(4):463-469, 2003.)

A Parthenogenetic Source for Stem Cells This report follows up a paper from 2002 (Cibelli, J.B., et al, Science 295:819, 2002) reporting the creation of an embryonic stem cell line from monkey embryos created from unfertilized egg cells. Embryonic stem cells are undifferentiated and can be propagated for long periods, but can be induced to develop into cells with specific functions. These researchers have generated dopamine-producing neurons from this line. The cells may provide a novel tool for studying the effects of genomic imprinting-the influence of paternal or maternal origin of genes on their function-and may have potential for treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. (Vrana, K.E., et al, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the U.S.A. 100 Suppl 1:11911-11916, 2003.)

Targeting Acetaldehyde Acetaldehyde is a toxic product of the metabolism of alcohol. This paper reports findings that acetaldehyde will form a conjugate, both in vitro and in vivo, with the compound cysteinylglycine. Cysteinylglycine is derived from glutathione, an antioxidant that plays a role in protecting the liver from alcohol-induced injury. The significance of the present finding is two-fold: first, the conjugation of acetaldehyde and cysteinylglycine may act as a means of scavenging the potentially toxic acetaldehyde; and second, the conjugate could potentially serve as a marker of alcohol consumption. (Anni, H., et al, Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research 27(10):1613-1621, 2003.)

Staff Transitions/Awards

Office of the Director
Judi Ziegler is filling in as secretary to Dr. Faye Calhoun while Monique Hill is on maternity leave. Ms. Ziegler came to the Office of the Director from the Laboratory of Neurogenetics, DICBR.

Office of Scientific Affairs
Nanwei Cao, Ph.D., has joined the Strategic Research Planning Branch in the Office of Scientific Affairs. Dr. Cao will manage the SMART database, which maintains scientific coding for disease reporting. She has a masters degree in computer and information science and a doctorate in theoretical physics, both from City University of New York. Dr. Cao comes to NIAAA from NIH's Center for Information Technology, Division of Computational Bioscience.

Office of Research Translation and Communications
Amy Blackburn will complete a three-month rotation with NIAAA as an NIH management intern on February 15. Among her projects in the Communications and Public Liaison Branch, Ms. Blackburn played a key role in managing and coordinating events for an upcoming conference, of which NIAAA is a co-sponsor, on Rural Underage Drinking. Ms. Blackburn's next rotation within the management intern program will be with the NIH's Office of Community Liaison.

Division of Intramural Clinical and Biological Research
Andrew Holmes, Ph.D., has been appointed as an investigator (tenure-track) to lead the Section on Behavioral Science and Genetics, Laboratory for Integrative Neuroscience. Dr. Holmes will establish and manage an independent research program examining both behavioral genomics and pharmacology in mice in an effort to identify genetic factors that underlie alcoholism in humans.

Alexei Yelisseev, Ph.D., has been appointed as a staff scientist in the Section of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Laboratory of Membrane Biochemistry and Biophysics (LMBB). His work will focus on the expression, purification and reconstitution of G-protein coupled membrane receptors for NMR structural studies.

New Research Fellows A number of scientists have joined the Division as fellows. They are Qiuqing Ang, M.D., Ph.D., visiting fellow in the Section of Nutritional Neuroscience, LMBB; Francesca Ducci, M.D., visiting fellow in the Section of Human Neurogenetics, Laboratory of Neurogenetics; Mingquan Guo, Ph.D., visiting fellow and Zhixin Yuan, Ph.D., postdoctoral intramural research training award fellow in the Section of Mass Spectrometry, LMBB; and Youn J. Lee, Ph.D., visiting fellow in the Section of Molecular Biology, LMBB.

New RFA's/PA's

Mechanisms of Alcoholic Pancreatitis (PA-04-005) This program announcement, jointly issued by NIAAA, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, and the National Institute on Drug Abuse, solicits applications that will investigate the underlying molecular, biochemical, and cellular mechanisms by which long-term alcohol ingestion leads to the development of pancreatitis. Research is also encouraged to understand the role of various predisposing factors, including substance abuse, that make the pancreas susceptible to alcoholic injury. More information is available at https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090506042429/http://grants2.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-04-005.html.

Research Grant Application Peer Review Activities

For this review round, 335 new and competing continuation research grant applications were assigned to NIAAA for funding consideration. Office of Scientific Affairs Extramural Project Review Branch staff completed 24 review meetings to evaluate a total of 148 grant applications and 5 review meetings to evaluate a total of 26 contract proposals. Reviews completed included the following:

National Alcohol Screening Day Academic Emergency Medicine Department Collaboration (RFA No. AA04-0001)
21 grant applications reviewed.
Ecological Modeling (DARPA BAA)
6 contract proposals reviewed.
Development of Methodology for Measuring Compliance for Medications (RFP for SBIR Phase I Topic 017)
5 contract proposals reviewed.
Development of Correlational Alcohol-Relevant Database from Mouse Transcriptosome and Proteome (RFP for SBIR Phase I Topic 024)
3 contract proposals reviewed.
Genomic, Proteomic or Metabolomic Differences in Alcohol-Induced Organ Damage (RFP for SBIR Phase I Topic 025)
5 contract proposals reviewed.
Science Education Materials Development for Kindergarten through 12th Grade (RFP for SBIR Phase I Topic 026)
7 contract proposals reviewed.

Of the remaining grant applications this round, 127 were reviewed by the Institute's standing review sub-committees or special emphasis panels and 187 were reviewed by study sections of the NIH Center for Scientific Review.

Special review committees are presently being established at NIAAA for the evaluation of applications received in response to the initiative Medications Development to Treat Alcoholism and Alcohol-Related Diseases SBIR/STTR (RFA No. AA04-1102). The outcome of this evaluation will be presented at future council meetings.

What's Ahead

ASAM Symposium NIAAA will sponsor a symposium entitled "Advances in Alcoholism Treatment and Health Services Research" on April 24 during the American Society of Addiction Medicine's 35th Annual Medical-Scientific Conference in Washington, DC. The symposium was originally scheduled for last year's conference, which was cancelled due to concerns about SARS. Contact: Nancy Colladay, 301-443-4733, ncollada@willco.niaaa.nih.gov.


Prepared: March 2004