NIDA Short Course on the Genetics and Epigenetics of Addiction is Now Accessible on the web

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is pleased to announce A Short Course on the Genetics and Epigenetics of Addiction is now on the web to provide comprehensive and hands-on training in genetics and epigenetic methodology. The course was held from Monday, March 31 Friday, April 4, 2008, at the Bethesda North Marriott Hotel and Conference Center, 5701 Marinelli Road, Bethesda, MD 20852.

Purpose of the Course: The purpose of the course is to provide an introduction to approaches and tools for identifying genes that confer vulnerability to addiction and individual differences in responses to treatments. The course is targeted to those who are new to the field of addiction genetics. The course will be held over 5 days with lectures and hands-on demonstrations given each day. Viewers of the course will gain familiarity with conceptual and practical approaches to complex disorders using relevant genetic and epigenetic databases, and appropriate statistical and empirical approaches.

Topics covered: Behavioral genetics, genetic epidemiology, twin and adoption studies, statistical genetic concepts and approaches for mapping complex traits, haplotype based approaches for association mapping, genome-wide scans for addictive disorders, application of linkage for mapping genes and genetic loci for addictive disorders, pharmacogenomics of treatment of addictive disorders, Baysian Methods for identifying gene-gene interactions, analysis of copy number variation, practical use of genetic databases, mapping of complex traits in mice, methods for analyzing gene expression, and methods for doing epigenetic analysis are covered.

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NIDA's Genes, Environment, and Development Initiative has been launched with the publication of RFA 07-012, at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-DA-07-012.html. NIDA staff will conduct an Application Information Teleconference on Tuesday, December 19, 2006, from 2PM to 4PM ET. This meeting will allow potential applicants to discuss and clarify any issues related to this FOA with NIDA staff. The USA toll free number for participants is 888-788-0168, and the passcode is 15585. Please submit your questions via email to Dr. Naimah Weinberg (nw46w@nih.gov) by December 15.

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Evidence from adoption and twin studies and from animal models suggests that vulnerability to addiction has a moderate to high heritable component. The gene variants underlying increased vulnerability to addiction are unknown, but new advances in science and technology will facilitate the identification and characterization of these gene variants.