Molecular and Cellular Alcohol Research Training

The Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies (BCAS) “Molecular and Cellular Alcohol Research Training” program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is designed to promote the development of promising postdoctoral research fellows as independent investigators and scientific leaders who will investigate the pathogenesis of binge drinking and alcohol use disorder using modern molecular, genetic, biochemical and imaging techniques. Training of the postdoctoral fellows will be individualized with the most important component being the research conducted by the trainee in the faculty mentor's laboratory. In addition to hands-on alcohol research, training will include seminars and conferences, activities on responsible conduct of research and rigor/reproducibility, professional development, didactic courses, and other training as needed to prepare fellows for independent research. The training faculty will consist of 18 funded investigators from multiple departments at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. These faculty have a documented history of close interaction and collaboration. The trainees will benefit from the unique strengths of alcohol research at the University of North Carolina BCAS, which include the NIAAA-funded P60 Alcohol Research Center with its scientific research core and shared facilities, the UNC Neuroscience Center, and the North Carolina Translational and Clinical Sciences Institute (NIH-funded Clinical and Translational Science Award). The training program will be led by Co-Directors, Drs. Donita Robinson, Fulton Crews, and Thomas Kash, with the assistance of two senior alcohol researchers, Drs. Clyde Hodge and Joyce Besheer, who will constitute the Training Program Advisory Committee. The External Advisory Committee provides another level of oversight. The program proposes seven post- doctoral fellow slots per year. Trainees will typically receive two years of research training with the possibility of a third year and with external support sought for later years. This institutional training grant has a strong track record and will promote intensive training in molecular, biochemical and imaging techniques and basic pathophysiology in a stimulating environment, leading to broadly trained independent investigators capable of adapting to the rapid methodological and conceptual advances in research. Modified Project Summary/Abstract Section