The National Institutes of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has extended support for the project “Role of Noncoding RNA in Alcohol Action” (PI: Gregg E. Homanics, PhD) until January 31, 2022. This $2,345,078 award will enable Dr. Homanics to test the contribution of alcohol-induced changes in brain levels of noncoding RNAs on alcohol drinking in animal models. Noncoding RNAs are RNAs that do not encode proteins, but function as important regulators of gene expression. This research program is a component of an international consortium of alcohol researchers, the Integrative Neuroscience Initiative on Alcoholism-Neuroimmune. The overarching hypothesis of the consortium is that genetic differences and neuroadaptations in reward circuitry are responsible for individual differences in vulnerability to excessive alcohol consumption. This consortium is directed by R. Adron Harris, PhD of the University of Texas at Austin and includes researchers from nine institutions in the USA and Canada. Dr. Homanics also serves as scientific co-director (with Marissa Roberto, PhD, Scripps Research Institute) and he is a member of the administrative core and the executive committee of the consortium.
Additional details about Dr. Homanics research program can be found on his laboratory website. Details of the alcohol consortium can be found on the consortium website.