Viren Makhijani, a graduate student in the Dr. Joyce Besheer’s lab at the Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, received an NRSA from the NIAAA titled “The mineralocorticoid receptor as a potential bridge between traumatic stress and increased alcohol consumption.” His work will examine the consequences of traumatic stress exposure on alcohol drinking and whether mineralocorticoid … Read more

Dr. Fulton Crews won the Marlatt Mentorship Award at the Research Society of Alcoholism Conference  on June 20, 2018 . The award recognizes an individual whose mentoring of young researchers in the alcohol research field is demonstrated to be exceptional. Dr. Crews was honored for exceptional mentoring of successful post-docs and faculty as well as … Read more

Drs. Zoe McElligott and Melissa Herman each received highly competitive travel awards to the 2018 American College of Neuropsychopharmacology meeting in Hollywood, Florida.          

Brennon, a postdoc in the McElligott lab at the Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, received a pilot award from the North Carolina Translational and Clinical Sciences Institute entitled “Examining Brain Activation Following Morphine Withdrawal” to investigate whole brain changes in neuron activation following a withdrawal-centered model of opioid use disorder. 

María Luisa, a graduate student in the the McElligott lab at the Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, received an NRSA from the NIAAA entitled “Examining Alcohol Induced Plasticity in Amygdala Hind Brain Circuits.” She will work to determine whether a history of alcohol consumption in mice can alter the behavioral and physiological properties of these … Read more

BCAS congratulates Dr. Tamara J. Phillips for winning the 2018 Bowles Lectureship Award.  The Bowles Award is given annually to honor a distinguished researcher who has made significant contributions to our understanding of the causes, prevention and/or treatment of alcoholism and alcohol abuse. Her remarkable research discoveries on the genetic dissection of behavioral traits associated … Read more

New publication from the Parnell Lab: The Parnell lab used mice models to study the effects of prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) on behavior and brain alteration. Through the use of various behavioral tests, they determined that female mice affected by PAE lacked social flexibility and demonstrated autistic-like behavior, while PAE males were more likely to … Read more

New Publication from the Breese Lab: Almost a third of people with chronic pain abuse alcohol, yet the reason is unknown. To begin to investigate this, the Breese Lab created a mouse model of osteoarthritis pain by snipping the medial meniscus of mice, and allowed them to choose between water and alcohol. The experimental mice … Read more

New research from the Morrow lab: Have you ever wondered why symptoms such as anxiety and seizures are associated with alcohol withdrawal? These symptoms are caused in part by reduced activity of the GABA-A receptor, encoded by the Gabra1 gene, which is downregulated by excessive alcohol intake. Using pharmacology, genetics and epigenetics, the Morrow Lab … Read more

Fetal Alcohol Disorder may be more common than previously thought.