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Volume 21, Number 3, November 2010


Left to Right: Kathleen Sulik, PhD, Clyde Hodge, PhD, Subhash Pandey, PhD, Fulton Crews, PhD, and A. Leslie Morrow, PhD.

Subhash C. Pandey, Ph.D., received the 2010 Bowles Lectureship Award on April 26 for his contributions to our understanding of the causes, prevention and/or treatment of alcoholism and alcohol abuse. Pandey was selected for his outstanding discoveries of epigenetic effects of alcohol exposure that promote anxiety and lead to greater alcohol self-administration in animal models. His groundbreaking work identifies new targets for alcoholism therapy and demonstrates how alcohol exposure can have long-lasting effects on gene function through alterations in DNA methylation.

CAS Director Fulton Crews presented Pandey with the prestigious Award that carries a $5,000 stipend. Pandey graciously accepted the honor and presented his lecture entitled, “Alcoholism and Anxiety: A Perspective from Molecular and Epigenetic Studies,” to colleagues, faculty and students at UNC.

Pandey is the Director of Neuroscience Alcoholism Research and Professor of Biochemistry in Psychiatry, Anatomy and Cell Biology at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He has become a leader in the field of alcoholism research. Pandey hopes to one day provide a basis for designing drugs to treat alcohol abuse and anxiety disorders.

“Epigenetic effects of alcohol are profound, showing how environment and genetics interact to increase alcoholism risk,” said Bowles Associate Director A. Leslie Morrow. “Pandey’s work has challenged all of us to consider the role of epigenetic mechanisms in the myriad of pathways influenced by ethanol abuse. His work will likely lead to an explosion of new evidence in this area.”

Introduced in 1997, the annual Bowles Lectureship Award honors distinguished researchers that have made significant contributions in the alcohol research field. Please visit our web site to view a list of previous awardees: http://www.med.unc.edu/alcohol/bowles.