The candidate is applying for a mentored research scientist development award. Kenneth Kendler, M.D., a world-renowned researcher in the genetic epidemiology of psychiatric disorders, will be her primary preceptor. The training setting in the Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, a multidisciplinary institute located in the Medical College of Virginia/Virginia Commonwealth University. Research conducted during the past decade has implicated genetic factors in alcohol use, abuse and dependence. An important focus of research in the next decade will be to understand the mechanisms by which these influences operate. The overall goal of the proposed research is to identify mechanisms for transmission of vulnerability to alcohol use and alcoholism.
Specific aims i nclude: studying genetic contributions to lifetime risk for alcohol use, abuse and dependence, as well as changes in alcohol consumption and symptomatology; investigating the basis for the association between alcohol-related behaviors and a variety of proposed """"""""risk factors""""""""; studying the basis of the co-occurrence of alcoholism and a variety of other forms of psychopathology; and identifying the role of personality traits and comorbid psychopathology as potential mediators and moderators of genetic vulnerability. To accomplish these goals, the candidate will obtain training in advanced statistical methods and apply them to data collected from personal interviews with over 9,000 twins and their parents ascertained through the population-based Virginia Twin Registry. The candidate's future career goal is to develop comprehensive etiological models for alcohol use and alcoholism by combining behavior genetic designs with behavioral pharmacology paradigms and molecular genetic data. To facilitate this, the candidate will obtain training in behavioral pharmacology and molecular genetics.
