This Career Development Award (K01) will provide the candidate with the necessary skills to develop an independent research program focused on integrating genetic methodologies to the candidate's already strong longitudinal modeling skills to explore and clarify the etiology of the interplay between cigarette use and internalizing problems during adolescence. Despite decreases in prevalence of smoking during adolescence in the past two decades, adolescence continues to be the developmental period of greatest risk for cigarette use onset and increase in internalizing problems. Clarifying the complex etiological pathways involved in the co-occurrence between cigarette use and internalizing problems during this vulnerable time requires using multiple methodologies. The overall aim of the current proposal is to test increasingly complex longitudinal models that explore the degree to which the co-occurrence between adolescent cigarette use and internalizing problems are influenced by genetic and environmental factors and to include measured genetic variants. The training plan will be completed at the Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics at Virginia Commonwealth University and is designed to provide the candidate with skills in genetic epidemiology, quantitative genetics, and molecular genetics. The candidate will acquire the knowledge and skills to a) conduct univariate, bivariate, and multivariate genetically informed studies to identify the genetic and environmental risk factors in smoking initiation, progression t heavier smoking, nicotine dependence, and internalizing problems;b) conduct longitudinal genetically informed studies to clarify the causal pathways involved in cigarette use and internalizing problems by exploring the degree to which genetic and environmental factors explain the covariance between the behaviors;and c) conduct genetically informed ecological momentary assessment studies of adolescent twin pairs to explore the causal pathway between these problems behaviors. These skills will be developed through a combination of formal coursework, mentored research projects, and didactic training. The proposed research program involves a combination of analysis of existing longitudinal studies of adolescent twins and an original data collection pilot project. The existing longitudinal studies of adolescent twins inclue the Swedish Twin Study of Child and Adolescent Development, the Minnesota Twin and Family Study, the Virginia Twin Study of Adolescent Behavioral Development, the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, the GEDI (Genes, Environment, Development Initiative part of NIDA's Genetics Consortium). In the pilot project, the candidate will collect momentary cigarette use and mood data of 16- and 17-year-old adolescent twin pairs recruited from a population-based twin registry comprised of over 50,000 twins. Training activities and results will be used to develop a R01 proposal for a prospective momentary assessment and genotyping study of 14 to 17 year old adolescent twins.

Public Health Relevance

Despite decreases in adolescent cigarette use observed in recent decades, adolescence continues to be a vulnerable period for cigarette use onset, progression to heavier use and nicotine dependence. This project aims to elucidate the etiological pathways involved in the relationship between internalizing problems and cigarette use during adolescence by integrating longitudinal and genetic approaches to examine the influence of measured genetic and environmental factors across development. Insights gained will directly inform preventive interventions by clarifying the etiological and genetic role of internalizing problems to cigarette use.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Type
Research Scientist Development Award - Research & Training (K01)
Project #
1K01DA036681-01A1
Application #
8766357
Study Section
Behavioral Genetics and Epidemiology Study Section (BGES)
Program Officer
Weinberg, Naimah Z
Project Start
2014-09-01
Project End
2019-08-31
Budget Start
2014-09-01
Budget End
2015-08-31
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
2014
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
Virginia Commonwealth University
Department
Type
Schools of Social Welfare/Work
DUNS #
City
Richmond
State
VA
Country
United States
Zip Code
23298
Bares, Cristina B; Dick, Danielle M; Kendler, Kenneth S (2018) Nicotine dependence, internalizing symptoms, mood variability and daily tobacco use among young adult smokers. Addict Behav 83:87-94
Bares, Cristina B; Maes, Hermine H; Kendler, Kenneth S (2017) Familial and Special Twin Influences on Cigarette Use Initiation. Twin Res Hum Genet 20:137-146
Pascale, Antonio; Sosa, Adriana; Bares, Cristina et al. (2016) E-Waste Informal Recycling: An Emerging Source of Lead Exposure in South America. Ann Glob Health 82:197-201
Zai, Gwyneth; Alberry, Bonnie; Arloth, Janine et al. (2016) Rapporteur summaries of plenary, symposia, and oral sessions from the XXIIIrd World Congress of Psychiatric Genetics Meeting in Toronto, Canada, 16-20 October 2015. Psychiatr Genet 26:229-257
Bares, Cristina B; Kendler, Kenneth S; Maes, Hermine H M (2016) Racial differences in heritability of cigarette smoking in adolescents and young adults. Drug Alcohol Depend 166:75-84
Bares, Cristina B; Kendler, Kenneth S; Maes, Hermine H (2015) Developmental Changes in Genetic and Shared Environmental Contributions to Smoking Initiation and Subsequent Smoking Quantity in Adolescence and Young Adulthood. Twin Res Hum Genet 18:497-506