The primary goal of this independent research scientist award is to allow protected time for Dr. Colleen McClung to acquire new technical skills which will complement her ongoing research program in addiction biology. This award will allow her to become proficient in the use of cutting edge, in vivo calcium imaging technology to measure neuronal activity in behaving animals over periods of days to weeks. She will also learn how to process and analyze the large amounts of data that are associated with this technology. This will involve dynamic collaborations with prominent researchers at the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University, Stanford University and Mt. Sinai University. This technology will expand and complement her existing studies which investigate the role of circadian proteins in reward-related brain regions in the pathophysiology of drug addiction. Specifically, they will allow her for the first time to measure neuronal activity over circadian time in specific neuronal populations in which circadian proteins have been manipulated. These studies will also complement her current collaborative translational projects which are aimed at understanding the influence of circadian rhythm misalignments in adolescents in the risk for substance abuse. This award will also allow protected time for Dr. McClung to interact with her clinical colleagues in psychiatry with the goal of forming a translational addiction center in the future focused on the influence of circadian rhythm and sleep disruptions. Thus this award will pave the way for future innovative research projects that will help us better understand and treat addiction disorders.

Public Health Relevance

Drug addiction is a complex and devastating disorder that affects millions of people world-wide. Through better understanding of the molecular and cellular processes that lead to addiction, we can develop better treatments in the future.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Type
Research Scientist Development Award - Research (K02)
Project #
5K02DA042886-04
Application #
9882987
Study Section
Molecular Neurogenetics Study Section (MNG)
Program Officer
Berton, Olivier Roland
Project Start
2017-03-15
Project End
2022-02-28
Budget Start
2020-03-01
Budget End
2021-02-28
Support Year
4
Fiscal Year
2020
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Pittsburgh
Department
Psychiatry
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
004514360
City
Pittsburgh
State
PA
Country
United States
Zip Code
15260
Logan, Ryan W; Hasler, Brant P; Forbes, Erika E et al. (2018) Impact of Sleep and Circadian Rhythms on Addiction Vulnerability in Adolescents. Biol Psychiatry 83:987-996
Logan, Ryan W; Parekh, Puja K; Kaplan, Gabrielle N et al. (2018) NAD+ cellular redox and SIRT1 regulate the diurnal rhythms of tyrosine hydroxylase and conditioned cocaine reward. Mol Psychiatry :
DePoy, Lauren M; McClung, Colleen A; Logan, Ryan W (2017) Neural Mechanisms of Circadian Regulation of Natural and Drug Reward. Neural Plast 2017:5720842