The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), a component of the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the lead agency in this country for research on alcohol abuse, alcoholism, and other health effects of alcohol. NIAAA provides leadership in the national effort to reduce alcohol-related problems by: 1) conducting and supporting research in a wide range of scientific areas including genetics, neuroscience, epidemiology, health risks and benefits of alcohol consumption, prevention, and treatment; 2) coordinating and collaborating with other research institutes and Federal Programs on alcohol-related issues; 3) collaborating with international, national, state, and local institutions, organizations, agencies, and programs engaged in alcohol-related work; and 4) translating and disseminating research findings to health care providers, researchers, policymakers, and the public. NIAAA research is guided by the NlAAA Strategic Plan for Research, 2006-2010, which sets forth research opportunities to increase understanding of why, how, and when people drink, and the development of alcohol use disorders (AUD). The NlAAA Strategic Plan adds a new direction to alcohol studies by applying the lifespan perspective -- the consideration of how the emergence and progression of drinking behavior is influenced by multiple changes (in biology, psychology, and in exposure to social and environmental inputs) over a person's lifetime. Viewing alcohol use and alcohol problems through a lifespan perspective will provide knowledge that will, through early identification and intervention, significantly contribute to the ability to decrease the prevalence of alcoholism and other alcohol-related disorders, and to the treatment of these disorders. NIAAA seeks to reduce alcohol-related mortality and morbidity and other alcohol-related problems and consequences through the integration and application of epidemiology and prevention science by: 1) setting national research priorities; 2) stimulating and supporting national research, training and career development; 3) promoting dialogue and collaboration between NIAAA and other organizations; 4) disseminating information. The Alcohol Epidemiological Data System (AEDS) is a contract-funded effort to provide major assistance to NIAAA in the conduct of its research and research dissemination program. The focus of the AEDS contract is secondary data analysis of survey data and collection of secondary survey data for use in scientific reports.
