Our group is focused on the mechanistic link. between alcohol abuse and the development of organ dysfunction in critically ill patients. The general hypothesis underlying our research is that chronic ethanol ingestion, via discrete perturbations of cellular function in diverse targets including the lungs, the kidneys, and the vasculature, renders patients susceptible to multiple organ dysfunction during acute illnesses such as sepsis and trauma. Our research group examines the epidemiological links between alcohol abuse and organ dysfunction in patients, and in parallel, studies the mechanisms responsible for these associations in animal models and human subjects. Our overall goal is to develop novel diagnostic and therapeutic strategies that will enable us to reduce the morbidity and mortality secondary to critical illnesses in patients with a history of chronic alcohol abuse. Since 1996 we have trained (or are currently training) 15 post-doctoral students and/or junior faculty who have been attracted to this work from the Pulmonary & Critical Care Training Program, the Neonatology Training Program, the Emergency Medicine Training Program, (at Emory University) and the faculty of More house School of Medicine. Among these trainees are minority and women clinician-scientists. Further, we have formal links to the Postgraduate Research & Education Program, an NIH-funded program between Emory University and a consortium of minority institutions in Atlanta. Preceptors in our Training Program have a broad array of alcohol research projects available to attract and train both basic and clinical researchers. These projects span from aberrant gene regulation and signaling to the evaluation of healthy as well as critically ill patients with a history of alcohol abuse. In addition to outstanding mentors, our Training Program provides the unique opportunity for clinical scientists to pursue a Masters of Science in Clinical Research at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emery University We are requesting stipends for two post-doctoral MD-scientists per year to pursue a minimum of two years of alcohol research training within our Program. In addition, we are requesting one stipend per year to support the training of post-doctoral Ph.D. scientists.
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