This application requests 5 years of support for a new institutional National Research Service Award (NRSA) to support multi disciplinary predoctoral and postdoctoral training in psychological research on alcohol use and dependence. We request support for 3 predoctoral and I postdoctoral fellows in year 1, increasing to a maximum of 6 predoctoral and 2 postdoctoral fellows in years 2-5. The predoctoral and postdoctoral training will typically be of 2 years duration, with the option of extending training to a maximum of 4 years. The major emphases are on understanding the causes and effects of alcohol use and dependence from a broad biopsychosocial perspective. The training plan for predoctoral students will involve two interrelated components: (a) general training from a primary area of research specialization (Cognition and Neuroscience, Clinical, Developmental, Social, and Quantitative Psychology) and (b) specialty training in alcoholism. This specialty training in alcohol research includes a proseminar in alcohol studies, a training program workshop, supervised alcohol research experiences, participation in Missouri Alcoholism Research Center activities, and (for clinical psychology trainees) supervised, alcohol-related clinical experiences. Postdoctoral students funded by this NRSA will participate in all of the specialty alcoholism training along with the predoctoral trainees, and will tailor additional training experiences to fit their individual needs. Research training will emphasize an apprenticeship model, and trainees will be supervised by one or more research mentors. A major strength of the program is the availability of a large faculty with an active program of alcohol research, representing expertise in multivariate modeling of alcohol use and dependence, psychophysiology of alcohol effects, behavior genetics, psychiatric research, developmental aspects of alcohol use and dependence, personality and motivation, longitudinal research using panel, diary, """"""""event-based,"""""""" or time-series data, behavioral pharmacology, and the neuropharmacology of alcohol. The Department of Psychological Sciences at the University of Missouri-Columbia is one of the most productive Psychology Departments in the country. Although this will be the first institutional research training grant for this department, it has a long history of successfully mentoring predoctoral and postdoctoral trainees and facilitating their transition to independent alcohol research careers.
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