Uncovering the Genes at the Foundation of Heavy Alcohol Use and Consequences
One of 22 research centers funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, the Portland Alcohol Research Center (PARC) conducts in-depth genetic and genomic studies on (1) uncovering genetic factors underlying risk for chronic alcohol use, and (2) identifying genetic factors that influence how the brain adapts to alcohol. The current focus of the Center is on the role of the tetrapartite synapse, a four-part signaling structure that includes the pre-synaptic neuron, post-synaptic neuron, glia, and the extracellular matrix. The research addresses how this system influences differences in drinking behavior among individuals with high genetic risk, and on the consequences of chronic alcohol drinking. Studies are carried out in male and female mice and monkeys, and the research also examines relationships with cognitive flexibility, which is impaired under conditions of high risk and exposure. Results are integrated to inform better strategies for predicting and treating alcohol use disorders.
The PARC is Directed by Dr. Tamara Phillips and supports the coordinated research efforts of 14 scientists at the Portland Veteran Affairs Medical Center and Oregon Health & Science University in areas ranging from behavioral neuroscience to molecular biology.
OHSU Equity Summer Internships for undergraduate college students 2024
Since 2003 the PARC has funded 8-week internships for students who are interested in advanced graduate study in health sciences, and who come from socially or economically disadvantaged backgrounds. The Equity program is administered by the OHSU Center for Diversity and Inclusion. For Summer 2024, summer equity students were hosted by the following PARC investigators:
Suzanne Fei
Angela Ozburn
ASE Summer Internships 2024
The Apprenticeships in Science & Engineering (ASE) program connects motivated high school students with mentors in STEM fields. Dr. Cheryl Reed hosted an ASE intern during the summer of 2024 in Dr. Tamara Phillips lab.
Fellowship opportunities
The PARC coordinates with a NIH/NIAAA-funded T32 training grant administered by the Department of Behavioral Neuroscience at OHSU to provide training opportunities to graduate students and postdoctoral scholars interested in alcohol research. To obtain information about available postdoctoral training slots, contact T32 Director, Dr. Andrey Ryabinin (ryabinin@ohsu.edu).
The PARC supports junior and new investigators
The PARC has provided financial, mentoring, equipment, space, animal models, supplies, expert advice, databases, and other resources to junior scientists and to scientists new to alcohol research with the result that they have received individual funding to support their work and professional development. This helps fulfill the Center’s NIH mandate to be a resource to the broader local community and to the field of alcohol research and neuroscience in general.
"Tell Your Story! A Media and Communications Guide for Scientists"
Strategies and practical tools to help scientists share their work effectively with the media and in presentations to the general public.
News and Awards
Article Spotlights
Dr. Tamara Phillips was senior author with PARC scientist and lead author Dr. Robert Hitzemann and PARC scientist Dr. Angela Ozburn of “Modeling Brain Gene Expression in Alcohol Use Disorder with Genetic Animal Models” in Current Topics in Behavioral Neuroscience (doi: 10.1007/7854_2023_455). This impactful paper describes how animal models have and continue to provide critical information about alcohol use disorder and discusses how the implementation of new technologies, such as cell type-specific gene expression, is further enhancing the power of these models for understanding addiction.
Dr. Matthew Ford, working with Dr. Kathy Grant and others published “GDNF Gene Therapy for Alcohol Use Disorder in Male Non-human Primates” in the journal Nature Medicine (doi: 10.1038/s41591-023-02463-9). This highly novel study used a gene therapy approach to deliver a sustained disease-modifying treatment to a monkey model that recapitulates human chronic alcohol use. The treatment, a growth factor that enhances dopamine neuron function, reduced relapse to drinking after a period of abstinence. Gene therapy could be a therapeutic strategy for relapse associated with alcohol use disorder.
Dr. Kathy Grant in collaboration with PARC investigator Dr. Verginia Cuzon Carlson and former PARC investigators Dr. Christopher Kroenke published “Brain Functional Connectivity Mapping of Behavioral Flexibility in Rhesus Monkeys” in the Journal of Neuroscience (doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0816-21.2022). This exciting research measured resting state functional connectivity using magnetic resonance imaging to identify specific regions in the brain associated with impulsive and perseverative components of cognitive flexibility. Dr. Grant and her research group previously identified impaired cognitive flexibility as a risk factor for heavy alcohol use and to be an outcome of heavy alcohol drinking. Her findings are consistent with impairments found in humans with alcohol use disorder.
Dr. Kolter Grigsby, a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of PARC scientist, Angela Ozburn Ph.D., recently published “Pre-clinical and clinical evidence for suppression of alcohol intake by apremilast” in the Journal of Clinical Investigations (https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI159103). This exciting work is the result of a multiple lab collaboration that promises to move science from the bench to the clinic. Because of these collaborative efforts, NIAAA is pursuing multi-center clinical trials for apremilast as a potential therapeutic for Alcohol Use Disorder as discussed in an accompanying Nature News report (https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-00233-8). Check out the interview on OHSU News for more details (https://news.ohsu.edu/2023/02/21/pill-for-skin-disease-also-curbs-excessive-drinking).
Association for Behavior Analysis International Fellow 2025
Dr. Suzanne Mitchell was elected as a Fellow of the Association for Behavior Analysis International for her significant contributions in research/scholarship in the field of behavior analysis.
Grant awarded to PARC scientist to study developmental effects of alcohol exposure on astrocytes 2021
PARC scientist Dr. Marina Guizzetti was awarded a 5-year NIAAA-R01 entitled, Astrocyte gene expression and translation in an in vivo FASD mouse model. This project will provide mechanistic insights into astrocyte functions altered by developmental alcohol exposure, studied in both the developing and adult brain, that have a probable role in behavioral abnormalities and mental illnesses found in adults with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD).
Grant awarded to PARC scientist in the area of fetal alcohol effects 2022
PARC scientists Drs. Verginia Cuzon Carlson and Kathy Grant, along with Drs. Elinor Sullivan and Christopher Kroenke were awarded a 5-year Multi-PI NIAAA-R01 entitled, Functional consequences of fetal-alcohol-induced brain growth abnormalities identified in with utero MRI. This project will determine the behavioral consequences of the anatomical and functional abnormalities found after fetal exposure to alcohol of monkeys, using magnetic resonance imaging and electrophysiological characterization.
Grant awarded to PARC Director to study drug aversion 2023
PARC Director Dr. Tamara Phillips and Dr. Susan Ingram of the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, were awarded a 5-year Multi-PI NIDA-R01 entitled, Role of lateral habenula in methamphetamine TAAR1-mediated synaptic plasticity and aversion. The focus of the project is on aversive effects of methamphetamine that may curb its use. Alcohol also has aversive effects that oppose reward. The study of mechanisms underlying sensitivity to drug-induced aversion could lead to the identification of a new class of therapeutics.