Multidisciplinary Training in the Biology of Alcohol Addiction

The renewal of the “Multi-Disciplinary Training in the Biology of Alcohol Use and Abuse” pre- and postdoctoral training program at Wake Forest University School of Medicine will continue support for five predoctoral and three postdoctoral trainees. Our objectives remain to broadly train interdisciplinary and independent alcohol researchers who have a strong appreciation for the molecular, cellular, neurobiological, and behavioral aspects of alcohol use and abuse. To achieve these objectives, the training faculty utilizes an array of state-of-the-art- technical approaches and models that include in vitro systems, rodents, nonhuman primates, and human subjects. Integration of these across the program exposes trainees to diverse, translational research experiences. Our training faculty also have a strong history of productive mentorship with both predoctoral and postdoctoral scientists. Their collective expertise, along with the highly-collaborative nature of our training environment, together serve as the specific rationale for the proposed training. The overall design of the training program incorporates robust didactic experiences, intensive laboratory training, and extensive professional development activities that include ethics, teaching experience, grant and manuscript writing, extramural didactic/practical training, and outreach to the lay public. These are supplemented by a training environment characterized by numerous seminar programs, journal clubs, and data clubs that are all either directly focused on or tangentially related to alcohol research. As a condition for appointment/reappointment, all trainees are required to present abstracts at national meetings, publish peer-reviewed manuscripts, and apply for individual training support through the NIH, NSF, or private foundations. These professional development activities all sharpen the skills required for a diversity or post-training positions including both academia and research-related careers. We also hope to limit the number of support-years each trainee receives to help ensure the brightest, most productive trainees are appointed to the program. Using these administrative and training approaches, along with an energetic training faculty, the program has a long history of past success and has trained numerous, nationally recognized researchers. The proposed training will take place in the Department of Physiology & Pharmacology within Wake Forest University School of Medicine. The department is well-known for its focus on drug and alcohol abuse research, providing a remarkably diverse and modern training environment for the program. The institution is likewise dedicated to the training of the next generation of scientists and hosts a number of professional development activities that both compliment and synergize with the proposed training. Our preceptors, the applicant pools, program design, and environment together produce a one-of-a-kind opportunity for the training of the next generation of alcohol researchers.