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NIAAA’s major initiatives seek to address alcohol-related issues across the lifespan.
Our aim is to reduce the tremendous burden of illness resulting from the misuse of alcohol by:
- Preventing children and adolescents from beginning and continuing to drink alcohol
- Offering effective intervention for problem alcohol use at all ages
To accomplish this, we support research in areas ranging from basic science to clinical studies and from genetics to neuroscience to epidemiology.
Major NIAAA Initiatives
NIAAA funds research on fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) with projects on preventing prenatal alcohol exposure, treating women with alcohol use disorder, improving the diagnosis of FASD, establishing more precise prevalence estimates of FASD in the United States, increasing our understanding of the effects of alcohol on the unborn child, and developing effective interventions to mitigate the health effects on individuals prenatally exposed to alcohol.
Prenatal alcohol exposure is a leading preventable cause of birth defects and neurodevelopmental deficits in the United States. It can cause a range of intellectual and behavioral problems, which appear at any time during childhood and last a lifetime. FASD is an umbrella term for a range of physical, cognitive, and behavioral disorders caused by prenatal alcohol exposure. Depending on the features identified, the medical disorders labeled as FASD include: Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), partial FAS (pFAS), alcohol-related neurodevelopmental disorder (ARND), alcohol-related birth defects (ARBD), and neurobehavioral disorder associated with prenatal alcohol exposure (ND-PAE). Recent prevalence studies estimate that approximately 1 to 5 percent of U.S. first-grade children have FASD.
Historically, medical professionals did not recognize the risks posed by alcohol use during pregnancy. In 1973, responding to Jones and Smith’s publication on the original syndrome FAS, NIAAA initiated several epidemiological and animal studies on prenatal alcohol exposure. By 1977, this research facilitated NIAAA issuing the first government health advisory to limit alcohol use during pregnancy. Now, after 50 years, NIAAA continues to provide leadership and support as the largest funder of biomedical research on FASD in the United States.
FASD Research Priorities
NIAAA's FASD Research priorities can be found in the NIAAA Strategic Plan.
NIAAA also funds conference grants that support the annual meeting of the FASD Study Group and the International Research Conference on FASD in Vancouver. A list of NIH funded FASD-related projects may be found at NIH RePORTER, selecting FASD under the NIH Spending Category of the Advanced Project Search.
Research Centers and Consortia working on FASD
- The Collaborative Initiative on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (CIFASD) is a multidisciplinary consortium of domestic and international projects established by NIAAA in 2003 to address prevention of FASD, diagnosis of the full range of birth defects associated with prenatal alcohol exposure, and ameliorative interventions for affected individuals. CIFASD aims to accelerate the translation of key research findings by fostering collaboration and by coordinating clinical, basic, and translational research.
- New Mexico Alcohol Research Center (NMARC) is a NIAAA-designated specialized Alcohol Research Center located at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center. NMARC is one of just twenty Alcohol Research Centers in the United States, and the only such center focused solely on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD). NMARC’s central focus is on understanding the neurobiological mechanisms underlying the behavioral problems associated with FASD and how to use this knowledge to help develop better methods of early diagnoses and more effective interventions for patients with FASD.
- Developmental Exposure Alcohol Research Center (DEARC) is a NIAAA-designated specialized Alcohol Research Center located at Binghamton University. The research of the DEARC focuses on the two primary developmental periods during which alcohol exposure occurs: prenatally/postnatally through maternal use and during adolescence.
- Native Center for Alcohol Research and Education (NCARE) is a NIAAA-designated comprehensive Alcohol Research Center located at Washington State University. Among its research projects is Native CHOICES, a study implementing a culturally adapted intervention with American Indian women of reproductive age to reduce their risk for an alcohol-exposed pregnancy.
New FASD-related Initiatives
Notice of funding opportunities
PAR-25-159: Prevention and Intervention Approaches for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (R34 Clinical Trial Optional)
Open Date: January 16, 2024
Expiration Date: January 08, 2027
PAR-25-158: Prevention and Intervention Approaches for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (R61/R33 Clinical Trial Optional)
Open Date: January 16, 2024
Expiration Date: November 17, 2026
PAR-23-270: Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment or Prevention (SBIRT/P) for alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs (ATOD) use and misuse in adult populations that experience health disparities (R01 Clinical Trial Required)
Open Date: January 05, 2024
Expiration Date: May 08, 2027
Consensus Conference on Research Classification of FASD
In October 2019, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), convened a 1.5-day meeting to explore the possibility of developing an international consensus classification system for research on FASD. We believe that a single classification system will harmonize research efforts across the globe and accelerate progress in understanding the epidemiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of FASD. A major goal of the conference was to build consensus among participants who subsequently agreed to test a few draft classification systems in their own research databases to inform the process going forward.
Federal and Professional Partners
- The Interagency Coordinating Committee on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (ICCFASD)
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)
- American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG)
- FASD United (formerly NOFAS)
- PROOF Alliance
Contact
Program Directors to contact with FASD-related inquiries:
- Tatiana Balachova, Ph.D.
Program Director – Division of Epidemiology and Prevention Research (DEPR)
Focus areas: Reproductive and perinatal epidemiology; Prevention among women of child-bearing age; Family-based prevention - Bill Dunty, Ph.D.
NIAAA FASD Research Coordinator
Program Director – Division of Metabolism and Health Effects (DMHE)
Focus areas: Basic and clinical research on the consequences of prenatal alcohol exposure; Animal models of FASD - Elizabeth Powell, Ph.D.
Program Director – Division of Neuroscience and Behavior (DNB)
Focus areas: Developmental neurobiology; FASD, Bioengineering
HIV/AIDS and Alcohol
Extraordinary progress in HIV/AIDS research has led to the development of interventions and medications to reduce transmission and has transformed an almost inevitably fatal disease into a preventable and treatable disorder. People with HIV/AIDS can achieve their full potential and normal life expectancy if antiretroviral therapy (ART) is initiated promptly and continued for life. Nonetheless, alcohol misuse can compromise the treatment and prevention of HIV, which remains a serious public health concern worldwide.
Scientists have learned that alcohol use contributes to the spread of HIV/AIDS in many ways, e.g., weakening the immune system, increasing sexual risk behaviors, and raising someone’s vulnerability to HIV infection. Furthermore, the rate of hazardous alcohol use among people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHIV) is approximately twice that of the general population.
Alcohol and tobacco use remain the primary substance use comorbidities with the greatest health impact among those living with HIV, resulting in liver and cardiac failure, cancers, and persistent organ and tissue inflammation. Comorbid hepatitis C virus (HCV) and tuberculosis (TB) further complicate treatment and increase mortality among PLWHIV who continue to drink. Research studies indicate that the HIV care continuum, including early identification through HIV testing, immediate treatment initiation, and medication adherence, are critical for health of HIV-positive people and for preventing new infections. Importantly, each of these stages may be adversely affected by alcohol misuse.
NIH Alcohol-HIV/AIDS Research Areas
Alcohol misuse facilitates HIV infection, accelerates disease progression, and hastens the deaths of those who have progressed to AIDS, but the mechanisms for these interactions are not well understood. Alcohol can exacerbate HIV-associated comorbid conditions, such as tuberculosis and hepatitis C virus, and it has been linked to the development of other diseases in HIV-infected individuals. Alcohol also contributes to age-related medical problems, including cardiovascular dysfunction, peripheral neuropathies, and neurocognitive impairments in HIV-positive individuals. In addition, little is known about how alcohol affects the effectiveness of HIV treatment and prevention medications.
The NIH Overarching HIV/AIDS Research Priorities for AIDS Funding support cross cutting basic research, health disparities, behavior and social science research, and training to:
- Reduce the Incidence of HIV/AIDS
- Implement Next Generation HIV Therapies
- Research Toward a Cure
- HIV-associated Comorbidities, Complications, and Coinfections
A full description of the NIH HIV/AIDS research priorities can be found in the Trans-NIH Plan.
Alcohol HIV/AIDS Research Priorities
Funded NIAAA HIV/AIDS Research
Consortia for HIV/AIDS and Alcohol Research Translation (CHAART)
The Consortia for HIV/AIDS and Alcohol Research Translation (CHAART) involves researchers at The Johns Hopkins University, Yale University, Brown University, Boston University, the University of Alabama, the University of Washington, and several Florida-based institutions. All are studying large-scale cohorts. These consortia build on an infrastructure already in place and promote collaboration between multiple universities. The consortia members share data on critical variables and outcome information for their interventions. They also share their intervention research outcomes with a centralized operations research center located in New York City. The operations research center includes mathematical researchers who model and simulate AIDS and alcohol interactions and then validate them against real-world outcomes. They will help translate research into a database of practical models that the medical community can implement in populations living with HIV/AIDS.
- Alcohol and HIV: Biobehavioral Interventions and Interactions
- Comprehensive Alcohol-HIV/AIDS Research Center (CARC)
- Consortium to Improve Outcomes in HIV/AIDS, Alcohol, Aging, and Multi-Substance Use (COMpAAAS)
- Southern HIV Alcohol Research Consortium (SHARC)
- URBAN ARCH
Other major HIV cohort studies supported by NIAAA
- The Pediatric HIV/AIDS Cohort Study (PHACS) network, sponsored by the NICHD, with co-funding from NIAID, NIDA, NIDCD, NIMH, NHLBI, NIDCR, NINDS, and NIAAA, is a longitudinal cohort study established to address two critical pediatric HIV research questions: the long-term safety of fetal and infant exposure to ART and the effects of perinatally acquired HIV infection in adolescents.
- The Center for AIDS Research (CFARs) Network of Integrated Clinical Systems (CNICS), supported by NIAID and NHLBI, is the first electronic medical records-based research network poised to integrate clinical data from the large and diverse population of HIV-infected persons. CNICS provides research infrastructure to support HIV clinical outcomes and comparative effectiveness research using data collected at one of eight CFAR sites (Case Western Reserve University, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, the University of California San Francisco, the University of Washington, the University of California San Diego, Fenway Health/Harvard University, the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, and Johns Hopkins University).
Resources
- World AIDS Day
- Networks related to HIV/AIDS Research
Contact
Kendall Bryant, Ph.D.
Director, HIV/AIDS Research, NIAAA
Previous activities of IWG include:
- 2022 National Conference on Alcohol and Other Substance Use in Women and Girls: Advances in Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery took place virtually October 20 and 21, 2022. The primary objectives of the conference included the following:
- Disseminate findings from the latest research on the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of harmful alcohol use and other harmful substance use among girls and women, including strategies to prevent HIV infection and progression and substance-exposed pregnancies
- Develop a coalition of stakeholder organizations and researchers to devise a blueprint for a comprehensive public–private response to ameliorate harmful substance use among women and girls
- Promote recovery and reduce stigma among girls and women living with problematic substance use, including those living with comorbidities, such as HIV/AIDS; and
- Discuss strategies to increase community engagement and participation in research on harmful substance use and multimorbidities in women and girls across the lifespan.
- To view the Conference Day 1 presentations, watch the video on Youtube
- To view the Conference Day 2 presentations, watch the video on Youtube
Find information on Medications Development for Alcohol Use Disorder.
Trans-NIH research initiatives
Longitudinal studies
The HEALthy Brain and Child Development Study
To better understand how environmental factors interact with genetics and other biological influences to affect a child’s mental and physical health over time.
Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study
The largest long-term study of brain development and child health in the United States.
National Consortium on Alcohol and Neurodevelopment in Adolescence
To determine the effects of alcohol use on the developing adolescent brain, and examine brain characteristics that predict alcohol use problems.
Neurobiology of Adolescent Drinking in Adulthood
A diverse group of neuroscientists brought together to clearly define the persistent effects of adolescent alcohol exposure on adults and to begin to explore the neurobiological mechanisms that are at the root of these effects.