Award
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism 5F31AA031600-02
Uncovering the functional and mechanistic dysregulation of monocytes after abstinence and post-abstinence drinking
Recipient
University of Kentucky
Award Amount
$35,420.00
Ceiling
$35,420.00
Awarded
August 12, 2025
Identifier
5F31AA031600-02
The award supports research on how chronic heavy drinking and subsequent abstinence affect monocytes, potentially leading to new therapeutic targets for alcohol-related organ damage and disorders.
Description
This project aims to investigate the effects of repeated abstinence and post-abstinence drinking on circulating monocytes using a rhesus macaque model of voluntary ethanol self-administration. The study tests the hypothesis that chronic heavy drinking induces persistent functional, transcriptional, and epigenetic changes in peripheral monocytes that are not reversed by short-term abstinence and are worsened by repeated bouts of abstinence and relapse. Techniques include multiplex ELISA, flow cytometry, single-cell omics, and metabolic assays.