Funding, new facilities spur advances on several fronts
Diabetes and Alcohol Research Programs Win Major Grant Renewals
Grants totaling more than $14 million will carry two major research programs at IUSM into the 21st century. The IU Diabetes Research and Training Center (DRTC) grant has been renewed for five years. The $6 million in funding comes from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.
IU's DRTC, first funded in 1977, is one of six in the nation. A multidisciplinary center, it supports research and clinical training. Charles M. Clark Jr., MD '63, professor of medicine and of pharmacology and toxicology and associate chief of staff for research and development at the Roudebush VA Medical Center, is director.
The National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (IARC) has awarded an $8.5 million grant to continue the work of researchers in the Indiana Alcohol Research Center. This program was initiated in 1987 by Ting-Kai Li, MD, associate dean of research and distinguished professor of medicine and of biochemistry and molecular biology.
The renewal of the grant will ensure that research into the genetic determinants of alcohol use and alcoholism remain at the forefront of medical science at IU. Research in alcoholism and alcohol-related illnesses and behavior, pioneered by IU investigators, has examined the association of alcohol and aldehyde dehydrogenase polymorphism to alcoholism and its complications. Of interest are the heritability, sensitivity and repeatability of a variety of responses to ethanol in humans. Studies with twins and siblings focus on isolating the genetic basis for alcohol-related personality and temperament traits. Studies into subjective sensations and brain activity in individuals who do and don't have family histories of alcoholism also are part of the research.
IARC Director T.K. Li and Lawrence Lumeng, MD '64, professor of medicine and of biochemistry and molecular biology, have developed rodent models that have either a preference or nonpreference for alcohol. IARC scientific co-directors are David W. Crabb, MD '78, professor of medicine and of biochemistry and molecular biology, and Richard J. Rose, PhD, professor of psychology and adjunct professor of biochemistry and molecular biology.