Midcareer Investigator Award in Alcohol-Related Human Disease Research

描述（由申请人提供）：在美国，酒精滥用是导致出生缺陷的最常见的已知和可预防的原因，也是慢性肝病和神经变性的主要原因。我们的研究将几种慢性酒精暴露介导的脑和肝功能异常与胰岛素和胰岛素样生长因子信号的损害联系起来，特别是在细胞存活和能量代谢方面。然而，为了利用这些最近的成果，有必要使用最先进的方法将分析扩展到人类疾病状态。本研究的主要目标是：1)利用分子和生化方法研究酒精介导的成人大脑神经退行性变的机制；2)提供一个强大的、高度支持的环境，培训和指导初级研究人员，特别是医师科学家，利用现有技术分析人体组织样本，研究人类疾病机制；3)教育初级调查员关于……的重要性

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Alcohol abuse is the single most common known and preventable cause of birth defects, and a major contributor to both chronic liver disease and neurodegeneration in the United States. Our research has linked several chronic alcohol exposure-mediated abnormalities in brain and liver function to impairments in insulin and insulin-like growth factor signaling, particularly with regard to cell survival and energy metabolism. However, in order to capitalize on these recent gains, it will be necessary to extend the analyses to human disease states using state-of-the-art methodology. The major goals of this proposal are to: 1) investigate mechanisms of alcohol-mediated neurodegeneration in adult human brains using molecular and biochemical approaches; 2) provide a strong, highly supportive environment to train and mentor junior investigators, particularly physician-scientists, to investigate human disease mechanisms by utilizing current technology to analyze human tissue samples; and 3) educate junior investigators about the importance of experimental models for testing hypotheses and validating results from human studies. Emphasis will be placed on including women and minority trainees. Suzanne M. De la Monte is a Pathologist and Neuropathologist by training and clinical activities at the Rhode Island Hospital, and Professor of Pathology and Clinical Neuroscience at Brown University. Dr. De la Monte has a long track record of training young investigators in human disease, biomedical, and translational research. Her laboratory, which currently is supported by NIH funding from NIAAA, hosts several trainees including undergraduates, medical students, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and junior physician-scientists, most of whom are women or members of under-represented minority groups. This Mid-career investigator award will provide better opportunity for Dr. De la Monte to exercise leadership and high quality mentorship and training of promising young scientists. The information included in this application demonstrates a productive career in human and translational research, and demonstrates Dr. De la Monte's commitment to continuing this type of work while mentoring scientists for the future.