Mentoring Junior Investigators in Alcohol Research

描述（由申请人提供）：该高级科学家研究和导师奖的目标是为PI提供机会，在酒精研究的细胞和分子方面为初级研究人员提供指导，在他们的研究生涯的早期阶段（讲师或助理教授）。PI在研究急性和慢性酒精暴露对细胞信号传导途径、能量代谢、细胞凋亡和相关组织损伤的相互作用方面拥有超过20年的NIAAA资助研究经验。他曾指导过多位科学家，这些科学家后来成为该领域的独立研究者。PI现在正在与年轻的研究人员建立新的指导关系，以刺激新的生物信息学和计算方法的应用，以分析酒精诱导的组织缺陷的细胞和分子基础。具体来说，这项研究解决了乙醇对细胞信号网络的影响如何与其对细胞增殖和组织修复，代谢和组织损伤的影响相结合的问题。这些发现也将应用于从人类酒精患者获得的组织，以扩展对与慢性酒精使用相关的细胞相互作用的见解到临床环境。被选中指导的初级科学家拥有不同和互补的专业领域，从分子和细胞生物学到生物技术和生物工程以及计算生物学。他们将运用在他们以前的培训获得的技能，在酒精研究的相关问题，并带来了新的见解与酒精使用和酗酒相关的疾病的基本问题。预计这些指导关系将有助于为酒精研究领域带来具有高度相关技能的新一代科学家。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The goal of this Senior Scientist Research and Mentorship award is to generate opportunities for the PI to provide mentoring in cellular and molecular aspects of alcohol research to junior investigators in the early stages of their research career (Instructor or Assistant Professor). The PI has a over twenty years of NIAAA funded research experience in the study of the interactions of acute and chronic alcohol exposure on cellular signaling pathways, energy metabolism, apoptosis and the associated tissue damage. He has mentored multiple scientists who have since established themselves as independent investigators in this field. The PI is now initiating new mentoring relationships with young investigators to stimulate the application of novel bioinformatics and computational approaches to analyze the cellular and molecular basis of alcohol-induced tissue defects. Specifically, this research addresses questions of how effects of ethanol on the cell signaling network can integrate with its effects on cell proliferation and tissue repair, metabolism and tissue injury. These findings will also be applied to tissues obtained from human alcoholic patients in order to extend insights into cellular interactions related to chronic alcohol use to the clinical context. The junior scientists selected for mentoring come with different and complementary areas of expertise ranging from molecular and cell biology, to biotechnology and bioengineering, and computational biology. They will apply the skills obtained in their prior training to related problems in alcohol research and bring new insight into fundamental questions related to diseases associated with alcohol use and alcoholism. It is expected that these mentoring relationships will help bring a new generation of scientists with highly relevant skills to the field of alcohol research.