Read more here: Sanford Burnham Prebys Feature.

The post McElligott recognized for pioneering research into the neuroscience of addiction appeared first on Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies.

The Annual North Carolina Postdoc Research Symposium, held at the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, is a major multidisciplinary event that gathers postdoctoral scholars from premier institutions across the state, including UNC-Chapel Hill, Duke University, NC State University, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The event provides a platform for postdocs to present their work, network, and engage with the broader North Carolina research community. Dr. Modrak’s poster was titled, “Chronic intermittent ethanol exposure in mice elicits heightened mRNA expression of GluA1-containing AMPARs and associated trafficking proteins in the amygdala.” Her research investigates the complex neural mechanisms that contribute to Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD). Specifically, she presented evidence showing that chronic intermittent ethanol exposure affects gene expression for key glutamate receptors and their associated proteins in the amygdala, a brain region critical for reward and emotional processing. The findings suggest that as alcohol dependence progresses, the underlying molecular mechanisms in the brain may shift over time. This work provides critical insight into the progression of AUD and may guide future studies aimed at understanding and treating alcohol craving and relapse. Please join us in congratulating Dr. Modrak on this impressive achievement!

The post Dr. Cassandra Modrak Honored with Outstanding Poster Award appeared first on Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies.

Read more.

The post UNC Neurology’s Shih Developing Improved, Silent MRI for Better Brain Imaging appeared first on Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies.

Check out the interview where she shares her expertise on THC-infused beverages and their effects: In Depth with Dan: Answering Viewer Questions About THC Drinks

The post McElligott featured in WRAL interview about THC drinks appeared first on Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies.

Ozempic may lead to decrease in drinking

The post Besheer researching Ozempic’s potential to treat alcohol, opioid addiction appeared first on Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies.

Early findings from the research reveal the severe physiological impact of this mixture, providing crucial insights that could lead to improved treatments for overdoses. This project is part of a broader effort by Triangle CERSI to combat the opioid crisis and highlights the importance of innovative research in tackling such challenges.

Click here for more about Dr. Zoe McElligott & Avengers team discovery!

The post Dr. Zoe McElligott and ‘Avengers’ research team make xylazine discovery appeared first on Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies.

BCAS faculty member Leon Coleman, MD, PhD has received the 2025  Division for Neuropharmacology Early Career Award from the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET) . The ASPET Division for Neuropharmacology established this award to recognize and honor a young independent investigator working in neuropharmacology.

The award recognizes Dr. Coleman’s his publication quality, research originality, teaching and funding record, patents, and contribution to pharmacology.

Dr. Coleman has a history of making pioneering discoveries in the field of neuropharmacology, particularly alcohol use disorder (AUD) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) research. Recently, he has focused on finding novel regulators of immune pathology for alcohol abuse, Alzheimer’s disease, and severe burn injury. Dr. Coleman has found that heavy alcohol use promotes Alzheimer’s pathology through persistent activation of microglia leading to the disruption of neuronal lipid metabolism. He identified the loss of neuronal lysosomal acid lipase as a fundamental feature of the progression of Alzheimer’s disease that is enhanced by heavy alcohol use and midlife obesity. This has resulted in a US patent, and the development of novel PET ligands for the early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. His work has identified extracellular vesicles are fundamental drivers of immune dysfunction in AUD and burn injury. The targeted removal of these detrimental vesicles is now under investigation as a novel immunotherapy approach.

The award will be presented by the Division for Neuropharmacology on April 5, 2025, during the ASPET 2025 Annual Meeting in Portland, Ore. Additionally, Dr. Coleman has been invited to give a lecture on his work as part of the annual meeting.

ASPET is a 4,000-member scientific society whose members conduct basic and clinical pharmacological research and work for academia, government, pharmaceutical companies, biotech companies and non-profit organizations. ASPET members work in a variety of different fields and include neuroscientists, toxicologists, chemical biologists, pharmacists, cardiovascular scientists and many more. Members’ research efforts help develop new medicines and therapeutic agents to fight existing and emerging diseases.

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Monday, January 5th

MacNider 321

“Stress reactivity predicts impulsive choice”

Dina Abu Rabe, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow (Parnell Lab), Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, UNC School of Medicine

“The deletion of the pro-apoptotic Bax gene modulates alcohol-induced apoptosis” Monday. February 2nd

MacNider 321

  Jenna McHenry, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Depts. of Psychology/Neuroscience and Neurobiology, Duke University

“Maintaining Social Homeostasis: Individual Differences and Group-Level Regulation” Monday, March 2nd

MBRB 2204

Stacey Daughters, Ph.D., Professor, Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill “TBD”

Monday, March 9th

MacNider 321 Janice Hwang, M.D., MHS, Chief, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Associate Professor of Medicine, Associate Professor in Cell Biology and Physiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

“Fueling the Brain: how can tools to study human cerebral energetics could be applied to alcohol studies?” Monday, March 23rd

MacNider 321 Scott Parnell, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

“Determining the Genetic Contributions to Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Associated Mechanisms?” Monday, April 13th

MacNider 321 Justin Strickland, Ph.D., Associate Professor, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Kahlert Institute for Addiction Medicine

“Translational Behavioral Economics in Substance Use Disorder”  Monday, April 27th

MacNider 321

*Bowles Award* Lorenzo Leggio, M.D., Ph.D., Senior Investigator, Clinical Director, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

“Mind the Gut: GLP-1 and Translational Advances in Addiction Treatment” Monday, June 1st

MacNider 321 Todd Cohen, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Neurology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

“Alzheimer’s models, disease mechanisms, and new therapeutic approaches”

The post Spring 2026 Seminar Series appeared first on Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies.

Allopregnanolone inhibits binding of lipopolysaccaride (LPS) to it’s binding site in the binding pocket of the toll-like receptor: Myeloid differentiation factor-2 (TLR4:MD2) protein complex with nanomolar affinity.  Such high affinity suggests that endogenous levels of allopregnanolone are sufficient to inhibit inflammatory TLR signaling in healthy humans.

Lopez also found that allopregnanolone blocks other components of the TLR4 activation mechanism in the brain of alcohol-preferring P rats, suggesting this might contribute to its ability to reduce excessive drinking in these rats.  The discovery was published in BIomolecules last month:  Lopez_Biomolecules_2024.

Lopez is a member of the A. Leslie Morrow Lab.

The post Lopez discovers new mechanism for allopregnanolone inhibition of inflammatory signaling appeared first on Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies.