The House and Senate are re-convening on September 5th and 6th, 2000. As of September 5th the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and other Related Agencies FY 2001 conference levels had not been resolved therefore a conference report has not been filed. The discretionary spending caps are again one of the primary hurdles facing the appropriations committee -- they must be lifted to support the President's requests and any funding above that request. The NIH more than likely will be working under a continuing resolution (CR) through the first few weeks of the fiscal year. A CR usually funds the Institutes at the prior year's budget level until Congress establishes the current year budget levels.

Dr. Gordis decided it was time to review the current Institute structure and current assigned functions and responsibilities in view of the following major events since the last Institute reorganization in 1986 (in ADAMHA) which established the Division of Clinical and Prevention Research (DCPR):

In addition to the above significant organizational changes, a number of changes in functions and/or responsibilities will be occurring which are summarized below:

This function is being reassigned from the Division of Biometry and Epidemiology (DBE) to the OSA in order to avoid even the appearance of conflict of interest by retaining the function in an extramural grant awarding Division. Over the last two years, the volume of requests for Certificates has nearly doubled. Further, consistent with growing public and scientific attention to human subjects concerns the complexity of the review process has sharply increased. Only about half of NIAAA grantees whose research involves human subjects currently seek a Certificate. As alcohol research increasingly involves longitudinal designs, collection of biological samples which permit genotyping, and linkage of publicly available data bases with information gathered directly from research subjects (e.g., on alcohol consumption and psychiatric symptoms), NIAAA's interest in proactively encouraging investigators to seek a Certificate will increase as well creating a further increase in work volume in this area.

This function is being assigned from the Office of Scientific Affairs to the Planning and Financial Management Branch (PFMB) of the Office of Planning and Resource Management (OPRM) because of potential "check and balance" concerns by having both the grant review process and the grant award selection process in the same office.

Several other organizational issues are still pending. Council will be informed as decisions on these issues are made.

Emanating from the NIAAA-funded workshop on "Treatment and Alcohol Craving: Expanding the Paradigm," held in October 1997, is a monograph that comprises 18 review articles on alcohol craving, most of which represent updates of papers presented at the workshop and a few of which are invited articles. The monograph has been published as Supplement 2 to the Volume 95, August 2000 issue of Addiction. The Supplement's Guest Editors are D. Colin Drummond, M.D. (St. George's Hospital Medical School, University of London), and NIAAA's Cherry Lowman, Ph.D. Raye Z. Litten, Ph.D. (Division of Clinical and Prevention Research) and Walter A. Hunt, Ph.D. (Division of Basic Research).

The supplement has three major objectives. The first objective is to familiarize readers with the variety of theoretical models, drawn from both animal and human research, that are relevant to craving and the definitions of craving generated by them. These include phenomenological models, classical and operant conditioning models, the incentive-sensitization theory, a tonic-phasic model of dopamine system regulation, cognitive social learning theory and the cognitive processing theory of craving. The second objective of the supplement is to provide methodological critiques to guide development of more reliable and valid measurement of craving, both verbal and non-verbal. The final objective is to provide a broad overview of models that may be useful in the construction of transdisciplinary models of alcohol craving that may better elucidate its role in the complex biobehavioral process known as addiction.

During the development of the National Advisory Council on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism's national plan for health services research, crucial gaps were identified in our knowledge about the needs of women with alcohol problems. In order to begin to address these gaps, NIAAA appointed a panel of experts in 1998 to evaluate the existing literature on alcohol problems in women as well as the available information on "gender specific" or "gender sensitive" treatments for these women. Panelists included experts on issues related to women's access to care, the impact of changes in public funding on treatment for women, sub-populations of women that are particularly vulnerable to alcohol abuse, and problems experienced by alcohol abusing women. The work of the panel included a set of commissioned papers and formal critiques by discussants. These papers comprise a special section in the August issue of the journal: Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. The introductory paper for this special section was written by Wendy B. Smith, Ph.D. of NIAAA and Constance Weisner, DPH (Smith, W. and Weisner, C. "Women and Alcohol Problems: A Critical Analysis of the Literature and Unanswered Questions," Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, in press).

The June 2000 issue of Frontlines, the Health Services Research newsletter published by NIAAA in conjunction with the Association for Health Services Research, also focused on alcohol problems in women and the importance of gender-specific research. This issue included articles by some of the same authors who participated in the expert panel on women noted above and who authored articles for the special section in the Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. The commentary and overview on alcohol problems in women, "Alcohol Problems in Women: Making the Case for Gender-Specific Research" was written by Wendy B. Smith, Ph.D. of NIAAA and Constance Weisner, DPH.

To address the complex issue of alcohol abuse among college students in a comprehensive, scientific manner, NIAAA's National Advisory Council created a Subcommittee on College Drinking in February 1998. Comprised of college presidents and alcohol researchers, the Subcommittee provides expertise and guidance to NIAAA based upon this unique dialogue among the administrators and scientists. The Subcommittee is co-chaired by Rev. Edward A. Malloy, President of the University of Notre Dame and Dr. Mark Goldman, Distinguished Research Professor, University of South Florida. Subcommittee activities are coordinated by Stephen Long, Fred Donodeo, Vivian Faden, and Gayle Boyd. The long-term goal of the Subcommittee is to advise NIAAA on research gaps that need to be explored in order to improve campus prevention and treatment programs. A short-term goal is to provide college presidents and researchers with reliable information on the overall quality and effectiveness of current interventions. The final Subcommittee report will be presented to the National Advisory Council at the February 2001 meeting and, ultimately, to Dr. Gordis.

Recent activities in support of the Subcommittee have focused on setting up an infrastructure to share information about the Subcommittee with our colleagues and the public. This infrastructure includes developing a dedicated section of the NIAAA Website for the college issue and organizing periodic meetings of key personnel in various federal agencies concerned with the college drinking issue to provide updates to ensure that we all remain well-informed and avoid duplicative efforts.

Since the June Council meeting, Ms. Judy O'Bannon, the First Lady of Indiana, has joined the initiative, bringing the total number of participating Governors' spouses to 28. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (the initiative's primary co-funder with NIAAA) has officially agreed to continue its support with funding of $3 million for Phase II. The Justice Department's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) has become a partner, with funding of $1.1 million over the next three years. It has already provided a link on its Website to the initiative's statistics booklet, "How Does Alcohol Affect the World of a Child?" on the NIAAA Website. Discussions are underway with Mr. Roger Hartman, Ex Officio Coucil member for the Department of Defense, to determine what involvement in the initiative might be appropriate for the Department of Defense. The Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is also considering some type of participation.

During the transition period between Phase I, which ended in June, and Phase II, which will begin in October, activities to strengthen the alliance among the Governors' spouses and advance the goals of the "Leadership" initiative are continuing. Two regional meetings of Governors' spouses will be held in September to broaden their understanding of the scientific and environmental issues surrounding the impact of alcohol on children. The first meeting will be hosted by Vicky Cayetano, First Lady of Hawaii, on September 19-20 in San Francisco. The second meeting, to be hosted by Hope Taft, First Lady of Ohio and one of four Co-Chairs of the Leadership Committee of Governors' Spouses, will be held on September 27-28 in Columbus, Ohio.

In the meantime, several Governors' spouses have been elevating the issue of youth alcohol use both nationally and within their states. Michele Ridge, First Lady of Pennsylvania and one of the initiative's co-chairs, will make a brief videotaped introduction for OJJDP's quarterly satellite teleconference which will focus on underage drinking. The teleconference will to be held on September 22.

On October 11, Mrs. Ridge will discuss NIAAA's leadership in developing the initiative at this year's meeting of the Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. This group is convened annually by the Attorney General and includes the secretaries of Health and Human Services, Labor, Education, Housing and Urban Development, Defense, Transportation, and Agriculture, as well as the Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, the Commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, and the Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation for National and Community Service. We are very pleased to have this opportunity to showcase the project at the highest levels of the Federal government.

Participating spouses are also writing op-ed pieces for their state newspapers, creating public service announcements, and convening directors of state agencies to enhance state-wide coordination of alcohol prevention and treatment services.

NIAAA Director Enoch Gordis, M.D. participated, in an NIH "2000 Budget Retreat, June15-16. The retreat, which involved NIH Senior Staff and Institute and Center Directors, is held annually to focus on science and other issues in preparation for presenting the FY 2000 NIH budget. During this year's retreat, participants focused on topics including the NIH Health Disparities Strategic Plan; stem cell application to human disease; the President's initiative on vaccines; genetic modifiers of single gene disorders; global diseases research program; youth violence, presented jointly by Drs. Hyman (NIMH), Gordis, and Leshner (NIDA); and neurodegeneration.

W.E.M. Lands co-chaired the NIH workshop on "Essential Fats in Foods" to discuss essential fatty acids and eicosanoids in human health and the impact of voluntary food choices. Also featured was an interactive computer-aided personal food choice software program that combines complex biomedical information on essential fats and eicosanoids and interprets and displays it in terms of personal food choice decisions understandable by the general public.

W.E.M. Lands, Peptide signaling paths related to intoxication, memory, and addiction. Addiction Biology 2000; 5: 245-260.

W.E.M. Lands, Stories about acyl chains. Biochim. Biophys. Acta 2000; 1483: 1-15.

W.E.M.Lands, Alcohol: The balancing act. In "Primary and Secondary Preventive Nutrition" (eds. A. Bendich and R. Deckelbaum), 2000, Humana Press, New York.

Currently, the Interagency Coordinating Committee (ICC FAS) on FAS convened by the NIAAA consists of representatives from ten government organizations, agencies, and Institutes. Three cabinet departments are represented: Health and Human Services, Education and Justice. Dr. Diedra Roach, a new Medical Officer with OCRA, is working with member organizations to develop a five year strategic plan. The group will meet in Executive Session in late September to review progress and the develop realistic action items.

The Birth Defects and Teratology Special Interest Group was honored by the selection of its nominee, Christine E. Seidman, M.D., a 1999 American Heart Association Basic Research Prize Recipient, as one of the chosen speakers for the prestigious NIH Wednesday Afternoon Lecture. Dr. Seidman is Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute; Physician and Director, Cardiovascular Genetics Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston. She is recognized for her ingenious applications of molecular genetics to elucidate the genetic basis for cardiomyopathies and congenital cardiac malformations. Dr. Seidman's presentation, "Gene Mutations that Model the Heart, is scheduled for December 20, 2000, 3 PM.

On January 18, Dr. Michael Charness, and NIAAA grantee, will discuss his research on alcohol's teratogenic effects on cellular adhesion molecules, which are important in the fetal central nervous system development.

For a second year the OCRA staff presented a session for Georgetown University medical students at the invitation of the National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (NOFAS). The session included presentations by Dr. Megan Adamson on NIAAA-supported research, Ms. Dorothea DeZafra on the instructional booklets for prenatal and pediatric health care professionals on FAS, and Ms. Peggy Murray on the medical student curriculum that she and Dr. Michael Fleming have developed for instructional use in international and national medical school education. NOFAS invited these speakers to present again next year.

The NIAAA proposal to develop a science education project is one of nine funded to date in the NIH Curriculum Supplement Series. The first three supplements are all designed for the high school level, are published and available. Information about the series is online at http://science-education.nih.gov/ supplements. Products resulting from the third development cycle, which includes the NIAAA supplement, will be available in 2001. Overall objectives for the series include promoting the visibility and missions of the NIH and respective Institutes, improving the quality of science teaching nationwide, deepening students' understanding of the importance of research to advances in medicine and health, and providing students with grade-appropriate opportunities to learn and apply inquiry and critical-thinking skills to discover solutions to a wide range of problems. The NIAAA supplement, titled "Understanding Alcohol: Separating Fact from Fiction", will be designed for grades seven and eight, with adaptation potential for grades six and nine. Instruction will be centered around a print component, with an Internet component serving as a rich interactive element of the instructional experience. The supplements are distributed free of charge, but, because teachers have a crowded syllabus, the supplements must integrate well into required science education coursework while focusing on unique features: i.e., medical topics relevant to students' lives, and inquiry-based instruction.

A recent planning workshop brought together three scientific advisors, a consulting curriculum specialist, a seventh-grade master teacher, and staff from OSE, NIAAA, and an experienced education contractor to develop a logical sequence of five class periods and to outline the scientific and pedagogic content of each.. Dorothea De Zafra, NIAAA Science Education Program Coordinator, provides leadership to this project. The three alcohol research science advisors who are participating in the development of the curriculum materials were all very enthusiastic and proposed leadership roles for themselves, the Alcohol Research Centers, and the Research Society on Alcoholism in teacher-training and implementation promotion when the curriculum supplement is ready for release. The three advisors are: Dr. Gene Erwin, the University of Colorado Alcohol Research Center; Dr. Robert Zucker, Director, University of Michigan Alcohol Research Center, and Dr. Robert Voas , The Pacific Research Institute.

NIAAA supported an international symposium on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome at the biannual meeting of the International Society for Biomedical Research on Alcoholism (ISBRA) held in Yokohama, Japan. The symposium featured presenters from FAS studies in South Africa, Russia, Japan, and Germany. The panel was co-chaired by Drs. Faye Calhoun and Kenneth Warren.

NIAAA, together with the Japanese National Institute of Alcoholism, ISBRA, the University of Connecticut School of Medicine , and Kaio University School of Medicine, hosted a one-day workshop in Yokohama, Japan in July. The meeting, "Towards a Comprehensive Approach to International Alcohol Research: Design and Dissemination Issues," was attended by 80 junior to mid-level Japanese investigators who wanted to improve skills in alcohol epidemiology research. In addition, an afternoon interactive session focused on strategies for improving acceptance rates for research articles submitted to English journals.

Drs. Faye Calhoun and Kenneth Warren chaired scientific sessions at the international symposium, "Recent Advances in Biomedical Research on Alcoholism: Genetics, Neurobiology, Behavior and Disease" which was held in Taipei in July. This symposium was by the Taiwanese National Health Research Institutes and the National Science Council.

NIAAA maintains a broad range of formal and informal collaborative activities and contacts between the Institute and its constituent organizations. Informal collaborations includes regular information sharing with the over 400 outside groups which comprise the liaison representatives to the National Advisory Council and informal meetings between liaison representatives and NIAAA Director Enoch Gordis following the adjournment of Council meetings. In addition to liaison activities NIAAA maintains a program of specific, formal collaborations with outside groups. Collaborative activities are described below.

Continuing a long-standing tradition, OPLPL once again arranged a one-day symposium in conjunction with the national conference of the American Psychological Society (APS). This year's symposium, entitled, "Alcohol Use and Mental Disorders: A Behavioral Science Perspective," was developed and moderated by Dr. Ken Sher. Participants found the information to be very informative and Dr. Sher is currently preparing a summary article for the APS newsletter, The Observer.

NIAAA continues its work with the New York State Office of Substance Abuse Services, the Association of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Providers of New York, and CSAT on moving ahead on Phase II of this project - the Researcher in Residence Program. Dr. Mike Hilton of DCPR has the programmatic lead on this project, and has been working with the programs and researchers as they have developed and implemented their specific efforts. Dr. Hilton has visited all of the sites and has written a report summarizing the project overall and how successfully each program was able to implement its chosen "intervention."

As with the New York State project, NIAAA and CSAT are moving ahead, in conjunction with our North Carolina colleagues, to Phase II of the research to practice effort. Discussions are underway to determine the exact nature of the Phase II activities, and expectations are that a process similar to that underway in New York will be implemented in North Carolina.

Activities for the balance of FY 2001 will be detailed in the February 2001 Director's Report.

The remaining 87 applications were not responding to any special initiatives and were reviewed in the Institute's standing review committees.

The outcome of these evaluations will be presented at the February 2001 Council meeting:

The AR&H issue focusing on highlights from the 10^th Special Report to the U.S. Congress on Alcohol and Health has been sent to the printers. Work continues on issues focusing on animal models in the study of alcohol problems, alcohol and tobacco, alcohol and violence, and chronobiology. In addition, concept papers are being developed on FAS and alcohol-related neurodevelopmental disorders and on alcohol and prevention. The full text of all AR&H issues dating back to 1996 are now available on NIAAA's web site and can be accessed at http://www.niaaa.nih.gov.

The issue of Alcohol Alert "From Genes to Geography-The Cutting Edge of Alcohol Research" has been sent to the printers. Work has begun on the next issue which will be an update on treatment research.

Since the last Council meeting, the 30-page subject index of the Tenth Special Report to the U. S. Congress on Alcohol and Health was completed. Secretary Shalala approved the Report on June 22 and submitted the Report to Congress. Full text of the Report is available on NIAAA's web site. Hard copies also are being printed.

NIAAA in collaboration with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is developing two television and two radio public service announcements on underage drinking. Materials to be used in the focus groups have been developed. Eight focus groups will be held during September in Phoenix, Arizona; Baltimore, Maryland; and Minneapolis, Minnesota. SAMHSA has provided additional funds to develop collateral materials including posters and print ads.

Campaign messages and "taglines" for posters, public service announcements, and transit displays are being tested. These materials will be used in this public education campaign targeting African-American women of childbearing age in Washington, DC. Plans are to launch the campaign during Spring 2001. As part of the campaign, we will be conducting pre- and post-surveys. An OMB package including the justification for collecting the data and the instrument was prepared and submitted to NIH to be forwarded to OMB.

Since the last Council meeting, NIAAA has issued the following three news advisories:

Drs. Antonio Noronha, Ellen Witt, Robert Karp, and Walter Hunt are developing an "Integrative Neuroscience Initiative on Alcoholism" (INIA). The purpose of the INIA is to integrate molecular, cellular, neurocircuitry, neural network, and whole-animal levels of analysis to study various aspects of neuroadaptive responses to excessive alcohol consumption. The ultimate goal is to foster development of highly integrated, multi-investigator teams pursuing focused, hypothesis-driven research related to the neuroadaptive changes that occur with repeated alcohol exposure. INIA will provide the opportunity for collaboration between prominent scientists in the alcohol field and prominent investigators from other fields, resulting in the application of new ideas and technology to the study of neuroadaptation to alcohol.

Drs. Ellen Witt, Antonio Noronha, Michael Eckardt, and Herbert Weingartner are co-organizing a workshop titled to be held October 19-20, 2000 at the Georgetown Holiday Inn, Washington, D.C. Experts from the alcohol field, cognitive/developmental neuroscientists, and clinical neuropsychologists/neurologists with expertise in assessment and remediation of a variety of neurobehavioral disorders will discuss whether current theories in cognitive neuroscience can be applied to remediating the cognitive deficits in alcoholic patients and in children who are at high risk for developing alcoholism.

Robert W. Karp, Ph.D., Program Director for Genetics, is organizing a Workshop on to be held in the Rockville/Bethesda area on November 30 - December 1, 2000. The workshop will bring together about 20 of NIAAA's QTL-mapping researchers with experts who have identified QTL influencing such complex traits as diabetes and lung tumor susceptibility in mice, brain nucleus neuron number in mice, sensory bristle number in Drosophila, and fruit quality in tomatoes, to deliberate strategies for molecular identification of QTL influencing alcohol-related behavioral traits.

Lowman, C., Hunt, W.A., Litten, R.Z. & Drummond, C.D. (2000) Research Perspectives on Alcohol Craving: An Overview. Addiction 95 (Supplement 2), S45-S54.

Drummond, D. Colin, Litten, R.Z., Lowman, C. & Hunt, W.A. (2000) Craving Research: Future Directions. Addiction 95 (Supplement 2) S247-S255.

Isaki L, Kresina TF. Directions for Biomedical Research in Alcohol and HIV: Where Are We Now and Where Can We Go? AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses. 2000 Sep;16(13):1197-1207.

The AEDS Data Directory has been updated for the year 2000. It will be available in the near future on NIAAA's Website.

The following abstracts were accepted by the American Public Health Association (APHA) for presentation on the APHA conference in November:

Saadatmand, F. and Faden, V.B. Effects of dose-response during pregnancy and birth outcomes.

Hanna, E.Z.; Dufour, M.C.; Yi, H.; and Whitmore, C.C. Drinking, health and health-related behaviors among youth aged 12-16: Findings from the NHANES III.

Yi, H.; Stinson, F.S.; Hanna, E.Z.; and Whitmore, C.C. Work schedule and alcohol use disorder.

Whitmore, C.C.; Hanna, E.Z.; Yi, H.; and Dufour, M.C. An examination of alcohol consumption at diverse states of union formation: Findings from the NLAES 92.

Allen, J.P., Litten, R.Z., Fertig, J.B. & Sillanaukee, P. (2000). Carbohydrate Deficient Transferrin, Gamma Glutamyl Transferase and Macrocytic Volume as Biomarkers of Alcohol Problems in Women. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 24(4), 492-496.

Lowman, C., Hunt, W.A., Litten, R.Z. & Drummond, C.D. (2000) Research Perspectives on Alcohol Craving: An Overview. Addiction 95 (Supplement 2), S45-S54.

Drummond, D. Colin, Litten, R.Z., Lowman, C. & Hunt, W.A. (2000) Craving Research: Future Directions. Addiction 95 (Supplement 2) S247-S255.

The NIH Office of Behavioral and Social Science Research (OBSSR) selected two PRB grants for collaborative funding: "Sexual Assault Perpetration: Misperception and Alcohol" (R01 AA11996-03, Antonia Abbey, PI) received $50,000 in direct costs, $74,500 in total costs); and "NYS Family Study: Problem Alcohol Use and Problem Behavior" (R01 AA11949-01, Delbert Elliott, PI,) received $150,000 for its innovative study on violence.

On July 17-18, Dr. Boyd chaired a working group of NIAAA grantees who are conducting research on the prevention of alcohol problems among college students. The meeting was held in Washington, D.C., and was attended by representatives from 17 NIAAA-supported research projects on college drinking. These included the five projects funded under the 1999 RFA on this topic, which was issued jointly with the Department of Education and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration. The meeting provided an opportunity for investigators to share research designs, data and methodologies, exchange measurement instruments, and discuss both theoretical and practical issues in prevention research among college populations. Support for this working group was provided by the Safe and Drug Free Schools Program at the Department of Education.

Beginning in FY 2001, Dr. Jan Howard will be managing a new contract that helps support a special prevention initiative at the, a free-standing "think tank" located in Stanford California, near Stanford University. A small select group of fellows will spend up to 12 months at the Center exploring the causes, consequences, and prevention of youth behavioral problems associated with drug, tobacco, and alcohol abuse. This effort is also being supported by other NIH Institutes and Offices (NIDA, NCI, the Office of Behavioral and Social Science Research, and the Office of AIDS Research) as well as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

The Health Services Research Branch hosted presentations at NIAAA from two of our grantees:

Dr. Harold I. Perl served on the faculty of the NIH Regional Seminar on Grants Administration on July 13 and 14 at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, making presentations in the areas of, Research Project Monitoring, Research Administration for Faculty, and Developing Institute Program Research Initiatives.

On 27 July 2000, a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) was established between the Section of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, LMBB, and Martek Biosciences to develop inexpensive 30-40 percent deuterium-labeled DHA, with a chemical purity of 50-98 percent, in quantities of 10-100g. The product will be used for in vivo biochemical studies of polyunsaturated fatty acid metabolism and biophysical investigations of the interaction of DHA-containing lipids with neural receptor proteins. Synthesis of partially deuterated DHA, using dinoflagellate cultures grown in deuterated water, will be conducted in Martek's aerated fomenters. Efficient strategies of DHA enrichment will be developed.

Sixty-three percent (12 of 19) of DICBR's Summer Interns in Biomedical Research participated in the NIH Summer Research Program Poster Day held on 3 August 2000. The annual event is a valuable training ground where students showcase their research and learn to effectively communicate findings to peers and the scientific community at-large. We are proud of these young scientists' accomplishments and have included a list of their presentations below.