Vijay Ramchandani, PhD, Chief
Unit on Human Physiology and Pharmacokinetics, LCTS
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
National Institutes of Health
10 Center Drive, Room 10-CRC/2-2352: MSC 1540
Bethesda MD 20892-1540
telephone: 301.402.8527
e-mail: vijay.ramchandani@mail.nih.gov
Vijay Ramchandani obtained his undergraduate degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences from Bombay University in India in 1990, and his Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences from Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA in 1996. From 1996 to 2002, he worked at the Alcohol Research Center at Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, first as a Research Associate and then as an Assistant Scientist and Part-time Assistant Professor. In 2003, he joined NIAAA as a Staff Scientist in the Laboratory of Clinical and Translational Studies, and in 2007, he became Chief of the newly-formed Unit on Human Physiology and Pharmacokinetics.
What we do
The Unit conducts studies characterizing the CNS pharmacodynamics of alcohol in humans using behavioral, neuroendocrine, electrophysiological and functional imaging measures. These studies, conducted in social and high-risk drinkers, enable the evaluation of genetic and environmental risk factors influencing the acute and adaptive responses to alcohol. The Unit also conducts studies to evaluate the influence of factors, including sex, age, body mass and liver volume, on the pharmacokinetics of alcohol in humans, using the IV alcohol clamp and advanced pharmacokinetic modeling methods.
Current plans include the development of human laboratory paradigms, utilizing intravenous (IV) alcohol challenge and self-administration methods, that can be used to screen novel potential treatments for alcoholism in terms of their ability to alter the pharmacological effects of alcohol and/or alcohol self-administration behavior.
Current staff
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Vatsalya Vatsalya, MD MS PGD
Post-Doctoral Visiting Fellow
telephone: 301.451.6968
vatsalyav@mail.nih.gov
Dr. Vatsalya has been involved in studies conducted by UHPP, including investigations in humans for Computer-Assisted Self-Administration of Ethanol; drug trials and their pharmacokinetic evaluations; and behavioral responses to alcohol. He is engaged in data analysis and interpretation, and research manuscript publication and presentation. His research interests involve investigations for drug assessments in human and avian subjects; behavioral evaluations and profiling; embryonic mutations; and gerontological paradigms. His future goals include clinical research and practice, as well as teaching.
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Megan Cooke
Post-Bacc IRTA
telephone: 301.451.7605
meg.cooke@nih.gov
Megan Cooke is the newest member of the Unit on Human Physiology and Pharmacokinetics. She joined the team in January 2009 after completing a B.S. in Psychology at Furman University. She works with Julnar with recruiting, screening, and scheduling of participants. Currently her primary focus is the Computer-Assisted Self-Administration of Ethanol (CASE) in Humans protocol under Dr. Ramchandani.
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Julnar Issa
Technical IRTA
telephone: 301.451.0308
julnar.issa@nih.gov
Julnar Issa graduated from Johns Hopkins University with a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering. Since joining our team in July 2008, she has worked closely with Dr. Ramchandani on several protocols including the Influence of Age and Sex on Alcohol Metabolism and Acute Responses and OPRM1 A118G SNP, Alcohol Response, and Striatal Dopamine. She is in charge of recruiting, scheduling and screening for these protocols as well as maintaining their databases and lab samples. She has an interest in mood disorders and hopes to pursue a PhD in clinical psychology.
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Protocols
08-AA-0178 Computer-Assisted Self-Administration of Ethanol (CASE) in Humans (PI: Vijay A. Ramchandani)
08-AA-0137 A Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo Controlled Trial (RCT) of Varenicline to Reduce Alcohol Consumption in Heavy Drinkers (PI: Vijay A. Ramchandani)
03-AA-0283 Influence of Age and Sex on Alcohol Metabolism and Acute Responses (PI: Vijay A. Ramchandani, PhD)
07-AA-0026 OPRM1 A118G SNP, Alcohol Response, and Striatal Dopamine (PI: Markus Heilig, MD, PhD)
NIAAA Clinical Protocols & link to all NIH Clinical Protocols
Selected Publications
ORIGINAL PUBLICATIONS
Ramchandani VA, Plawecki M, Li T-K, O’Connor S. Intravenous ethanol infusions can mimic the time course of breath alcohol concentrations following oral alcohol administration in healthy volunteers. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 33:938-944, 2009. PDF
Plawecki MH, Han JJ, Doerschuk PC, Ramchandani VA, O'Connor SJ. Physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) models for ethanol. IEEE Trans Biomed Eng. 55(12):2691-700, 2008 December. PDF
Taylor RE, Raysor BR, Kwagyan J, Ramchandani VA, Kalu N, Powell-Davis M, Ferguson CL, Carr L, Scott DM. Alterations in ethyl alcohol pharmacokinetics during oral consumption of malt liquor beverages in African Americans. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 32(12):2074-80, 2008 December. Epub 2008 September. PDF
Gilman JM, Ramchandani VA , Davis MB, Bjork JM and Hommer DW. Why we like to drink: An fMRI Study of the Rewarding and Anxiolytic Effects of Alcohol. Journal of Neuroscience. 28(18):4583-91, 2008. PDF
Salloum JB, Ramchandani VA, Bodurka J, Rawlings R, Momenan R, George D, Hommer DW. Blunted rostral anterior cingulate response during a simplified decoding task of negative emotional facial expressions in alcoholic patients. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 31(9):1490-1504, 2007 September. PDF
Plawecki MH, DeCarlo R, Ramchandani VA, O’Connor S. Improved transformation of morphometric measurements for a priori parameter estimation in a physiologically-based pharmacokinetic model of ethanol. Biomedical Signal Processing and Control. 2(2):97-110, 2007 April. PDF
Ramchandani VA, O’Connor S, Neumark YD, Zimmermann US, Morzorati SL, de Wit H. The alcohol clamp: Applications, challenges and new directions – An RSA 2004 symposium summary. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 30(1):155-164, 2006 January. PDF
Han J-J, Plawecki MH, Doerschuk PC, Ramchandani VA, O’Connor S. Ordinary differential equation models for ethanol pharmacokinetics based on anatomy and physiology. IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society International Conference Proceedings. (article 4029183) 1:5033-5036, 2006. PDF
Khaole NC, Ramchandani VA, Viljoen DL, Li T-K. A pilot study of alcohol exposure and pharmacokinetics in women with or without children with fetal alcohol syndrome. Alcohol Alcohol. 39(6):503-508, 2004 November-December. PDF
Kareken DA, Claus ED, Sabri M, Dzemidzic M, Kosobud AEK, Radnovich AJ, Hector D, Ramchandani VA, O’Connor SJ, Lowe M, Li T-K. Alcohol-related olfactory cues activate the nucleus accumbens and ventral tegmental area in high-risk drinkers: Preliminary findings. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 28(4):550-557, 2004 April. PDF
Neumark YD, Friedlander Y, Durst R, Leitersdorf E, Jaffe D, Ramchandani VA, O’Connor S, Carr LG, Li T-K. Alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH2) polymorphisms influence alcohol elimination rates in a male Jewish population. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 28(1):10-14, 2004 January. PDF
Plawecki MH, DeCarlo RA, Ramchandani VA, O’Connor S. Estimation of ethanol infusion profile to produce a specified BrAC time course using physiologically-based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) models. IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society International Conference Proceedings. 1:778-781, 2004. PDF
Ramchandani VA, Flury L, Morzorati S, Kareken D, Blekher T, Foroud T, Li T-K, O'Connor S. Recent Drinking History: Association with family history of alcoholism and the acute response to alcohol during a 60 mg% clamp. J Stud Alcohol. 63:734-744, 2002. PDF
Ramchandani VA, Kwo PY, Li T-K. Influence of food and food composition on alcohol elimination rates in healthy men and women. J Clin Pharmacol. 41:1345-1350, 2001. PDF
Li T-K, Yin S-J, Crabb DW, O’Connor S, Ramchandani VA. Genetic and environmental influences on alcohol metabolism in humans. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 25:136-144, 2001. PDF
Ramchandani VA, Bolane J, Li T-K, O'Connor S. A physiologically-based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model for alcohol facilitates rapid BrAC clamping. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 23:617-623, 1999. PDF
REVIEWS AND BOOK CHAPTERS
Ramchandani VA, O’Connor S. Studying alcohol elimination using the alcohol clamp method. Alcohol Research and Health. 29(4):286-290, 2006. PDF
Ramchandani VA. Genetic aspects of alcohol metabolism. In Alcohol in disease: Nutrient interactions and dietary intake (Watson RR and Preedy VR, ed). Boca Raton: CRC Press. 187-199, 2004. PDF
Ramchandani VA, Bosron WF, Li T-K. Research advances in ethanol metabolism. Pathologie Biologie. 49(9):676-682, 2001 November. PDF
Alcohol publications can also be found using the ETOH Database
FIND PUBLICATIONS USING PubMed
NIH Research and Training Opportunities
Updated: August 2009
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