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In this Section
- Major Initiatives
- Medications Development Program
- Underage Drinking Research Initiative
- Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders
- COMBINE Study
- Quetiapine Study
- Collaborative Studies on Genetics of Alcoholism (COGA) Study
- NIAAA-Funded Research Centers
- NIAAA Institutional Research Training Programs
- Other Key Extramural Research Activites
- Guidelines and Resources
- Division of Intramural Clinical and Biological Research
- NIAAA Laboratories
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience
- Laboratory of Clinical and Translational Studies
- LCTS - Office of the Chief
- LCTS - Section of Brain Electrophysiology and Imaging (BEI)
- LCTS - Section of Clinical Assessment and Treatment Evaluation (CATE)
- LCTS - Section on Clinical Psycho-neuroendocrinology and Neuro-psychopharmacology (CPN)
- LCTS - Section on Human Psychopharmacology (HP)
- LCTS - Section of Molecular Pathophysiology (MP)
- Laboratory of Epidemiology and Biometry
- Laboratory for Integrative Neuroscience
- Laboratory of Liver Diseases
- Laboratory of Membrane Biochemistry and Biophysics
- Laboratory of Metabolic Control
- Laboratory of Molecular Physiology
- Laboratory of Molecular Signaling
- Laboratory of Neurogenetics
- Laboratory for Neuroimaging
- Laboratory of Physiologic Studies
- Chemical Biology Research Branch (joint lab with NIDA)
- Office of the Scientific Director
- Office of Laboratory Animal Science (OLAS)
- Research and Training
- Clinical Trials at NIAAA/NIH
- NIAAA Laboratories
LCTS - Section of Clinical Assessment and Treatment Evaluation (CATE)

David Ted George, MD, Chief
Section of Clinical Assessment and Treatment Evaluation, LCTS
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
National Institutes of Health
10 Center Drive, Room 10-CRC/1E-5330: MSC 1108
Bethesda MD 20892-1108
telephone: 301.435.9385
e-mail: ted.george@mail.nih.gov
Dr. George obtained his Bachelor of Science degree from Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois in 1970 and his Masters in Biochemistry from Wake Forest University, Winston Salem, North Carolina in 1972. He received his medical degree in 1977 from Bowman Gray School of Medicine of Wake Forest University. He completed a residency in internal medicine at Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, Michigan in 1980. He subsequently completed a psychiatric residency at Duke University, Durham, North Carolina in 1983. He is board certified in both medicine and psychiatry. He joined the United States Public Health Service in 1990. He is currently the Associate Clinical Director for NIAAA and also heads the Section for Clinical Assessment and Treatment Evaluation.
In 1983, he joined the National Institute of Mental Health as a fellow and investigated various neuroendocrine and neurotransmitter systems thought to be involved in the etiology of eating disorders. In 1985, he went to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism where he conducted numerous protocols. Most recently he has focused on the role of alcohol in the etiology of domestic violence. He has just completed a study to determine if modulating serotonergic function with fluoxetine can decrease acts of domestic violence. In addition, he has conducted treatment trials which examined the efficacy of serotonergic, dominergic, cannabinoid, and NK-1 agents to decrease alcohol consumption in patients with alcoholism.
Currently, Dr. George is conducting research examining the effects of ethanol administration in alcohol dependent patients.
What we do
This section (1) conducts investigations of the effects of acute and chronic alcohol consumption and associated disorders on behavior and on biological and psychological mechanisms related to behavioral control and dyscontrol; (2) investigates the role of neurochemistry and the etiology of alcoholism and other addictive behaviors; and (3) investigates new pharmacological interventions to reduce alcohol-seeking and other addictive behaviors.
Current staff
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John Umhau, MD, MPH Dr. Umhau earned a BS at Davidson College, a MD at Wake Forest University and a Masters in Public Health at Johns Hopkins University. He is board certified in both Addiction Medicine and Preventive medicine and completed a residency in Clinical Preventive Medicine at Johns Hopkins University. He has served as medical director for a consortium of community clinics in Seattle, a health care for the homeless clinic in Baltimore, and for a comprehensive medical and drug rehabilitation program for the homeless in Washington D.C. His interest in improving the practice of poverty medicine led him to join the NIAAA. At NIAAA he provides clinical care for alcoholics undergoing detoxification and has conducted numerous protocols addressing the issues of impulsive violence and alcoholism, with a specific interest in nutrition, neuroinflammation, the neurobiology of addiction and the development of new medications to treat alcoholism.
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Christine Diamond, MSN Kristie Diamond is a family health nurse practitioner with NIAAA. She obtained her master of science degree in nursing from University of Maryland and is board certified as a family nurse practitioner. Kristie conducts comprehensive medical patient management at NIAAA. She predicts and analyzes trends in patient conditions and develops patient management plans in response to the data obtained. She assists in designing and implementing specific protocols and may serve as an associate investigator on protocols.
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Debby Hill, MSW Debby Hill provides information to the public about our alcoholism research and treatment program, and she recruits and interviews potential participants to determine their eligibility for the various protocols.
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Cheryl Jones Cheryl Jones administers research-based psychological assessments for protocol participants and manages the clinical assessment data for NIAAA, coordinating with the research and nursing staff.
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Monte Phillips Monte Phillips collaborates with other clinical staff in research development, design, writing, and publication of research protocols, presentations, and manuscripts. She executes the laboratory portion of the research protocols such as centrifuging, aliquoting, freezing, and processing of human spinal tapped fluids, blood, and urine for research purposes. Monte maintains accurate records concerning experimental results, patient activities, sample inventories, and the shipping and distribution of samples. She also prepares research data by scoring and compiling test results, inputting data into computers, and performing tabulations and data reductions in order to assist in the analysis and interpretation of the research results.
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Laura Kwako, PhD Post-Doctoral IRTA |
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Vera Spagnolo, MD, PhD Post-Doctoral IRTA |
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Vidda Moussavi, BA Post-Bacc IRTA |
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Jennifer Warmingham, BA Post-Bacc IRTA |
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Victoria Brown, BA Post-Bacc IRTA |
CATE Clinical Protocols
11-AA-0010 Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone Receptor 1 (CRH1) Antagonism in Anxious Alcoholics
10-AA-0046 Effects of Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone Receptor 1 (CRH1) Antagonism on Stress-Induced Craving in Alcoholic Women with High Anxiety: an Experimental Medicine Study
09-AA-0136 The Effect of NK1R Antagonism on Alcohol Craving and PTSD Symptoms in Alcohol Dependent Patients with PTSD
08-AA-0125 Effect of Naltrexone on Craving and Ethanol-Induced Brain Activity
08-AA-0058 Modulation of Pharmacologically Induced Alcohol Craving in Recently Detoxified Alcoholics
07-AA-0026 OPRM1 A118G SNP, Alcohol Response, and Striatal Dopamine
05-AA-0121 Assessment and Treatment of People with Alcohol Drinking Problems
05-AA-0120 Acamprosate for Central Nervous System Hyperexcitability and Neuroadaptation in Alcohol Withdrawal
04-AA-0058 Positron Emission Tomography Imaging of Incorporation of Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA) from Plasma into Brain in Healthy Volunteers
NIAAA Clinical Protocols & link to all NIH Clinical Protocols
Selected Publications
Heilig M, Thorsell A, Sommer WH, Hansson AC, Ramchandani VA, George DT, Hommer D, Barr CS. Translating the neuroscience of alcoholism into clinical treatments: From blocking the buzz to curing the blues. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2010 Nov;35(2):334-44. PubMed
George DT, Herion DW, Jones CL, Phillips MJ, Hersh J, Hill D, Heilig M, Ramchandani VA, Geyer C, Spero DE, Singley ED, O'Malley SS, Bishai R, Rawlings RR, Kunos G. Rimonabant (SR141716) has no effect on alcohol self-administration or endocrine measures in nontreatment-seeking heavy alcohol drinkers. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2010 Jan;208(1):37-44. PubMed
Enoch MA, Johnson K, George DT, Schumann G, Moss HB, Kranzler HR, Goldman D; National Advisory Council on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Ethical considerations for administering alcohol or alcohol cues to treatment-seeking alcoholics in a research setting: can the benefits to society outweigh the risks to the individual? A commentary in the context of the National Advisory Council on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism -- Recommended Council Guidelines on Ethyl Alcohol Administration in Human Experimentation (2005). Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2009 Sep;33(9):1508-12. PubMed
Umhau JC, Zhou W, Carson RE, Rapoport SI, Polozova A, Demar J, Hussein N, Bhattacharjee AK, Ma K, Esposito G, Majchrzak S, Herscovitch P, Eckelman WC, Kurdziel KA, Salem N Jr. Imaging incorporation of circulating docosahexaenoic acid into the human brain using positron emission tomography. J Lipid Res. 2009 Jul;50(7):1259-68. PubMed
George, DT, Gilman J, Hersh J, Thorsell A, Herion D, Geyer C, Peng X, Kielbasa W, Rawlings R, Brandt JE, Gehlert DR, Tauscher JT, Hunt SP, Hommer D, Heilig M. Neurokinin 1 receptor antagonism as a possible therapy for alcoholism. Science. 2008 Mar;319(5869):1536-9. PubMed
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. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. 2007 Sep;31:1-15. PubMed
Brown AK, George DT, Fujita M, Liow J-S, Ichise M, Hibbeln J, Ghose S, Sangare J, Hommer D, Innis RB. PET [11C] DASB imaging of serotonin transporters in patients with alcoholism. Alcoholism: Clinical and Exp Research. 2007 Jan;31:28-32. PubMed
George DT, Phillips MJ, Doty L, Umhau JC, Rawlings RR. A model linking biology, behavior and psychiatric diagnoses in perpetrators of domestic violence. Medical Hypotheses. 2006;67:345-53. PubMed
Umhau JC, Dauphinais KM, Patel SH, Nahrwold DA, Hibbeln JR, Rawlings RR, George DT. The relationship between folate and docosahexaenoic acid in men. Eur J Clin Nutrition. 2006 Mar;60: 352-7. PubMed
Hibbeln JR, Bissette G, Umhau JC, George DT. Omega-3 status and cerebrospinal fluid corticotropin releasing hormone in perpetrators of domestic violence. Biol Psychiatry. 2004 Dec 1;56:895-7. PubMed
George DT, Rawlings RR, Williams WA, Phillips MJ, Fong G, Kerich M, Momenan R, Umhau JC, Hommer D. A select group of perpetrators of domestic violence: evidence of decreased metabolism in the right hypothalamus and reduced relationships between cortical/subcortical brain structures in positron emission tomography. Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging. 2004 Jan 15;130:11-25. PubMed
Umhau JC, Petrulis SG, Diaz R, Rawlings R, George DT. Blood glucose is correlated with cerebrospinal fluid neurotransmitter metabolites. Neuroendocrinology. 2003 Dec;78:339-43. PubMed
Umhau JC, Petrulis SG, Diaz R, Riggs PA, Biddison JR, George DT. Long-term abstinent alcoholics have a blunted blood glucose response to 2-Deoxy-d-glucose. Alcohol Alcoholism. 2002 Nov;37:586-90. PubMed
Umhau JC, George DT, Reed S, Petrulis SG, Rawlings R, Porges SW. Atypical autonomic regulation in perpetrators of violent domestic abuse. Psychophysiology. 2002 Mar;39:117-23. PubMed
George DT, Umhau JC, Phillips MJ, Emmela D, Ragan PW, Shoaf SE, Rawlings RR. Serotonin, testosterone and alcohol in the etiology of domestic violence. Psychiatry Res. 2001 Oct 10;104:27-37. PubMed
Karimullah K, George DT, DePetrillo PB. The time-course of electrocardiographic interbeat interval dynamics in alcoholic subjects after short-term abstinence. Eur J Pharmacol. 2001 Sep 21;427:227-33. PubMed
Umhau JC, Petrulis SG, Diaz R, Biddison JR, George DT. Hypothalamic function in response to 2-deoxy-d-glucose in long-term abstinent alcoholics. Alc Clin Exp Res. 2001 May;25:781-6. PubMed
George DT, Hibbeln JR, Ragan PW, Umhau JC, Phillips MJ, Doty L, Hommer D, Rawlings RR. Lactate-induced rage and panic in a select group of subjects who perpetrate acts of domestic violence. Biol Psychiatry. 2000 May;47: 804-12. PubMed
Hibbeln JR, Linnoila M, Umhau JC, Rawlings R, George DT, and Salem N Jr. Essential fatty acids predict metabolites of serotonin and dopamine in cerebrospinal fluid among healthy control subjects, and early- and late-onset alcoholics. Biol Psychiatry. 1998 Aug 15;44:235-42. PubMed
George DT, Lindquist T, Ragan PW, Alim T, Eckardt MJ, Linnoila M. Effect of alcoholism on the incidence of lactate-induced panic attacks. Biol Psychiatry. 1997 Dec 1;42:992-9. PubMed
George DT, Benkelfat C, Rawlings RR, Eckardt MJ, Phillips MJ, Nutt DJ, Wynne D, Murphy DL, and Linnoila M. Behavioral and neuroendocrine responses to m-chlorophenylpiperazine in subtypes of alcoholics and in healthy comparison subjects. Am J Psychiatry. 1997 Jan;154:81-7. PubMed
Fils-Aime ML, Eckardt MJ, George DT, Brown GL, Mefford I, Linnoila M. Early-onset alcoholics have lower cerebrospinal fluid 5-
hydroxyindolacetic acid levels than late-onset alcoholics. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1996 Mar;53:211-6. PubMed
Bitler DA, Linnoila M, George DT. Psychosocial and diagnostic characteristics of individuals initiating domestic violence. J Nerv Ment Dis. 1994 Oct;182:583-85. PubMed
Benkelfat C, Murphy DL, Hill JL, George DT, Nutt D, Linnoila M. Ethanol-like properties of the serotonergic partial agonist m-chlorophenylpiperazine (m-CPP) in chronic alcoholic patients. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1991 Apr;48:383. PubMed
REVIEWS AND BOOK CHAPTERS
Ciccocioppo R, Gehlert DR, Ryabinin A, Kaur S, Cippitelli A, Thorsell A, Lê AD, Hipskind PA, Hamdouchi C, Lu J, Hembre EJ, Cramer J, Song M, McKinzie D, Morin M, Economidou D, Stopponi S, Cannella N, Braconi S, Kallupi M, de Guglielmo G, Massi M, George DT, Gilman J, Hersh J, Tauscher JT, Hunt SP, Hommer D, Heilig M. Stress-related neuropeptides and alcoholism: CRH, NPY, and beyond. Alcohol. 2009 Nov;43(7):491-8. PubMed
Alcohol publications can also be found using the ETOH Database
FIND PUBLICATIONS USING PubMed
FIND ANNUAL REPORT PROJECTS USING NIDB Resources
SAMPLE Search Instructions: Under "Option 1" click box beside each "Year" of interest, then click "Free Text Search" - in BOX under "Enter some Keywords", type George D
NIH Research and Training Opportunities



