NIAAA issued this notice NOT-AA-17-002 ( https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-AA-17-002.html) to communicate the policy regarding grant applications seeking to identify common variants conferring genetic risks for alcohol use disorder (AUD) and related phenotypes. The policy is based on recommendations from the Genetics and Genomics Advisory Meeting NIAAA convened on October 26, 2016.
 
The Advisory Panel determined that Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS) are currently the preferred approach for the identification of and the confirmation of genes that harbor variants that contribute to AUD, since results from these studies will likely to provide potential insights into translational studies and new therapeutic targets. GWAS can be accomplished with moderate resources and within a short to midrange timeframe.
 
To achieve the sample sizes needed to detect robust associations with risk for AUD, it will likely be necessary to combine GWAS data across multiple studies into large datasets and to harmonize and use appropriate metrics of alcohol misuse and related phenotypes to ensure comparability across independent analyses.
 
For additional information, applicants are encouraged to contact the Program Officers  or the following individual:
 
Hemin R. Chin, Ph.D.
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) 
Telephone:301-443-1281
Email: hc7v@nih.gov