NIAAA SBIR/STTR Research Interests

Areas that may be of interest to small businesses include, but are not limited to:

Therapeutics for Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) and Alcohol-Related Complications

• Targets that include but are not limited to agents that attenuate excessive alcohol use and other symptoms of AUD, e.g., craving, sleep problems, and negative affect as well as those that hold promise for the treatment of alcoholic hepatitis, liver fibrosis, cirrhosis, pancreatitis, cardiomyopathy, or other alcohol-induced tissue damage.
• Development and validation of medium to high-throughput assays
• Early therapeutic discovery activities (e.g., target ID, lead compound target validation)
• Preclinical drug development
• Devices, technologies or formulations to improve medication delivery, medication compliance or improved formulations of existing medications to treat AUD
   

For pre-clinical questions, contact:

Mark Egli, Ph.D. (Neuroscience and behavior)
Telephone: 301-594-6382
Email: Mark.Egli@nih.gov

Svetlana Radaeva, Ph.D. (Organ damage)
Telephone: 301-433-1189
Email: Svetlana.Radaeva@nih.gov

Preclinical development of combined pharmacological approaches to synergistically regulate multiple drug targets for AUD. 

Areas that may be of interest to small businesses include, but are not limited to:

• Development and validation of new target combinations using cellular and animal models.
• Prioritization of multi-drug targets and identification of the effective drug combinations or multi-target drugs for the medication development 
• High-throughput screening of compound libraries to identify multi-target drugs.
• Adaption of low throughput assays to high throughput screening, development of lead compounds, and identification of drug candidate(s) with proper pharmaceutical properties for medication development.

Changhai Cui, PhD
Telephone: 301-443-1678
Email: Changhai.Cui@nih.gov
 

Areas that may be of interest to small businesses include, but are not limited to:

• Development, enhancement, and/or validation of daily process data collection methods (e.g., ecological momentary assessment) for capturing real-time data for use in alcohol clinical trials and treatment paradigms. 
• Development and testing computerized versions of empirically supported treatments, including but not limited to in languages other than English.
• Evaluation of telehealth and mHealth technologies to improve patient outcomes and increase and improve patient engagement in treatment.

Brett Hagman, PhD
Telephone: 301-443-0638
Email: Brett.Hagman@nih.gov
 

NIAAA is interested in the development and evaluation of the following:

• Innovative prevention/intervention programs for alcohol misuse, or specific materials for integration into existing prevention programs, that utilize state-of-the-art technology and are based on currently accepted clinical and behavioral strategies. 
• Innovative prevention/intervention programs for alcohol misuse targeted at the needs of groups at elevated risk for such misuse, including racial/ethnic minority populations, adolescents, women, and sexual and gender minority populations. 
• Educational materials designed to intervene with the elderly around specific age-related risks for alcohol problems.
• Prevention programs tailored specifically to the needs of any of the following groups:  children of individuals with alcohol use disorders, women, ethnic and minority populations, sexual and gender minority populations, persons with disabilities, and the elderly.
• School-based prevention curricula, interactive videos, multi-media programs, and training manuals for teachers and parents.
• Development of statistical analysis tools for: imputation of missing data, analysis of small sample sizes, simulations of the distribution of outcomes under varying initial conditions, and evaluation of the effect of public policy on health and injury outcomes.
• Approaches, strategies, and platforms to increase public awareness of avoidable risks and encourage behavior change that reduces those risks through publicity about actual traffic crashes, crash outcomes (e.g., deaths, injuries, family and community effects), and the role of alcohol-impaired driving and other factors that contributed to those crashes (e.g., speeding, failure to use seatbelts).

Robert C. Freeman, PhD
Telephone: 301-443-8820
Email: Robert.Freeman@nih.gov
 

Areas that may be of interest to small businesses include, but are not limited to:

• Assisting clinicians in selecting and delivering evidence-based treatments 
• Supporting long-term recovery, by facilitating patients’ continued engagement in recovery support services as an adjunct to or after treatment
• Assisting treatment programs and service agencies in measuring clinically relevant performance indicators or improvements in quality of service provision
• Promoting engagement and mitigate burnout among counselors and others engaged in direct treatment service delivery

Laura Kwako, PhD
Telephone: 301-451-8507
Email: Laura.Kwako@nih.gov
 

Areas that may be of interest to small businesses include, but are not limited to:

• Development and assessment of novel diagnostic and/or screening methods, tools, or technologies to improve identification and diagnosis of individuals affected by prenatal exposure across the lifespan and in a variety of setting.
• Validation of biomarkers that can be used to verify prenatal alcohol exposure in newborns or later in life or to predict which individuals will display neurobehavioral deficits later in life.
• Novel strategies for therapeutic, skill-building, and educational program products that enhance behavioral, neurocognitive, social, adaptive, and motor function to improve the overall well-being of individuals with FASD and their families.
• Establishment of accurate measures of the responsiveness of individuals affected by prenatal alcohol exposure to predictors of vulnerability for alcohol-drinking or other psychopathology during adolescence and adulthood.
• Development, evaluation, and implementation of novel educational and training programs to enhance the skills of non-professional caregivers in dealing with the problems associated with FASD.
• Development and implementation of innovative strategies, methods, tools or technologies to reduce alcohol misuse in women and prevent FASD in offspring. 

For biomedical research questions, contact:

William Dunty, PhD
Telephone: 301-443-7351
Email: William.Dunty@nih.gov

Elizabeth Powell, PhD
Telephone: 301-443-0786
Email: Elizabeth.Powell3@nih.gov
 
For prevention and treatment research questions, contact:

Tatiana Balachova, PhD
Telephone: 301-443-5726
Email: Tatiana.Balachova@nih.gov

Deidra Roach, MD
Telephone: 301-443-5820
Email: Deidra.Roach@nih.gov
 

Areas that may be of interest to small businesses include, but are not limited to:

• Biomarkers that detect alcohol intake that is measurable for two to three weeks after drinking is stopped. 
• Biomarkers that detect alcohol intake that is measurable for months after drinking is stopped.
• Biomarker signatures of alcohol-induced organ damage, which are likely to be organ-specific, particularly using the early stages of alcohol-induced organ damage.
• Biomarker signatures of familial risk factors for AUD.  Early identification of subjects predisposed to AUD will allow for early intervention, possible prevention, and allow the subjects to make informed personal decisions. 

Characteristics of useful biomarkers are:

• Sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and reliability 
• Ease of use and acceptability to patient and provider
• Affordability
• Availability in easily obtained specimens, such as serum or plasma, urine, saliva, or hair.
• Validity, reproducibility, affordability, and transportability to a variety of settings, including AUD treatment centers, hospitals, primary care offices, or the workplace.

We encourage use of high-throughput discovery approaches using genomics, epigenomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, lipomics, or glycomics to identify pattern-based molecular signatures which as opposed to single component biomarkers may be predicted to provide greater sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and reliability than single component biomarkers. 

Also of interest:

• Improvement of turn-around time and cost efficiency of current assays for PEth, EtS, EtG and other alcohol biomarkers.
• Design and development of point of care devices, for use in rural or remote primary care and hospital settings

For clinical questions, contact:

Raye Z. Litten, PhD 
Telephone: 301-443-0636 
Email: Raye.Litten@nih.gov

For pre-clinical questions, contact:

Kathy Jung, PhD 
Telephone: 301-443-8744 
Email: Kathy.Jung@nih.gov
 

We are seeking non-invasive or minimally invasive technologies. In particular, this topic should focus on devices that detect blood alcohol, rather than alcohol exuded across the skin. Characteristics of these technologies include:

• Real-time or near real-time detection of alcohol levels
• Ability to interpret and store the data or transmit it to a smartphone or other device by wireless transmission 
• Standardization verification at regular intervals; ability to indicate loss of functionality
• A power source that is dependable and rechargeable 
• Data storage and transmission that is completely secure in order to protect the privacy of the individual. A form of subject identification would be an added benefit.
• Unobtrusive design, passive in action

Also of interest is the development of appropriate data analysis systems for individual level evaluation of alcohol biosensor devices already in development, as well as for assessment of trends in research populations.

Kathy Jung, PhD. 
Telephone: 301-443-8744 
Email: Kathy.jung@nih.gov
 

Alcohol Use and HIV Infection, and HIV Co-infection with HCV, HBV, or TB

Areas that may be of interest to small businesses include, but are not limited to:

• Development of therapies to mitigate alcohol-associated adverse impact on the development of viral-related liver and/or lung diseases.
• Development of biomarkers for alcohol-induced damage in those patients with HIV infection or co-infection.

  
For basic research questions on alcohol and HIV, and HIV co-infection, contact:

H. Joe Wang, PhD
Telephone: 301-451-0747
Email: Joe.Wang1@nih.gov

For clinical or epidemiological questions on HIV, contact:

Kendall J. Bryant, PhD
Telephone: 301-402-9389
Email: Kendall.Bryant@nih.gov
 

Innovative self-report, biological, and/or common clinical measures for the identification and diagnosis of frailty related to alcohol use among alcohol-using HIV patients and those with related comorbidities are sought.

• Should be tested in the widest range of individuals, including but not limited to racial, ethnic and gender identity minorities, at various trajectories of progression of HIV disease and patterns of alcohol use. In particular, information from measures should be able to accurately identify individuals who are “sick quitters” and/or have high degree of frailty due to either past and/ or current alcohol use. 
• This clinical decision-making tool should be of greatest value to diagnostic assessment and interventions within clinical settings and may include the development of audio, visual, and/or training modules to support the use of appropriate diagnostic index(es) across linguistic groups.
• Support of an electronic internet site for scoring and collection of information on HIV disease characteristics, frailty and patterns of alcohol use in clinical populations, and to provide information on a range of options for assessment of alcohol use severity in HIV+ populations (e.g. brief assessment instruments, calendar methods, biological markers, etc.).
• Identification of current and emerging methods for behavioral and/or biological intervention to reduce alcohol use in the context of HIV and improve clinical outcomes.

Kendall J. Bryant, PhD 
Telephone: 301-402-0332
Email: Kendall.Bryant@nih.gov

Areas that may be of interest to small businesses include, but are not limited to:

• Generation and dissemination of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS) from adult human cells to resemble diverse individual variations in alcohol metabolism and use of these genetic variant models to study AUD and pharmacotherapy development. Examples of these genetic variations include alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH), aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH), cytochrome P450 isozyme CYP2E1, and glutathione S-transferase (GST).
• Generation and dissemination of disease-specific iPS cell lines for studies on the biology and signaling pathways that contribute to alcohol-related disease pathology.
• Development of models derived from human iPS cells to study biological and pathological effects of alcohol and its metabolites in vivo.  
• Use of CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) gene editing technology on iPS cells to study alcohol-related disease

Peter Gao, MD
Telephone: 301-443-6106
Email: Peter.Gao@nih.gov
 

Areas that may be of interest to small businesses include, but are not limited to novel technologies to both measure and interpret ncRNA gene expression signatures in specific cell types and regions in the brain, and/or primary neuronal cultures following alcohol exposure.

These technologies could include, but are not limited to: 

• Novel methods to tag and measure various types of ncRNAs, 
• New imaging techniques to monitor changes in ncRNAs, and 
• Novel bioinformatic analytic tools and methods to interpret alcohol-induced alterations in ncRNAs, and to predict and validate their target genes.

 
Hemin Chin, PhD    
Telephone: 301-443-1282
Email: Hemin.Chin@nih.gov 

Areas that may be of interest to small businesses include, but are not limited to:

• Development of effective tools to detect dynamic changes of neuromodulators in real time in the brain of behaving animals
• Development of tools to visualize and map neuromodulator changes in the intact brain coupled with other measurements of neuronal activities.  To understand how neuromodulators shape neuronal activities and contribute to the alcohol use disorder.
• Development of technologies to detect concurrent changes of multiple neuromodulators with high spatial and temporal precision in vivo. 
• Development of tools that allow the in vivo detection of the dynamics of neuromodulators over an extended time period.

Changhai Cui, PhD
Telephone: 301-443-1678
Email: Changhai.Cui@nih.gov
 

Areas that may be of interest to small businesses include, but are not limited to:

• Development and validation of ex vivo screens capable of predicting efficacy test results in preclinical behavioral models of AUD

Assays should: 

• include array of parameters that model aspect/aspects of AUD
• be able to discriminate positive and negative control drugs found in the AUD pharmacotherapy literature 
• be sensitive to drugs with diverse mechanisms of action
• be relatively rapid, simple and capable of generate readily reproducible results

Qi-Ying Liu, MD, M.Sci.
Telephone: 301-443-2678 
Email: Liuqiy@mail.nih.gov
 

Areas that may be of interest to small businesses include, but are not limited to:

• Improvement of chemical or genetic sensors to detect dynamic changes in calcium, voltage, cAMP etc.
• Development of tools and sensors to monitor structure and activities of neurons and glial cells, and their interactions
• Development of tools and sensors to monitor synaptic activities
• Definition of cell types in the neurocircuits
• Development of miniature and nanoscale apparatus and sensors, or miniaturizing and optimizing detection apparatus for the study of alcohol effects
• Development of computational methods for the acquisition and analysis of large scale data

Qi-Ying Liu, MD, M.Sci.
Telephone: 301-443-2678
Email: liuqiy@mail.nih.gov

Changhai Cui, PhD
Telephone: 301-443-1678
Email: changhai.cui@nih.gov
 

The NIAAA supports the development of new or improved tools to enhance the ability to conduct alcohol-related laboratory studies on humans and animals and to more effectively analyze data from large databases. Areas that may be of interest to small businesses include, but are not limited to:

• Development of novel animal models, including transgenic animals, possessing specific traits of significance for the study of alcohol use disorder (AUD), or for the study of specific pathologic disease states which arise from excessive alcohol consumption.
• Development of a hepatocyte cell line capable of maintaining viability and metabolic functions in culture systems for an indefinite period.
• Development of specialized cell culture chambers to provide controlled administration of ethanol to in vitro cell systems.
• Development of experimental systems that mimic organ function, including, but not limited to, co-culture and novel approaches to three-dimensional culture.
• Development of new methods of ethanol administration to animals that produce precise dose control or that closely mimic types of alcohol exposure occurring in humans, including, but not limited to, binge drinking, acute consumption, moderate consumption or chronic consumption.
• Development of ligands which will enhance the potential usefulness of PET and SPECT neuroimaging technologies for the study of the etiology of AUD and related brain pathology.
• Development of computational, statistical or bioinformatics tools to organize and manage high throughput data obtained by genomic, functional genomic or other ‘omic strategies.
• Development of databases, methods for integration of databases, or data analysis systems for alcohol research.

Kathy Jung, PhD
Telephone: 301-443-8744
Email: Kathy.Jung@nih.gov
 

Data Science Tools for Integrating Alcohol Research

Areas of interest include, but are not limited to:

• Development of algorithms for integrative analysis incorporating multiple current NIAAA and public ‘big data’ sets, including machine learning, deep learning, artificial intelligence, data mining and other model based and model-free approaches.
• Creation of software applications for data interfaces for aggregation, imputation, harmonization, or visualization of data from multiple sources, including current and future NIH data systems.
• Design of algorithms and/or software tools for improving data collection, i.e. smart phone apps, extraction of specific alcohol research parameters from existing large databases and established public health studies, biological sensors or wearable devices.
• Generation and validation of computational and/or systems biology models of alcohol exposure and use on cellular, organ, network, or organism scales, including multiscale models, during periods from initial alcohol exposure and extending though alcohol use disorder, treatment, recovery and relapse.

Activities and deliverables are expected to use currently available data sets and databases. The generation of new primary data is not supported by this topic.

Elizabeth Powell, PhD
Telephone: 301-443-0786
Email: Elizabeth.Powell3@nih.gov
 

Areas of interest include, but are not limited to:

• Development of tools/kits for early detection and to measure AA-adducts and AGEs in serum, CSF, brain and other organs of AUDs in animal models and in pre-clinical settings and their relationship to the biomarkers of neuro-inflammation.
• Development of tools/kits to measure AA-adducts and AGEs, like other oxidative and carbonyl stress end products; advanced lipoperoxidation end products (ALE) and advanced oxidation protein products (AOPP).
• Development of tools to study interaction of AA-adducts and AGEs with RAGE (Receptor for AGEs) and measurement of structural damage to the extracellular matrix and other components.
• Measurement of AGE–RAGE mediated activation of nuclear factor NF-B, cytokines and growth factors genes and increased expression of neuro-inflammatory molecules.

Mohammed Akbar, PhD
Telephone: 301-443-6009
Email: Akbarm@mail.nih.gov
 

Areas of interest include, but are not limited to:

• Development of rapid and cost-effective RNA seq methods/technologies in human blood cells
• Characterization of the gene expression profile in human blood cells of AUD subjects.  
• Identification and validation of specific gene profile signature as biomarkers in AUD subjects.
• Development of technology/device for rapid screening different stages of alcohol use and AUD 

Abbas Parsian, PhD 
Telephone: 301-443-5733
E-mail: Parsiana@nih.gov
 

Areas that may be of interest to small businesses include, but are not limited to:

• Clinical development of therapeutics for AUD and Alcohol-Related Complications.
• Novel and re-purposed compounds for the treatment of AUD. 
• Compounds that target one or more domains of the addiction cycle, including reward, stress and negative affect, incentive salience, executive function, habituation, and impulsivity/compulsivity.
• Devices, technologies or formulations to improve medication delivery, medication compliance or improved formulations of existing medications to treat AUD.

For questions, contact:
 

Raye Z. Litten, PhD 
Telephone: 301-443-0636 
Email: Raye.Litten@nih.gov 
 

Areas that may be of interest to small businesses include, but are not limited to:

• Development, enhancement, and/or validation of daily process data collection methods (e.g., ecological momentary assessment) for capturing real-time data for use in alcohol clinical trials and treatment paradigms. 
• Development and testing computerized versions of empirically supported treatments, including but not limited to in languages other than English.
• Evaluation of telehealth and mHealth technologies to improve patient outcomes and increase and improve patient engagement in treatment.

Brett Hagman, PhD
Telephone: 301-443-0638
Email: Brett.Hagman@nih.gov
 

NIAAA is interested in the development and evaluation of the following:

• Innovative prevention/intervention programs for alcohol misuse, or specific materials for integration into existing prevention programs, that utilize state-of-the-art technology and are based on currently accepted clinical and behavioral strategies. 
• Innovative prevention/intervention programs for alcohol misuse targeted at the needs of groups at elevated risk for such misuse, including racial/ethnic minority populations, adolescents, women, and sexual and gender minority populations. 
• Educational materials designed to intervene with the elderly around specific age-related risks for alcohol problems.
• Prevention programs tailored specifically to the needs of any of the following groups:  children of individuals with alcohol use disorders, women, ethnic and minority populations, sexual and gender minority populations, persons with disabilities, and the elderly.
• School-based prevention curricula, interactive videos, multi-media programs, and training manuals for teachers and parents.
• Development of statistical analysis tools for: imputation of missing data, analysis of small sample sizes, simulations of the distribution of outcomes under varying initial conditions, and evaluation of the effect of public policy on health and injury outcomes.
• Approaches, strategies, and platforms to increase public awareness of avoidable risks and encourage behavior change that reduces those risks through publicity about actual traffic crashes, crash outcomes (e.g., deaths, injuries, family and community effects), and the role of alcohol-impaired driving and other factors that contributed to those crashes (e.g., speeding, failure to use seatbelts).

Robert C. Freeman, PhD
Telephone: 301-443-8820
Email: Robert.Freeman@nih.gov
 

Areas that may be of interest to small businesses include, but are not limited to:

• Assisting clinicians in selecting and delivering evidence-based treatments 
• Supporting long-term recovery, by facilitating patients’ continued engagement in recovery support services as an adjunct to or after treatment
• Assisting treatment programs and service agencies in measuring clinically relevant performance indicators or improvements in quality of service provision
• Promoting engagement and mitigate burnout among counselors and others engaged in direct treatment service delivery.

Laura Kwako, PhD
Telephone: 301.451.8507
Email: laura.kwako@nih.gov
 

Areas that may be of interest to small businesses include, but are not limited to:

• Development and assessment of novel diagnostic and/or screening methods, tools, or technologies to improve identification and diagnosis of individuals affected by prenatal exposure across the lifespan and in a variety of setting.
• Validation of biomarkers that can be used to verify prenatal alcohol exposure in newborns or later in life or to predict which individuals will display neurobehavioral deficits later in life.
• Novel strategies for therapeutic, skill-building, and educational program products that enhance behavioral, neurocognitive, social, adaptive, and motor function to improve the overall well-being of individuals with FASD and their families.
• Establishment of accurate measures of the responsiveness of individuals affected by prenatal alcohol exposure to predictors of vulnerability for alcohol-drinking or other psychopathology during adolescence and adulthood.
• Development, evaluation, and implementation of novel educational and training programs to enhance the skills of non-professional caregivers in dealing with the problems associated with FASD.
• Development and implementation of innovative strategies, methods, tools or technologies to reduce alcohol misuse in women and prevent FASD in offspring. 

For biomedical research questions, contact:

William Dunty, PhD
Telephone: 301-443-7351
Email: William.Dunty@nih.gov

Elizabeth Powell, PhD
Telephone: 301-443-0786
Email: Elizabeth.Powell3@nih.gov

For prevention and treatment research questions, contact:

Tatiana Balachova, PhD
Telephone: 301-443-5726
Email: Tatiana.Balachova@nih.gov

Deidra Roach, M.D.
Telephone: 301-443-5820
Email: Deidra.Roach@nih.gov
 

Areas that may be of interest to small businesses include, but are not limited to:

• Biomarkers that detect alcohol intake that is measurable for two to three weeks after drinking is stopped. 
• Biomarkers that detect alcohol intake that is measurable for months after drinking is stopped.
• Biomarker signatures of alcohol-induced organ damage, which are likely to be organ-specific, particularly using the early stages of alcohol-induced organ damage.
• Biomarker signatures of familial risk factors for AUD.  Early identification of subjects predisposed to AUD will allow for early intervention, possible prevention, and allow the subjects to make informed personal decisions. 

Characteristics of useful biomarkers are:

• Sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and reliability 
• Ease of use and acceptability to patient and provider
• Affordability
• Availability in easily obtained specimens, such as serum or plasma, urine, saliva, or hair.
• Validity, reproducibility, affordability, and transportability to a variety of settings, including AUD treatment centers, hospitals, primary care offices, or the workplace.

We encourage use of high-throughput discovery approaches using genomics, epigenomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, lipomics, or glycomics to identify pattern-based molecular signatures which as opposed to single component biomarkers may be predicted to provide greater sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and reliability than single component biomarkers. 

Also of interest:

• Improvement of turn-around time and cost efficiency of current assays for PEth, EtS, EtG and other alcohol biomarkers.
• Design and development of point of care devices, for use in rural or remote primary care and hospital settings

For clinical questions, contact:

Raye Z. Litten, PhD 
Telephone: 301-443-0636 
Email: Raye.Litten@nih.gov

For pre-clinical questions, contact:

Kathy Jung, PhD 
Telephone: 301-443-8744 
Email: Kathy.Jung@nih.gov
 

We are seeking non-invasive or minimally invasive technologies. In particular, this topic should focus on devices that detect blood alcohol, rather than alcohol exuded across the skin. Characteristics of these technologies include:

• Real-time or near real-time detection of alcohol levels
• Ability to interpret and store the data or transmit it to a smartphone or other device by wireless transmission 
• Standardization verification at regular intervals; ability to indicate loss of functionality
• A power source that is dependable and rechargeable 
• Data storage and transmission that is completely secure in order to protect the privacy of the individual. A form of subject identification would be an added benefit.
• Unobtrusive design, passive in action

Also of interest is the development of appropriate data analysis systems for individual level evaluation of alcohol biosensor devices already in development, as well as for assessment of trends in research populations.

Kathy Jung, PhD 
Telephone: 301-443-8744 
Email: Kathy.jung@nih.gov
 

Alcohol Use and HIV Infection, and HIV Co-infection with HCV, HBV, or TB

Areas that may be of interest to small businesses include, but are not limited to:

• Development of therapies to mitigate alcohol-associated adverse impact on the development of viral-related liver and/or lung diseases.
• Development of biomarkers for alcohol-induced damage in those patients with HIV infection or co-infection.

  
For basic research questions on alcohol and HIV, and HIV co-infection, contact:

H. Joe Wang, PhD
Telephone: 301-451-0747
Email: Joe.Wang1@nih.gov

For clinical or epidemiological questions on HIV, contact:

Kendall J. Bryant, PhD
Telephone: 301-402-9389
Email: Kendall.Bryant@nih.gov

Innovative self-report, biological, and/or common clinical measures for the identification and diagnosis of frailty related to alcohol use among alcohol-using HIV patients and those with related comorbidities are sought.

• Should be tested in the widest range of individuals, including but not limited to racial, ethnic and gender identity minorities, at various trajectories of progression of HIV disease and patterns of alcohol use. In particular, information from measures should be able to accurately identify individuals who are “sick quitters” and/or have high degree of frailty due to either past and/ or current alcohol use. 
• This clinical decision-making tool should be of greatest value to diagnostic assessment and interventions within clinical settings and may include the development of audio, visual, and/or training modules to support the use of appropriate diagnostic index(es) across linguistic groups.
• Support of an electronic internet site for scoring and collection of information on HIV disease characteristics, frailty and patterns of alcohol use in clinical populations, and to provide information on a range of options for assessment of alcohol use severity in HIV+ populations (e.g. brief assessment instruments, calendar methods, biological markers, etc.).
• Identification of current and emerging methods for behavioral and/or biological intervention to reduce alcohol use in the context of HIV and improve clinical outcomes.

Kendall J. Bryant, PhD 
Telephone: 301-402-0332
Email: Kendall.Bryant@nih.gov
 

Areas of interest include, but are not limited to:

• Development of tools/kits for early detection and to measure AA-adducts and AGEs in serum, CSF, brain and other organs of AUDs in animal models and in pre-clinical settings and their relationship to the biomarkers of neuro-inflammation.
• Development of tools/kits to measure AA-adducts and AGEs, like other oxidative and carbonyl stress end products; advanced lipoperoxidation end products (ALE) and advanced oxidation protein products (AOPP).
• Development of tools to study interaction of AA-adducts and AGEs with RAGE (Receptor for AGEs) and measurement of structural damage to the extracellular matrix and other components.
• Measurement of AGE–RAGE mediated activation of nuclear factor NF-B, cytokines and growth factors genes and increased expression of neuro-inflammatory molecules.

Mohammed Akbar, PhD
Telephone: 301-443-6009
Email: Akbarm@mail.nih.gov

Areas of interest include, but are not limited to:

• Development of rapid and cost-effective RNA seq methods/technologies in human blood cells
• Characterization of the gene expression profile in human blood cells of AUD subjects.  
• Identification and validation of specific gene profile signature as biomarkers in AUD subjects.
• Development of technology/device for rapid screening different stages of alcohol use and AUD 

Abbas Parsian, PhD 
Telephone: 301-443-5733
E-mail: Parsiana@nih.gov