# Developmental Exposure Alcohol Research Center

> **NIH NIH P50** · STATE UNIVERSITY OF NY,BINGHAMTON · 2020 · $1,574,290

## Abstract

The Developmental Exposure Alcohol Research Center (DEARC) is a successful, rapidly evolving 
alcohol research center that has been funded by NIAAA since 2009.  The DEARC is an integrative, 
multidisciplinary center located at Binghamton University, one of four University Centers within 
the State University of New York (SUNY) system. The DEARC is unique in its focus on basic research 
to examine functional effects and neural consequences of ethanol exposure throughout extended 
periods of central nervous system development - inquiries that are of particular importance given 
the increasing recognition that alcoholism is a disorder with strong roots in development. Through 
the use of integrative research teams with broad interdisciplinary expertise and experience, the 
DEARC is distinctively positioned to focus its research efforts on determining the interactions 
between neurodevelopmental processes and alcohol, with a particular focus on two key points in 
development when the immature nervous system is particularly likely to be exposed to alcohol: 
prenatally through maternal alcohol consumption and during adolescence, when many youth first 
initiate alcohol use. The DEARC will include four Main research components that use established 
rodent models and integrative  cellular, molecular, genomic, neuroanatomical, physiological and 
behavioral studies to explore functional and neural consequences of developmental exposures to 
alcohol. Projects also include an emphasis on
sex-specific neurobehavioral processes, such as social context and anxiety, that promote alcohol 
consumption
during adolescence. Pilot projects will be vetted and supported by a Pilot Project Core designed to 
further strengthen the DEARC while encouraging the development of new alcohol researchers. Critical 
support for all projects is provided by thea Behavioral Resources, Analysis and Integative 
Neuroscience (BRAIN) Core to support and integrate projects with genomic, molecular, and 
neuroanatomical expertise. Management, oversight and coordination of scientific effort is provided 
by an Administrative Core. The over-arching theme for these projects is that exposure of the 
developing nervous system to alcohol alters neural development and influences later responsiveness 
to alcohol in ways that exacerbate the normal propensity for enhanced alcohol use during 
adolescence, thereby increasing the probability of alcohol use and abuse in adulthood.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10006492
- **Project number:** 5P50AA017823-12
- **Recipient organization:** STATE UNIVERSITY OF NY,BINGHAMTON
- **Principal Investigator:** Terrence Deak
- **Activity code:** P50 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $1,574,290
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2009-09-01 → 2024-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10006492

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10006492, Developmental Exposure Alcohol Research Center (5P50AA017823-12). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10006492. Licensed CC0.

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