# Long Non-Coding RNA Regulation of Alcohol Drinking Behavior

> **NIH NIH R00** · UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH · 2020 · $221,850

## Abstract

Project Summary / Abstract
The proposed Pathway to Independence Career Development Award is designed to build upon the previous
experience of the candidate and facilitate new scientific training geared towards understanding the
neurobiology of an alcohol use disorder. Alcoholism is a chronic relapsing condition that causes widespread
changes in gene expression throughout different brain regions and cell-types. Next-generation sequencing of
the transcriptome (RNA-seq) from postmortem brain tissue has shown dynamic changes in coordinately
expressed gene networks, encapsulating several hundred genes, related to an alcohol use disorder. Many of
the changes, witnessed in discrete areas of the human brain, are evolutionary conserved in the central nervous
system (CNS) within animal models of alcohol drinking behavior. The molecular machinery of the CNS is
comprised of interacting protein-coding and non-coding RNA; however, protein-coding genes represent less
than 2% of the total genome. Non-coding RNAs, such as long non-coding RNA (lncRNA), are an abundant part
of the mammalian transcriptome, having key functional and regulatory roles over vast transcriptional networks.
Identifying and testing the biological role of lncRNAs in the context of the brain and alcohol drinking behavior
will lead to an improved understanding of disease, and potentially may lead to new pharmacotherapies. During
the K99 training phase of this proposal the candidate will acquire news skills, tailored to complement his
existing experience, that will permit the investigation of an evolutionary conserved lncRNA involved in alcohol
drinking behavior. Drs. R. Adron Harris and R. Dayne Mayfield, both of whom are experts in the field of
alcoholism research, will directly mentor this project and provide assistance for interrogating the role of novel
molecular candidates in the neuropathology of addiction. Collectively this project will (1) perform targeted in-
depth sequencing of lncRNA, and discover affected molecular networks from (2) controlling lncRNA expression
in a specific brain region and (3) cell-types to discern the molecular mechanism and behavioral phenotypes
impacted by lncRNA. Integration of large-scale systems-based bioinformatics approaches with direct
examination of prioritized candidate(s) in animal models will establish lncRNA(s) as important mediators of
alcohol abuse and dependence. The training received under this career development award will provide the
necessary training to become an independent investigator in the field of alcohol and addiction research.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10112545
- **Project number:** 4R00AA024836-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH
- **Principal Investigator:** Sean P Farris
- **Activity code:** R00 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $221,850
- **Award type:** 4N
- **Project period:** 2020-05-01 → 2023-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10112545

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10112545, Long Non-Coding RNA Regulation of Alcohol Drinking Behavior (4R00AA024836-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10112545. Licensed CC0.

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