# Developmental Exposure Alcohol Research Center

> **NIH NIH P50** · STATE UNIVERSITY OF NY,BINGHAMTON · 2024 · $1,641,340

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
OVERALL COMPONENT
The Developmental Exposure Alcohol Research Center (DEARC) conducts critically needed, rigorous research
recognizing that alcohol misuse and Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) have deep roots in early development. Since
its inception, the DEARC has operated as a highly successful, rapidly evolving, integrative research center
located at Binghamton University. The central theme of the DEARC is that early developmental exposure to
alcohol makes individuals susceptible to alcohol misuse and development of AUD across the lifespan, thereby
compromising neurobehavioral function and the trajectory of healthy aging. The overarching purpose/goal of
the DEARC is to promote rapid gains in our understanding of alcohol action(s) on the developing brain, so that
effective treatments can be developed and optimized for the future. The Center provides the scientific
leadership and a unified scientific framework to guide multiple interconnecting projects toward a set of common
scientific objectives in ways that individual R-type grants could not. The DEARC will focus on two primary
neurodevelopmental periods when ethanol exposure is most prevalent: during gestation through maternal
consumption of alcohol; and during adolescent exposure, a key age for initiation of alcohol use characterized
by binge and high-intensity drinking that are less common for adults. Importantly, the proposed renewal
includes projects that will examine interactional influences of prenatal and adolescent alcohol exposure and
expands into a broader lifespan perspective by including hypotheses targeting effects of early alcohol exposure
on aging. Through the use of integrative research teams with broad interdisciplinary expertise, the DEARC is
distinctively positioned to achieve its 3 clearly defined scientific objectives: (1) To identify neurobehavioral
mechanisms contributing to heightened ethanol acceptance during adolescence, and how individual
characteristics (sex, genotype) moderate these effects; (2) To delineate the neurobehavioral effects of early life
(prenatal and adolescent) exposure to ethanol, and persistence of these effects across the lifespan; and (3) To
establish a mechanistic framework for understanding ethanol-mediated affective dysfunction, cognitive decline,
and pathological aging. This renewal application features 5 Main Research Components that use established
rodent models of fetal and/or adolescent ethanol exposure to explore mechanisms contributing to the cycle of
alcohol misuse and the adverse consequences of early developmental exposure to alcohol. Complementary
pilot projects will be vetted and supported by a Pilot Project Core designed to enrich and accelerate
achievement of DEARC scientific objectives, while also cultivating career paths for early career investigators
and promoting human, conceptual, and technical diversity. All components are supported by an Administrative
Core with a strong and well-established structure that will pr...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10740444
- **Project number:** 2P50AA017823-16
- **Recipient organization:** STATE UNIVERSITY OF NY,BINGHAMTON
- **Principal Investigator:** Terrence Deak
- **Activity code:** P50 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $1,641,340
- **Award type:** 2
- **Project period:** 2009-09-01 → 2029-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10740444

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10740444, Developmental Exposure Alcohol Research Center (2P50AA017823-16). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10740444. Licensed CC0.

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