# Adolescent Markers of Depression and the Impact of Alcohol Use

> **NIH NIH K23** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO · 2023 · $76,409

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
 This K23 award will allow Dr. Meruelo to become an expert on the relationship between adolescent
alcohol use and depression. During his training, he proposes to address that untreated alcohol use
disorder and depression lead to poor health outcomes ultimately affecting both quality and quantity of life.
Dr. Meruelo plans to use an innovative approach and multiple imaging techniques of the National
Consortium on Alcohol and Neurodevelopment in Adolescence (NCANDA), in a longitudinal study to identify
brain features that address the temporal relationship between these two comorbid disorders. Identifying
risk factors is of critical importance to anticipating which individuals would benefit from earlier
interventions and treatment to reduce morbidity and mortality directly. The award will provide him the
support needed to develop expertise in four areas: (1) adolescent alcohol use and major depression, (2)
neuroimaging and brain development, (3) advanced statistics, and (4) execution of longitudinal studies.
 To achieve the K23's goals, Dr. Meruelo has assembled an expert multidisciplinary team. Drs Tapert
and Brown will facilitate guidance and access to the activities of and NCANDA data that addresses one of
NIAAA's major initiatives. They will also provide expertise in adolescent alcohol use and comorbid
depression and on planning, recruiting, and implementing longitudinal study designs with adolescents, as
well as career and mentorship on the responsible conduct of research. Dr. Schuckit will provide expertise
on comorbidity between alcohol and depression and other career development skills. Dr. Thomas will
provide training in advanced longitudinal analyses of associated data.
 The K23 research specific aims are to identify whether the causal relationships between adolescent
alcohol use and long-term depression using latent difference score models to distinguish cause and effect
(Aim 1). The common factor of stress and subsequent depression and/or substance use is critical to
understanding their impact on growing adolescents. The second (Aim 2) seeks to identify morphometrics
that predict the development of depression in healthy adolescents using: (a) Naïve Bayesian classifier,
and (b) principal component analysis with subsequent hierarchical linear regression. The necessary
NCANDA data is available to begin addressing central questions of the proposal. Additional data from later
years have become available during the K23 award period and is being incorporated into the analysis.
 An administrative supplement will provide bridge funding for a fellow to assist with additional investigations
needed to complete Aims 1 and 2, disrupted by the birth of my son and the COVID-19 pandemic, and
strengthen my grant applications in my path to becoming an independent investigator.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10852676
- **Project number:** 3K23AA026869-05S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO
- **Principal Investigator:** Alejandro Daniel Meruelo
- **Activity code:** K23 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $76,409
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2019-09-01 → 2025-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10852676

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10852676, Adolescent Markers of Depression and the Impact of Alcohol Use (3K23AA026869-05S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10852676. Licensed CC0.

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