DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The purpose of the proposed K01 Mentored Research Scientist Development Award is to provide the candidate with research training experiences needed to support her career goal of becoming an alcohol investigator who aims to understand the interplay between genetic factors and close relationship factors in the onset, persistence, and discontinuity of alcohol misuse (i.e., risky drinking and alcohol use disorder). To expand her research career and support this career goal, the candidate's training goals under this award are to: (1) establish an integrated understanding of alcohol misuse in emerging adulthood that formally ties together her research interests in alcohol outcomes, romantic relationships, and behavior genetics; and (2) develop a solid foundation in the use and interpretation of advanced genetic (e.g., next generation sequencing), genomic (e.g., functional annotation), and statistical (e.g., structural equation modeling) methods needed to carry out an independent interdisciplinary program of research on gene-environment interplay in the development of alcohol misuse. These goals will be achieved through a structured series of mentored research experiences, a molecular genetics laboratory rotation, coursework/workshops in bioinformatics and statistical genetics, directed readings with mentors and collaborators who are experts in their respective fields, and exposure to clinical interventions for hazardous/harmful drinking. The candidate will also participate in additional activities to further support her career development including training in the responsible conduct of research, grant writing, and presenting research at professional conferences. The candidate will complete this training at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) under the primary mentorship of Dr. Danielle Dick (expertise in gene-environment interplay for alcohol use disorder), with co-mentorship provided by Dr. Thomas Dishion (expertise in pathways toward adolescent and adult substance use, with an emphasis on interpersonal factors), Dr. Mikhail Dozmorov (expertise in bioinformatics and biostatistics), and Dr. Shaunna Clark (expertise in structural equation modeling). Alcohol and behavior genetics are active areas of research at VCU, and thus the candidate has unparalleled support and resources to further her research career. The scientific objective of this proposal is to examine how alcohol dependence genetic predispositions influence pathways to emerging adulthood (ages 18-29) relationship quality and partner selection, and how characteristics of one's relationship and partner further shape trajectories of alcohol misuse. The central hypothesis is that gene-environment correlation (rGE) and gene-environment interaction (G x E) processes contribute to these pathways and trajectories. The candidate's approach leverages novel training in bioinformatics to characterize aggregate genetic risk for alcohol dependence by creating b...