# Genetic and Environmental Risk for Alcohol and Eating Disorders Across Development

> **NIH NIH K01** · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · 2020 · $154,566

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Candidate: I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill (UNC-CH). My overarching career goal is to develop an independent NIH-funded program of
research that explicates the etiology of comorbid alcohol involvement (AI) and eating disorder (ED) pathology
using sophisticated and comprehensive statistical methodologies that incorporate both genetic and
environmental risk. I seek additional instruction in: (1) advanced training in ED and alcohol phenotypes; (2)
adolescent development; and (3) modern genomic analyses. Research Project: Existing data from the Child
and Adolescent Twin Study in Sweden (CATSS) will be leveraged with existing genome-wide association study
(GWAS) data from the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium (PGC) to explore the manner and extent to which the
comorbidity between AI and ED pathology are accounted for by genetic and environmental factors. Specific
aims are to: (1) obtain descriptive information and explore genetic and environmental effects on comorbid AI
and ED pathology in adolescence and young adulthood, and investigate the extent to which childhood
adversity affects this association; (2) identify shared genetic risk factors for AI and ED pathology; and (3)
develop and apply polygenic risk scores for AI and ED pathology to more comprehensively examine the
genetic etiology of these behaviors. This research will provide crucial information to explicate the comorbidity
between AI and ED pathology, as well as ultimately assist in developing targeted prevention strategies and
enhance early detection and tailored interventions for these debilitating behaviors. Environment: The research
and training will occur primarily at UNC-CH and secondarily at Washington University in St. Louis, MO
(Department of Psychiatry). Training at both institutions is essential in order to work with the statisticians who
are at the forefront of applying the methods proposed here to both AI and ED pathology. Mentors and
Collaborators/Consultants: The mentorship team includes primary mentor, Dr. Cynthia Bulik, a clinical
adolescent psychologist, internationally recognized ED specialist, and co-chair of the PGC-Eating Disorders
working group; and co-mentor, Dr. Arpana Agrawal, a genetic and psychiatric epidemiologist, internationally
recognized alcohol and substance use specialist, and co-chair of the PGC-Substance Use Disorders working
group. Collaborators/consultants are: Dr. Andrea Hussong (developmental psychologist specializing in
substance use and developmental trajectories); Dr. Paul Lichtenstein (genetic epidemiologist and CATSS PI);
Dr. Kari North (genetic epidemiologist specializing in GWAS); and Dr. Benjamin Neale (statistical geneticist
specializing in novel genomic analyses).

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9940993
- **Project number:** 5K01AA025113-04
- **Recipient organization:** UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL
- **Principal Investigator:** Melissa Anne Munn-Chernoff
- **Activity code:** K01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $154,566
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-06-05 → 2022-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9940993

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9940993, Genetic and Environmental Risk for Alcohol and Eating Disorders Across Development (5K01AA025113-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9940993. Licensed CC0.

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