# Center for Genetic Studies of Drug Abuse in Outbred Rats

> **NIH NIH P50** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO · 2020 · $305,578

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract (Core B: HS Breeding Core)
The N/NIH heterogeneous stock (HS) breeding core, under the direction of Dr. Leah Solberg Woods at the
Wake Forest University School of Medicine (WFUSM), will provide HS rats to Research Project 1-3. HS
animals are outbred from eight inbred rat strains and maintained in a manner that minimizes inbreeding,
enabling the fine-mapping of quantitative trait loci (QTL). Dr. Solberg Woods’ laboratory has maintained the HS
rat colony since 2006 and hers is the only laboratory in the North America to house this unique resource. Over
the past four years as part of the P50 Center for Excellence HS Breeding Core, the HS rat colony has become
a national resource. We have sent rats to investigators both inside and outside the P50. Pilot and Feasibility
grants funded through the P50 have led to funding for four NIDA-funded U01 grants that use HS rats. The two
main goals of this core will be to 1) maintain the HS rat colony in a way that minimizes inbreeding and 2) ship a
genetically diverse set of HS rats to Research Projects 1-3. To minimize inbreeding and control genetic drift, as
well as to have sufficient rat to send to investigators within the P50 as well as currently funded U01 grants, the
HS rat colony will increase from 64 to 92 breeder pairs and will be maintained using a randomized breeding
strategy, ensuring that closely related animals are not bred together. The HS Breeding Core will ship HS rats
(male and female) four or five times per year to Research Projects 1-3 over a four year period, with Research
Project 1 receiving a limited number of rats in year 5. By providing a genetically diverse set of HS rats to
Research Projects 1-3, this Core will provide the back-bone for the studies proposed in this P50, namely the
genetic fine-mapping and identification of genes involved in behaviors related to substance use disorders.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9971498
- **Project number:** 5P50DA037844-08
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO
- **Principal Investigator:** Leah Catherine Solberg Woods
- **Activity code:** P50 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $305,578
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** — → —

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9971498

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9971498, Center for Genetic Studies of Drug Abuse in Outbred Rats (5P50DA037844-08). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9971498. Licensed CC0.

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