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Research Focus
Understanding genetic risk and protective factors for alcoholism in Native, African and Hispanic Americans.
Our laboratory has been studying natural variation in the genes that encode the structure of the enzymes that metabolize alcohol between ethnic groups and conducting genome-wide scans for other genes that influence the development of alcoholism. The goal of our studies is to identify candidate genes that encode for the neurophysiological processes that underlie drug dependence. Genetic information is combined with data on clinical course and environmental risk factors with the aim of: describing the etiology of substance dependence; and developing prevention and intervention programs appropriate to the different ethnic groups.