Biological signs linked to alcohol problems in young people with bipolar disorder
Official title: Biological Risk Factors for the Prospective Development of Alcohol Use Disorders in Young Adults with Bipolar Disorder and Typically Developing Young Adults
Funded at University of Texas at Austin · NIH-11332456 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project will look for brain and stress-related signs that predict which young people with bipolar disorder and their peers may go on to develop alcohol problems.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Texas at Austin NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Austin, United States) |
| Project start | March 10, 2023 |
| Project end | February 29, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $627,359 |
| NIH project number | 5R01AA030038-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11332456 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Young people roughly 12 to 21 years old with bipolar disorder, as well as similarly aged peers without bipolar disorder, who can attend repeated visits at the research site.
✕Less likely to help
People outside the adolescent/young-adult age range or those unwilling or unable to undergo brain scans, alcohol administration, or repeated visits would not be eligible and would not receive direct benefit from participation.
What this research studies
You would join a multi-year study where researchers take brain scans and track how mood and reward networks develop over young adulthood. The study includes controlled alcohol sessions, brief stress exposures, clinical interviews, and collection of early life stress history. Researchers will compare young people with bipolar disorder to typically developing peers to find biological patterns tied to later alcohol use problems. Participation involves repeated clinic visits, imaging, and laboratory sessions at the research site.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the findings could help identify who is at higher risk for alcohol use disorders so clinicians can offer earlier prevention or tailored treatments.
How similar studies have gone: Prior studies have linked subjective alcohol responses and stress systems to later alcohol problems, but longitudinal multimodal imaging studies tracking these mechanisms over young adulthood in bipolar disorder are novel.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Texas at Austin
Austin, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Lippard, Elizabeth Thomas Cox — University of Texas at Austin
- Study coordinator: Lippard, Elizabeth Thomas Cox
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.