Brain tissue bank for alcohol-related brain damage
Official title: Brain Tissue Resource Center for Alcohol Research
Funded at University of Sydney · NIH-11161583 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Collecting donated brain tissue and health information from people with long-term heavy alcohol use and matched controls to help researchers learn how alcohol harms the brain.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Sydney NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Sydney, Australia) |
| Project start | September 1, 2000 |
| Project end | June 30, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $489,982 |
| NIH project number | 5R28AA012725-26 |
| Project ID | NIH-11161583 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal contributors are people with a history of chronic heavy alcohol use who are willing to register as post-mortem donors, as well as matched control donors and families able to consent after a death.
✕Less likely to help
This program does not provide clinical treatment or immediate medical benefits to living patients seeking care for alcohol use disorder.
What this research studies
This program collects post-mortem brain tissue from people with a history of heavy alcohol use and from matched control donors, using both a prospective donor registry and forensic autopsy referrals. Donated brains are processed into fresh-frozen, formalin-fixed, and paraffin-embedded samples and stored under strict conditions to preserve quality. Detailed clinical and demographic information is recorded and linked to each sample while cases are chosen to minimize complicating medical conditions. Researchers around the world can request these well-characterized tissues to study alcohol-related brain damage at the cellular and molecular level.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: By providing high-quality human tissue and data, this resource could help researchers discover causes, biomarkers, and potential treatments for alcohol-related brain damage.
How similar studies have gone: Other brain banks have successfully supported important discoveries about neurodegeneration and substance-related brain changes, so this is an established and valuable approach.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Sydney
Sydney, Australia Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Sutherland, Greg Trevor — University of Sydney
- Study coordinator: Sutherland, Greg Trevor
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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.