COGA: a long-term family program on alcohol use disorder
Official title: COGA Administrative Core
Funded at Suny Downstate Medical Center · NIH-11195690 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This program follows families affected by alcohol use disorder to learn how genes, brain health, and life experiences influence drinking and recovery as people get older.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Suny Downstate Medical Center NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Brooklyn, United States) |
| Project start | September 29, 1989 |
| Project end | August 31, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $69,585 |
| NIH project number | 5U10AA008401-37 |
| Project ID | NIH-11195690 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal participants are adults from families with multiple members affected by alcohol use disorder, especially people aged 40 and older who are willing to provide health information and biological samples.
✕Less likely to help
People without a family history of alcohol problems or those seeking immediate treatment changes may not receive direct personal benefit from participation.
What this research studies
You and your family may be asked to share medical and drinking histories, complete interviews and cognitive and brain function tests, and give blood or saliva for genetic and molecular studies. The project combines long-term follow-up, detailed family histories, neurophysiology measures, and genomewide data stored in a biospecimen bank. Teams at multiple sites coordinate through this administrative core to keep visits, data, and samples consistent. The current work adds new assessments focused on people aged 40 and older to study midlife and later-life risks and outcomes.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could help predict who is at higher risk for ongoing alcohol problems and guide more personalized prevention and treatment strategies.
How similar studies have gone: COGA is one of the largest and longest-running family studies of alcoholism and has already identified genetic and brain-related markers linked to alcohol use disorder, while the focus on older adults is a newer expansion.
Where this research is happening
-
Suny Downstate Medical Center
Brooklyn, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Porjesz, Bernice — Suny Downstate Medical Center
- Study coordinator: Porjesz, Bernice
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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.