How the brain's immune system affects alcoholism
Official title: 1/11 Integrative Neuroscience Initiative on Alcoholism
Funded at University of Texas at Austin · NIH-11306624 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at how brain immune and inflammation systems contribute to heavy drinking and aims to find new treatment targets for people with alcohol use disorder.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Texas at Austin NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Austin, United States) |
| Project start | February 1, 2017 |
| Project end | January 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $469,167 |
| NIH project number | 5U24AA025479-10 |
| Project ID | NIH-11306624 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People with alcohol use disorder or a history of heavy drinking who are willing to join related clinical studies, donate samples, or provide health data would be most relevant.
✕Less likely to help
People who drink only occasionally or whose problems are driven purely by social or non-biological factors may not directly benefit from this research.
What this research studies
This program brings together labs that study genes, brain cells (including neurons and glia), and behavior in people and animals to understand why some people drink excessively. They use modern tools like single-cell and spatial transcriptomics, proteomics, and brain imaging, and repeat key tests across laboratories to make findings more reliable. The focus is on neuroimmune and neuroinflammatory pathways that might be targeted by drugs. Data from human samples and animal models are compared to improve the chance that discoveries will lead to treatments.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could point to new drug targets or biomarkers that lead to better treatments to reduce excessive drinking.
How similar studies have gone: Prior animal studies and some early human work link neuroimmune pathways to drinking and show promising preclinical results, but clear, widely effective clinical treatments based on this approach are not yet established.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Texas at Austin
Austin, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Messing, Robert O. — University of Texas at Austin
- Study coordinator: Messing, Robert O.
Related research
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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.