News

Dr. Robert Messing Receives the Civitatis Award from the UT Office of the President

April 2, 2024

Congratulations to Dr. Robert Messing for being awarded The Civitatis Award!

The Civitatis Award is conferred upon one or two members of the faculty each year in recognition of dedicated and meritorious service to the University above and beyond the regular expectations of teaching, research, and service. Recipients are deemd to be a person of such integrity, stature, demonstrated ability and renown that the university community, including alumni, faculty, staff and students,

INIA-N Researchers Gather in Austin for 2024 Annual Meeting

January 30, 2024

INIA-N researchers gathered in Austin, TX on Jan 22-23, for the annual meeting. Members of INIA labs from across the country and the world attended in person and remotely to discuss results, progress and future directions and goals of the consortium.

Dr. Angela Ozburn receives grant funding for a post-doctoral fellowship training plan

September 11, 2023

Dr. Angela Ozburn's Institutional Research and Academic Career Development Award (IRACDA at OHSU) grant application was funded by NIGMS. Drs. Angela Ozburn, Letisha Wyatt, and Peter Barr-Gillespie at OHSU partnered with Drs. Andy Saultz and Talina Corvus at Pacific University to create this structured

Dayne Mayfield invited to the National Advisory Council on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

September 8, 2023

Dr. Dayne Mayfield was invited by the Secretary of Health and Human Services to serve a 3 year term on the National Advisory Council on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. The Council will advise and make recommendations to the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) on the policies and activities carried out by the NIAAA.

Research Highlight: Drs. Regina Mangieri and Angela Ozburn's publication highlighted in Nature News

February 6, 2023

Drs. Regina Mangieri and Angela Ozburn co-publishes with other members of the INIA consortia in the Journal of Clinical Investigations. The research article, entitled "Pre-clinical and clinical evidence for suppression of alcohol intake by apremilast", provides evidence that Apremilast, a medication originally by the FDA to treat the skin disease psoriasis, can also reduce excessive alcohol consumption in people who drink excessively by inhibiting an enzyme that is linked to alcohol dependence.

Dr. Nihal Salem is honored with the ESBRA Young Investigator Award

September 8, 2022

Dr. Nihal Salem received the European Society for Biomedical Research on Alcoholism (ESBRA) Young Investigator Award (2022) at the 14th Congress of ESBRA (September 8th – 11th 2013) Warsaw, Poland. Dr. Salem is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Mayfield lab at the Waggoner Center for Alcohol & Addiction Research. Her current work focuses on utilizing single cell and spatial transcriptomics to identify molecular mechanisms mediating escalation of alcohol consumption and using drug repurposing to identify

Dr. Amy Lasek joined Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU)

August 1, 2022

Dr. Amy Lasek joined Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) as a Professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology. She will lead her alcohol research program in her lab at VCU and interact extensively with alcohol researchers in the NIAAA-funded VCU Alcohol Research Center.

Dr. Robert Messing awarded RSA's 2021 Distinguished Researcher Award

March 29, 2021

Dr. Robert Messing has been awarded RSA's 2021 DISTINGUISHED RESEARCHER AWARD! This award recognizes a senior researcher who has made outstanding scientific contributions to the alcohol field, has demonstrated a sustained long-term commitment to conducting alcohol research, and has a substantial record of publication in the field. Dr. Messing was selected from the nominations received and then voted on by the RSA Awards Committee

INIA-N research featured at the Scripps Research Institute and The University of Texas at Austin

July 23, 2020

INIA-N researchers reveal the Brain’s Immune Cells are a Central Driver of Alcohol Use Disorder. The multifaceted approach is the first to link microglia to the molecular, cellular, and behavioral changes associated with the development of alcohol dependence, suggesting that microglia may also be critical for the development and progression of alcohol use disorder. Read more in the press release from

Research Highlight: INIA-N affiliate, Emma Erickson, featured in Neuropsychopharmacology