Genetics of Substance Abuse Laboratory Institute of Behavioral Genetics phone: 303-492-1463 fax: 303-492-8063

Research Interests

• Identification of genes contributing to substance abuse in humans.


• The effects of exercise on alcohol-related phenotypes in mouse models.

Personnel

• Director: Marissa A. Ehringer, Ph.D.


• Research Associates: Helen Kamens, Ph.D., Xavier Gallego Moreno, Ph.D.


• Postdoctoral Fellows: Amber Flora, Ph.D.


• Graduate Students: Todd Darlington, B.A., Whitney Melroy, B.A.


• Undergraduate Students: Krista Johnson, Riley McCarthy, Ellen McDonald, Brian Wanner


• Professional Research Assistants: Ryan Cox, B.S., Jill Miyamoto, B.S.


• Collaborators: Matthew McQueen, John Hewitt, Michael Stallings, Susan Young, Robin Corley, Andrew Smolen, Allan Collins, Jerry Stitzel, Institute for Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado at Boulder; Christian Hopfer, Sherry Leonard, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver; Laura Bierut, School of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis.

Back row (L to R): Helen Kamens, Ryan Cox, Todd Darlington, Marissa Ehringer, Amber Flora, Whitney Melroy Front row (L to R): Xavi Gallego, Jill Miyamoto, Lizzy Funk, Krista Johnson

Current Research Projects

• Translational studies of human neuronal nicotinic receptor genes associated with alcohol and tobacco behaviors.


• Identification of rare, novel SNPs.


• Dense SNP mapping in large human samples.


• In vitro functional characterization of human SNPs.


• Behavioral testing of nAChR knock-out mice.


• Studies of the effects of voluntary wheel running on alcohol consumption in mice using a genetics approach.

Opportunities for Undergraduates

• Our lab is currently looking for an undergraduate to assist with ongoing mouse behavioral testing.
• The requirements for undergraduate students who want a research experience in our laboratory are:


• A major in Integrative Physiology.
• Either have completed or be concurrently enrolled in IPHY 2800 Introduction to Statistics.
• Enroll in Independent Study (IPHY 4860) for 8-10 hours/week for at least one semester.


• Interested students should complete this application and e-mail it to Marissa.Ehringer@colorado.edu

Videos

Recent Publications

• Ehringer MA, Hoft NR, Zunhammer M. Reduced alcohol consumption in mice with access to a running wheel. Alcohol 43: 443-452, 2009.


• Ehringer MA, McQueen MB, Hoft NR, Saccone N, Stitzel J, Wang JC, Bierut LJ. Association of CHRN genes with "dizziness" to tobacco. Neuropsychiatric Genetics 153B: 600-609, 2010.


• Hartman CA, Hopfer CJ, Haberstick BC, Rhee SH, Crowley TJ, Corley RP, Hewitt JK, Ehringer MA. The Association between Cannabinoid Receptor 1 Gene (CNR1) and Cannabis Symptoms in Adolescents and Young Adults. Drug and Alcohol Dependence 104: 11-16, 2009.


• Hoft NR, Corley RP, Smolen A, McQueen MB, Huizinga D, Menard S, Ehringer MA. SNPs in CHRNA6 and CHRNB3 are associated with alcohol consumption in a nationally representative sample. Genes, Brain, and Behavior 8: 631-637, 2009.


• Hoft NR, Stitzel JA, Hutchison KE, Ehringer MA. CHRNB2 promoter region: association with subjective effects to nicotine and gene expression differences. Genes, Brain, and Behavior 10: 176-185, 2011.


• Saccone NL, Culverhouse RC, Schwantes-An TH, Cannon DS, Chen X, Cichon S, Giegling I, Han S, Han Y, Keskitalo-Vuokko K, Kong X, Landi MT, Ma JZ, Short SE, Stephens SH, Stephens VL, Sun L, Wang Y, Wenzlaff AS, Aggen SH, Breslau N, Broderick P, Chatterjee N, Chen J, Heat AC, Heliovaara M, Hoft NR, Hunter DJ, Jensen MK, Martin NG, Montgomery GW, Niu T, Payne TJ, Peltonen L, Pergadia ML, Rice JP, Sherva R, Spitz MR, Sun J, Wang JC, Weiss RB, Wheeler W, Witt SH, Yang BZ, Caparaso NE, Ehringer MA, Eisen T, Gapstur SM, Gelernter J, Houlston R, Kaprio J, Kendler KS, Kraft P, Lepper MF, Li MD, Madden PAF, Nothen MM, Pillai S, Rietsche M, Rujescu D, Schwartz A, Amos CI, Bierut LJ. Multiple independent loci at chromosome 15q25.1 affect smoking quantity: a meta-analysis and comparison with lung cancer and COPD. PLoS Genetics 6, 2010.


• Sakai JT, Stallings MC, Crowley TJ, Gelhorn HL, Ehringer MA. Test of association between GABRA2 (SNP rs279871) and adolescent conduct/alcohol use disorders utilizing a sample of clinic referred youth with serious substance and conduct problems, controls and available first degree relatives. Drug and Alcohol Dependence 106: 199-203, 2010.

Funding

• 2009-2014, NIH, "Translational Studies of Nicotinic Receptor Genes: Alcohol and Nicotine".


• 2009-2011, NIH, "Nicotinic Receptor Genes & Substance Abuse: Functional Studies of Associated SNPs" (Principal Investigator as Multiple PI plan with Dr. Jerry Stitzel).