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UB awarded $1.8M grant for study

Business First - by Tracey Drury
Date: Wednesday, December 15, 2010, 6:39pm EST

A research scientist at the University at Buffalo will expand her work into fetal alcohol spectrum disorders with help from a new federal grant.

Roh-Yu Shen, senior research scientist at the University at Buffalo’s Research Institute on Addictions (RIA), won the $1.8 million grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

The award supports a five-year investigation of the effects of prenatal ethanol — or alcohol — exposure on later behaviors associated with an increased risk for addiction in animal models.

Findings from the research will be used to understand the risk factors of human addiction and, ultimately, the study will add to the body of knowledge about brain mechanisms that lead to increased risk of addiction following prenatal ethanol exposure.

Ultimately, understanding how the systems work could lead to better treatment for children later in life. It may also provide insights on how to better prevent of addiction in general.

Shen is also a research assistant professor in department of pathology and anatomical sciences within the UB School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, and is a research associate professor in the department of psychology.

The research team includes co-investigators Samir Haj-Dahmane, RIA senior research scientist; and Cynthia Dlugos, research assistant professor in the department of pathology and anatomical sciences. Others consulting on the study include Jerry Richards, a RIA senior research scientist.

Founded in 1970, the RIA became a research center within UB in 1999.