The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded the Yale School of Medicine
$23.4 million to study the interactive effects of stress and self-control on
tobacco smoking, excessive drinking and overeating.
T H I S
Yale was one of nine institutions, from among 100 applicants, to receive the
five-year grant from NIH’s Roadmap for Medical Research initiative. The
grant is intended to integrate aspects of different disciplines to address health
challenges that have been resistant to traditional approaches.
NIH Director Dr. Elias Zerhouni says the idea is to transform the way research
is conducted. “These programs are designed to encourage and enable change
in academic research culture to make interdisciplinary research easier to conduct
for scientists who wish to collaborate in unconventional ways,” he notes.
Yale School of Medicine Dean Dr. Robert Alpern says: “Yale scientists have
a long and distinguished record of discovery in fields that relate to stress,
self-control and substance abuse, including psychiatry, neurobiology, imaging
science, pharmacology and psychology. These resources — and the structure
for cross-disciplinary research that will result from the award — will
greatly accelerate the pace of discovery and are very likely to change the way
we think about and treat addictive behavior.”
Yale’s consortium is headed by Rajita Sinha, professor of psychiatry.
She says key factors in Yale’s winning the grant were the medical school’s
experience in organizing large scientific programs and centers, and the number
of senior level scientists already engaged in the related research. “A
key aspect of having these established research programs are the training opportunities
that this grant will make available to junior scientists,” Sinha says.
The consortium will be based at the newly established Yale Stress Center and
will involve 60 scientists from Yale as well as two collaborating institutions,
the University of California at Irvine and Florida State University. There are
10 different research projects that look primarily at stress and self-control
mechanisms that perpetuate and maintain the use and overuse of tobacco, alcohol
and unhealthy foods.
The goal, Sinha says, is to develop new pharmacological and/or behavioral interventions
to prevent and treat the compulsion and loss of control that accompanies tobacco
smoking, alcohol abuse, and overeating rich and highly palatable food. “We
also want to map out stress and environmental factors and biological and physiological
changes that result in individual maladaptive behaviors,” she says.
This is the second major Roadmap for Medical Research grant that the School of
Medicine received from NIH. In October 2006, Yale was awarded a $57.3 million
Clinical and Translational Science Award aimed at transforming how biomedical
researchers move laboratory discoveries into human studies, enabling faster and
more efficient development of new therapies.
W E E K ' SS T O R I E S
University is welcoming its most diverse freshman class in history
Yale will bring educational treasures to iTunesU
Appointments Announced
Yale College deans for student and Native American affairs
Deputy provosts for science, faculty development
Coordinator of community programs in science
Yale Arab Alumni Association launched this summer
Yalies get taste of Hollywood as ‘Indiana Jones’ extras
SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT NEWS
Five new faculty members begin teaching this fall
Students win championship round of new game show
New clinic offers free aid to local businesses, non-profits
Jeffrey Sonnenfeld cited as a business school ‘All Star’
DeVane Lectures to explore impact of performing arts
Scientists discover that evolution is driven by gene regulation
Exhibit explores fusion of fact and fiction in pirate portrayals
Also on view at the Beinecke Library
Exhibit features landscapes by photographer Jem Southam
Volunteers will again help during ‘Days of Caring’
Show celebrates East Asia collection’s 100th anniversary
Appointments at Center for Bioethics include a new director, David Smith
New residential college deans named
Events explore topics of reconciliation and ‘laws common to all mankind’
Yale Art Museums’ Open House to feature music, tours and more
Yale Library unveils blog and search tool
OISS seeking hosts for its Community Friends program
IN MEMORIAM
Letty Russell: Feminist theologian, leader in ecumenical movement
Brevard S. Childs: Influential Old Testament scholar, beloved teacher
Memorial service to be held for astronomy researcher Dorrit Hoffleit
Campus Notes
Bulletin Home|Visiting on Campus|Calendar of Events|In the News
Bulletin Board|Classified Ads|Search Archives|Deadlines
Bulletin Staff|Public Affairs|News Releases|
E-Mail Us|Yale Home