This is an application for a cooperative agreement (U54), “Partnerships to Enhance Alcohol Research across NCCU and UNC (PEAR-NC),” between faculties of North Carolina Central University (NCCU), a Historically Black College or University, and the Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies (BCAS) at the University of North Carolina (UNC) School of Medicine. This proposal represents a true collaborative effort between the NCCU and UNC faculty with both groups contributing significant effort and being essential to the success of this Alcohol and Health Disparities program. Within this proposal, an NCCU Administrative Core and three Research Components will integrate with the UNC-BCAS Administrative Research Components, as well as other activities at the Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies. The UNC NIAAA Alcohol Research Center (ARC) and BCAS have many faculty studying mechanisms of alcohol pathology across the spectrum of behavioral, tissue, and cellular pathologies that occur with alcohol exposure. This proposal will focus on cellular pathologies that allow collaborative research partnerships on common areas of interest between UNC and NCCU faculty. These partnerships open UNC research laboratories, core facilities, and medical libraries to NCCU faculty, improving opportunities for developing productive research laboratories at NCCU. In addition, due to recent NCCU NIAAA R awards, large numbers of NCCU students will continue to become involved in research on mechanisms of alcohol pathology, providing education on African American alcohol-related health disparities which are due to increased morbidity to alcohol-related pathologies and not increased alcohol use disorder. The objective of this U54 partnership is to investigate molecular mechanisms of alcohol-induced cellular pathology. This proposal includes three NCCU research projects, involving six NCCU faculty, that will investigate the molecular mechanisms of fetal alcohol pathology, alcohol-induced mammary stem cell toxicity, and neuroimmune responses in adolescent and adult brain. A second objective is to provide research experiences and scholarly education on alcohol pathology for NCCU students. The educational efforts in this proposal will involve NCCU undergraduate and graduate students through the BCAS seminar series, through training in UNC laboratories and research development and mentor meetings, attendance and presentation of data at the annual RSA meeting, an alcohol seminar series hosted by NCCU, new course curricula on alcohol pathology developed with a focus on health disparities, as well as specific undergraduate student summer internships for NCCU students to study and learn about alcohol pathology and health disparities within laboratories in both institutions. Ultimately, this proposal will conduct, promote, support, and mentor research into mechanisms of alcohol pathology, creating an active and successful alcohol research program within NCCU that synergizes with UNC to advance education and discoveries.

This proposed U54 Collaborative Partnership between NCCU and UNC involves increasing NCCU alcohol research and student research experiences in fetal alcohol toxicity, alcohol neurotoxicity, and alcohol-induced carcinogenesis and inflammation. Health disparities include increased severity of alcohol-related pathology. Collaborative partnerships that carry out integrated and focused research on the molecular mechanisms of alcohol pathology involving faculty and students from NCCU, a historically Black College or University, educate and involve future researchers on alcohol-related health disparities and provide opportunities for careers in medical fields as well as making discoveries on mechanisms that may lead to cures.