NIAAA-Funded Alcohol Training Grant
”Multi-Disciplinary Training in the Biology of Alcoholism”
 Director:  David P. Friedman, Ph.D.

An alcohol training grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) was awarded to the Department of Physiology & Pharmacology to provide pre-doctoral and post-doctoral fellows with financial support to conduct alcohol research in the laboratories of faculty members of the Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

There are three separate Ph.D. degree programs for predoctoral trainees available within this training grant: Biochemistry, Physiology/Pharmacology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience. Successful completion of the Ph.D.depends upon performance in a combination of course work, laboratory research, and the defense of a Ph.D. dissertation. Predoctoral students enter the alcohol training program after they have successfully completed their first year of graduate work in one of these three programs. At the time of entrance into the training program, they chose as an advisor a member of the alcohol training program faculty. In combination with their advisor, the student selects a three member Evaluation Committee composed of training grant faculty, including at least one member of the Executive Committee. It is possible that some exceptionally motivated students could be considered for inclusion in the training program at the start of their graduate career but in most cases this would be unlikely. The time frame for predoctoral fellows in the alcohol training program would be 3-4 years (out of a total of 4-5 years in graduate school). For postdoctoral fellows, the emphasis is on laboratory training, with a time frame of 2-3 years. Some postdoctoral fellows may wish to take advantage of advanced course work available in areas complementary to their graduate training. These courses and their appropriateness will be determined on an individual basis by the faculty preceptor and the training grant Executive Committee.

The principal goal of the Alcohol Training Program is to develop investigators capable of successfully conducting independent research on the problems of alcohol abuse and alcoholism. Graduates of the program will be expected to develop their careers further by performing postdoctoral research with an emphasis on alcohol-related problems. Postdoctoral trainees will complete their training qualified to start an independent academic career with an emphasis on alcohol issues.

Graduate students are selected from a pool of individuals submitting applications in response to advertisements in appropriate sources for each program.  Selection is based on undergraduate achievement of the highest standards as evidenced in GRE scores, didactic course work, research accomplishments, letters of reference and the statement of training goals of the applicant. All students will be accepted first into the appropriate Department or Program and will be required to meet their criteria. Acceptance into the Alcohol Training Program will be decided by the Executive Committee in consultation with the training grant faculty. Accepted students will have their choice to work with any of the training grant faculty, provided that faculty member has the resources (including funding, space and time) to accommodate the student. If possible, the selection of faculty mentor will be determined before the student's admittance to the program, in order to maximize student-faculty efforts.

Postdoctoral fellows will be chosen from applicants who respond to advertisements in appropriate scientific journals (eg., Science) and from recruitment interviews held at national scientific meetings. Individuals judged to have a high potential for research training and contribution to the alcohol research field will be given preference. Criteria for selection will be based on graduate performance, curriculum vitae, career goals of the candidate and the training availability within the program. All postdoctoral trainees will need adequate space and support from the preceptor faculty member with whom they will work, which depending on each faculty members commitment, will also influence candidate selection. While every effort will be made to allow some choice for the postdoctoral candidates, the need for adequate resources to meet the candidate’s goals will be taken into consideration before admittance into the program.
 

Please keep in mind, because we are funded by the NIAAA, any person interested in applying must be a United States Citizen or a permanent resident of the United States.
If you are interested in receiving more information on the Training Grant or any other programs, please contact:

Diane Joyner
Center for the Neurobehavioral Study of Alcohol
Department of Physiology and Pharmacology
Medical Center Boulevard
Winston-Salem, North Carolina   27157-1083
email: djjoyner@wfubmc.edu