Allan C. Collins - Professor of Psychology and Pharmacology, Department of Psychology. Professor Collins is a biochemical pharmacologist whose primary research specialization is neurochemistry. His current research interests include neurochemical correlates of nicotine use, tolerance development, and withdrawal; neurochemical bases of alcohol tolerance; biochemical bases of behavior; and use of genetics as a tool to determine the mechanism of action of drugs.

John C. DeFries - Professor, Department of Psychology. Professor DeFries' primary field of specialization is quantitative behavioral genetics. His current research interests include twin and adoption studies of human cognitive abilities; the genetics of learning disabilities; and the use of DNA markers to map quantitative trait loci (QTLs) that influence behavioral characters.

Richard A. Deitrich - Professor, Department of Pharmacology, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver. Professor Deitrich is a pharmacologist whose current research concerns the molecular basis of the actions of alcohol. His research uses genetically selected lines of mice and rats to discover mechanisms of central nervous system depression, tolerance and dependence. These data are used to identify specific genes responsible for these actions in animals, and eventually to identify similar genes in humans at risk for development of alcoholism.

V. Gene Erwin - Professor of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy. Scientific Director of the University of Colorado Alcohol Research Center, 1992-present. Professor Erwin's research has been in biochemical neuro-pharmacology. Studies have focused on using pharmacogenetics as a tool for understanding the neuropharmacology and neurochemistry of alcohol and cocaine. Recent studies have focused on genetic correlations and quantitative trait locus analyses for alcohol- and cocaine-related behaviors and for brain neurotensin and dopamine receptors.

John K. Hewitt - Director of IBG and Professor of Psychology, CU Boulder; Professor of Psychiatry (Attendant Rank), School of Medicine, UCHSC; President of the Behavior Genetics Association, 2000-01; Editor-in-Chief, Behavior Genetics. Professor Hewitt uses cross-sectional and longitudinal studies of twins and families to study behavioral development, and genetic and environmental influences on behavior, personality, and health. His recent research has focused on the development of behavior problems in childhood and adolescence, vulnerability to drug use, abuse, and dependence, genetics and health, and linkage and association studies of behavioral traits.

Kent Hutchison - Professor, Department of Psychology. Dr Hutchison's research focuses on the examination of mechanisms that underlie substance abuse and dependence (e.g., craving and drug reinforcement), the study of individual difference variables that may moderate these mechanisms, and the exploration of behavioral and pharmacological treatments that may moderate these mechanisms with the intention of reducing substance use.

Thomas E. Johnson - Professor of Behavioral Genetics, Department of Psychology. Dr. Johnson received the Kleemeier Award (the premier award in aging research) for his discovery of the first gerontogene, age-1, which doubles the life span and opened up a new area of scientific research. He is also cloning quantitative trait loci conferring sensitivity to alcohol in mice. His lab uses multiple techniques: behavioral, biochemical molecular, pharmacological, quantitative and genetic, to analyze both aging and the action of genes leading to addiction. For more information examine his URL http://ibgwww.colorado.edu/tj-lab.

Carol B. Lynch - Professor, Department of Environmental, Population, and Organismic Biology. Professor Lynch's research interests are the genetic basis of evolutionary adaptation and brain mechanisms underlying adaptive behaviors. Her current research uses a model system which has been the study of cold adaptation in mice, with emphasis on nest-building. This involves the use of replicated genetic lines of mice that have been selectively bred for over sixty generations for differences in nest-building. These lines also differ in genetically correlated traits, such as body weight and litter size, as well as circadian rhythms and brain (hypothalamus) neurochemistry and neuroanatomy. These lines facilitate studies of both constraints on adaptive evolution and the path from genes to behavior.

Richard K. Olson - Professor, Department of Psychology. Professor Olson is a developmental psychologist whose primary research is on the varieties, etiology and remediation of learning disorders. His research has examined the component processes in reading and related language skills that are associated with both normal and subnormal development. Heritability of these component processes is being evaluated through twin analyses. Current projects are focused on the use of computer speech feedback in the remediation of reading disabilities.

Bruce F. Pennington - Professor, Department of Psychology, and Director of the Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Program, University of Denver. Professor Pennington is a developmental neuropsychologist whose research focuses on understanding disorders of cognitive development. The disorders he studies include developmental dyslexia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and several mental retardation syndromes: early treated phenylketonuria, fragile X syndrome, Down syndrome, and infantile autism. The long-term goal of this work is to understand how different genetic influences alter brain development to produce the distinct profiles of cognitive strengths and weaknesses found in each of these disorders.

Dennis R. Petersen - Professor of Pharmacology and Pharmacogenetics, School of Pharmacy. Professor Petersen's research concerns biochemical pharmacology and toxicology of alcohols and aldehydes. This research focuses on enzyme systems in liver, kidney and brain that are involved in the biotransformation of endogenous and exogenous aldehydes. Of particular interest is the interaction of acute or chronic alcohol consumption with these enzymatic pathways. His recent research efforts have emphasized the use of genetics in studying the molecular and biochemical mechanisms underlying the hepatotoxic potential of various drugs and chemicals.

Richard Radcliffe - Assistant Professor of Pharmacology, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences. Dr. Radcliffe's research focuses on the genetic and molecular basis of drug and alcohol abuse. Current projects include gene expression microarray analyses of CNS systems involved in behavioral responses to methamphetamine and alcohol, QTL mapping of alcohol-related traits, mutagenesis approaches applied to the study of acute alcohol tolerance, and studies of the non-linear dynamics of the fear conditioning response.

Soo Rhee - Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology. Dr. Rhee's primary research interests are the etiology and development of childhood disruptive disorders, the etiology and development of substance use disorders, the causes of comorbidity between psychiatric disorders and substance use disorders, and the development of methods discriminating correct models for causes of comorbidity.

James Sikela - Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacology and Human Medical Genetics Program, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver. Dr. Sikela is a genome scientist and has been a key pioneer in the development of EST technology and large-scale human gene mapping. His laboratory was part of the international gene-mapping consortium that determined the chromosomal location for the majority of human genes. He contributed to the discovery of the PSN2 gene that causes Alzheimer's disease. Currently his research involves applying genomics approaches to the discovery of genes involved in alcoholism and drug abuse. His laboratory is also involved in the identification of genes important to hominoid evolution, including those that are specific to the human lineage.

Andrew Smolen - Research Associate, IBG. Dr. Smolen is a pharmacologist whose primary interests are in the areas of neurochemistry and pharmacogenetics. His current research activities include the assessment of the contribution of specific candidate genes to complex behaviors such as substance abuse and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

Michael C. Stallings - Dr. Stallings' research interests include quantitative genetics, substance abuse, and personality. His current research utilizes biometrical modeling and quantitative trait loci (QTL) methodology to understand genetic and environmental influences on the development of substance use disorders and comorbid psychopathology.

Boris Tabakoff - Professor and Chairman, Department of Pharmacology, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver. Professor Tabakoff's research concerns physiological, pharmacological, and biochemical correlates of alcohol and opiate/cannabinoid abuse. Current studies focus on behavioral genetic factors mediating tolerance development; the involvement of brain glutamate receptors in addiction; and the interaction of addictive drugs with adenylyl cyclase signaling in brain.

Jeanne M. Wehner - Professor of Psychology, Department of Psychology. Professor Wehner is a biochemist whose primary research interests are pharmacogenetics and neurobiology. Current projects include biochemical and genetic studies of learning and memory, the role of nicotinic receptors in modulation of learning and the role of protein kinase C in alcohol's actions.

Erik Willcutt- Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology, Department of Psychology. Professor Willcutt's current research focuses on the causes and consequences of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, learning disabilities, and their comorbidity. He uses genetic linkage and association techniques in studies of families and twins to identify genes that increase susceptibility to these difficulties.