Gene delivery could lead to clinical treatments that eliminate the need for liver transplants, an expensive, dangerous and traumatic therapy that is not always effective. David Brenner's efforts provide an example of an approach linking the laboratory to the clinic providing the best possible likelihood of moving discoveries in the laboratory to improving treatment of a human disease. The opening of the Alcohol and Substance Abuse Program provides a new clinical link for the Center for Alcohol Studies research faculty to involve their laboratory research studies in ways that could improve the diagnosis and treatment of alcoholism. Breese, Criswell, Crews, Garbutt, Kampov, McCown, Morrow, Overstreet, and Li all have active projects that could easily include certain clinical components that might contribute to improved therapy and diagnosis within the program. We know that alcoholism is a brain disease, and the Center for Alcohol Studies is blessed with some of world's best neuroscientists.
Research is slow and progressive and projects take considerable time to develop.
It will likely be a long journey to solve all of the clinical problems of alcoholism. However, every journey starts with the first step and the opening of our ASAP treatment program is an important step forward for the Center for Alcohol Studies. It provides the structure to integrate basic brain laboratory research with clinical therapies, similar to ongoing work on liver disease.