Training
Training Program Overview
The Alcohol Research Group (ARG), in partnership with the School of Public Health at the University of California Berkeley (UC Berkeley), offers a training program that is designed to provide support and training to both pre- and postdoctoral Fellows engaged in alcohol-related research. The training program is funded by National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) grant titled "Graduate Research Training on Alcohol Problems" (grant # T32 AA007240) and has supported over 230 such trainees since 1971.
Our training program focuses on the incidence, prevalence, etiology, and treatment of alcohol abuse, alcohol dependence and alcohol-related problems - including distribution of alcohol use disorders (by gender and by ethnicity), their behavioral antecedents, identification and handling by health services (formal and informal), and the public health and policy implications.
Studies at ARG examine alcohol-related mortality, detailed measurement of alcohol consumption, the role of alcohol in injuries including interpersonal violence, alcohol and homelessness, mutual help organizations such as Alcoholics Anonymous, the role of social networks in recovery from alcohol problems, the effectiveness of different types of treatment programs, biofeedback, interventions to reduce fetal alcohol syndrome, and more. We regularly conduct large probability surveys of Americans' drinking habits, with data available since the 1970's for studying trends in consumption and problems, age-period cohort effects, and other epidemiological and health services questions. Our local and national data enable researchers to focus on ethnic minorities, immigrants, and health disparities including the role of poverty, social class, discrimination, stressors, and cultural norms. Mentors are available with expertise in each of these areas. Methodologies cover a wide range including survey research, ethnography, and advanced statistical and epidemiological methods. To learn more about ARG, click here.
Specific examples of several ongoing opportunities and projects include:
- National Alcohol Survey Data: 1979-2005
Age period cohort effects; impact of taxation & other economic factors on consumption; improving the accuracy of alcohol measurement; alcohol's impact on health; alcohol consumption & mortality. - Health Services Research
Treatment system change; treatment outcome trials; studies of Alcoholics Anonymous; sober living houses, spirituality in recovery; treatment access; treatment readiness. - Alcohol And Injury
Secondary analysis of longitudinal data sets on alcohol and injury in the ER. - Health Disparities
Secondary analysis of local & national data to explore the role of poverty, social class, discrimination, stressors, and cultural norms in disparities in health and services access; social welfare organizations. - Ethnic Minorities
Analysis of national & local data sets focusing on subgroups such as Latinos, African-Americans, Cambodians, etc. - Immigrants
Secondary analysis of qualitative data on immigrant experiences & drinking with a focus on social & economic adaptation & acculturation.
Eligibility and Term of Fellowship
Fellowships are granted for 1-2 years for both pre- and postdoctoral fellows. Trainees attend weekly seminars and brown bag presentations at ARG and meet with their ARG mentors regularly.
Predoctoral fellows conduct alcohol research related to their dissertation topic, while postdoctoral fellows can either launch directly into a project of interest (1-year Fellowship) or first spend a year enhancing their research skills and knowledge in alcohol studies, then conduct an individual research project in their second year (2-year Fellowship). Within the first year, Postdoctoral fellows are required to publish at least one paper from their dissertation, write a comprehensive literature review on an alcohol topic and do a third paper involving data analysis with a mentor.
Fellows must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents. Predoctoral fellows must be University of California students and postdoctoral fellows must have academic or professional doctoral degrees.
Director
The director of the training program is Lee Ann Kaskutas, DrPH, Senior Scientist at ARG and Associate Adjunct Professor at UC Berkeley. To learn more about Lee Kaskutas, click here.
The Mentoring Relationship
Mentoring is key strength of the training program's success. Fellows work closely with scientists who are experts in their area of study. To view ARG's scientists, click here.
Further Information
For more information on the program and application process, please write to:
Vicky Fagan, Training Program Administrator
Alcohol Research Group
6475 Christie Avenue, Suite 400
Emeryville, CA 94608-1010
Telephone: (510) 597-3440
Email:
