G x E: a NIAAA workshop on gene-environment interactions.

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) sponsored a May 2002 workshop on gene-environment interaction (G x E) research to identify potential roadblocks to further research and to propose solutions to those roadblocks, to optimize investigative opportunities and multidisciplinary or multi-institution collaborations, and to explore ways that NIAAA can facilitate G x E studies. Sessions included panels on animal models; phenotypes; genetic findings in humans; study designs and analytical methods; and assessment of environmental risk. Key among the identified challenges to progress in G x E research were issues of study design and sampling strategies; logistic and methodological costs and constraints; availability and understanding of data analysis techniques; potential stigmatization of study populations; and organizational/bureaucratic structures that are inadequate to address the unique needs of large-scale, multicenter, longitudinal projects. Participants proposed a series of recommendations to address these issues. Session coordinators included: Gayle Boyd, Kendall Bryant, Page Chiapella, Vivian Faden, David Goldman, and Antonio Noronha. Session participants included: Laura Almasy, Henri Begleiter, Raul Caetano, Bruce Dudek, Mary Dufour, Cindy Ehlers, Mary-Anne Enoch, Joel Gelernter, David Goldman, Bridget Grant, Lorraine Gunzerath, Deborah Hasin, Andrew Heath, Victor Hesselbrock, J. Dee Higley, Shirley Hill, Kerry Jang, Raynard S. Kington, Rick Kittles, George Koob, Kenneth Leonard, Ting-Kai Li, Jeffrey Long, William McBride, Matthew McGue, Kathleen Merikangas, Tamara Phillips, Bernice Porjesz, Carol Prescott, Theodore Reich, John Rice, Richard Rose, Charmaine Royal, Arnold Sameroff, Marc Schuckit, Kenneth Sher, Renee Sieving, Robert Taylor, Michael Windle, and Robert Zucker.