Robert Messing, M.D., Center Director
Dorit Ron, Ph.D., Scientific Director
The Administrative Core manages all aspects of administration and scientific activities, planning, budget,
training, educational enrichment, and program evaluation for all components of the ACTG. The Executive
Committee, comprised of the Center and Component Directors, is responsible for evaluating program and
component progress, and quality control.
Scientific oversight is provided by the Program Advisory Committee (PAC), which serves as a scientific
advisory board for the ACTG. Members of the PAC were selected based on expertise pertinent to the research
components and aims of the ACTG. Members serve three-year renewable terms.
| John C. Crabbe, Ph.D. | Director, Portland Alcohol Research Center Professor of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR |
| David M. Lovinger, Ph.D. | Chief, Laboratory of Integrative Neuroscience,NIAAA, Rockville, MD |
| Richard Palmiter, Ph.D. | Professor of Biochemistry, Investigator at HHMI, University of Washington, Seattle, WA |
| James Sikela, Ph.D. | Professor of Pharmacology, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver, CO |
| Gary S. Aston-Jones, Ph.D. | Professor and Murray Chair of Excellence in Neuroscience, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC |
Patricia Janak, Ph.D., Director
The Animal and Behavior Core provides services, technical assistance and training needed for the breeding
and behavioral testing of the knockout and knock-in mice to be examined by the investigators within the
ACTG research components. Centralized breeding and genotyping maximizes efficiency and allows for the
development and use of a centralized system for tracking the production and use of all mice created under
this center. In addition, the Animal and Behavior Core is standardizing the methods and analyses for
alcohol-related behavioral testing for mice and rats.
A series of behavioral tests evaluates the acute sedating and ataxic effects of alcohol, as well as the
reinforcing and rewarding properties of alcohol, in mice generated by the research components. The Animal
and Behavior Core also instructs research personnel in the conduct of other behavioral studies, as needed.
By conducting the bulk of the behavioral testing within the core, we ensure that the procedures are
performed, and the data are analyzed, in a consistent manner, allowing for maximal comparability of the
effects of different genetic manipulations across center projects.
Viktor Kharazia, Ph.D., Director
Ulrike Heberlein, Ph.D., Co-Director
The Transgenic and Imaging Core supports projects that use conditional knockout genes by maintaining
and generating mouse lines that express Cre recombinase, and generates viral vectors for gene silencing
by RNA interference and viruses for transgenic expression of proteins in select brain regions. Core
personnel assist investigations of the cellular localization of target proteins and their partners in
protein-protein interactions by performing immunohistochemistry, laser capture microdissection and
visualization of reporter genes. The Core also provides oversight of imaging equipment, training in
viral vector production techniques, histology, imaging and image processing, generates standard
procedures for techniques used by the Core, and explores new technologies for regulating gene silencing
in mice and rats, and the development of mouse lines that express inducible Cre recombinase in limbic
brain regions.
Geoff Joslyn, Ph.D., Director
The Genomics Core provides genomics technologies to all research components needing such services.
The Core's specialty is low-cost high-throughput DNA sequencing for the purpose of discovering DNA
sequence variants. Through the use of automated procedures under the control of a Laboratory Information
Management System, the process is both reliable and inexpensive. The Genomics Core can produce over
600,000 sequence runs generating over 200 million PHRED > 30 bases per year. The Core performs all
aspects of DNA sequencing by:
The Core also houses and maintains an ABI 9700 real-time quantitative PCR instrument for the use of all
ACTG investigators. In addition, the Genomics Core is developing and refining web-based software tools
to aid ACTG investigators in organizing and sharing data using a gene centric organizational scheme.
These tools will initially organize and present Core-generated data integrated into public Genome data
web sites. Expansion of these tools will allow investigators to import their own expert knowledge and
have it available in a Web tool linked to both internal Core and external Web data.
