The
mission of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
is to promote, direct and support biomedical and behavioral research on the
causes, consequences, treatment, and prevention of alcoholism and alcohol-related
problems. The Institute supports its agenda by awarding research grants, contracts
and training grants to colleges and universities nationwide. Important to
the mission of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism is research
designed to identify racial and ethnic disparities in the causes and consequences
of alcohol-use disorders and to develop treatment and prevention strategies
to ameliorate them.
The NIAAA special emphasis
areas and proposed research initiatives plans comprise an overall strategy
designed to make progress towards NIAAA’s vision for our future. The
goal is a greater understanding of the biological, cultural, environmental,
and ethnic factors that contribute to ifferences among populations in alcohol-related
problems. An NIAAA priority is to devise effective methods for preventing
and treating alcohol abuse and dependence as well as the alcohol-related consequences
in high-risk individuals. Through this understanding, we will devise more
effective prevention and treatment approaches that address ethnic and racial
disparities in alcohol-related problems so that these disparities will no
longer exist.
