Parnell Lab
Principal Investigator: Scott Parnell
Institution: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Chapel Hill, NC)
Primary Subfield: Neuroscience
Recruitment Status: Inquire for rotation/fellowship opportunities
Research Focus
Project Summary/Abstract Alcohol (ethanol) exposure during pregnancy is the leading environmental cause of birth defects and central nervous system dysfunction. While the effects of ethanol on the brain and face have been explored quite extensively, there is considerable variation in the consequences of developmental ethanol exposure. Some of this variation is due to differences in timing and amount of exposure or nutritional factors. However, even when controlling for these factors, it is still clear that not everyone exposed to ethanol during development is affected equally and it has become increasingly clear that genetic factors play a very significant role in fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). Historically, elucidating these genetic factors that mediate risk or resilience has been relatively slow and characterized by human association studies or quantitative trait loci mapping in animal models. More recently, we have applied next generation sequencing technologies and forward genetic screens to more rapidly identify genes and pathways that alter susceptibility to prenatal ethanol exposure. These studies have taken advantage of varied mouse strains with differential alcoh…
Active NIH Awards
- 5R01AA031346-04: Characterizing the Genetics of FASD in Complementary Mouse and Fish Models (2026)
- 5R01AA026068-08: Cellular Mechanisms in Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (2026)
- 5R01AA026068-07: Cellular Mechanisms in Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (2025)
- 5R01AA031346-03: Characterizing the Genetics of FASD in Complementary Mouse and Fish Models (2025)
- 5R01AA031346-02: Characterizing the Genetics of FASD in Complementary Mouse and Fish Models (2024)
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