Subhash Pandey, Ph.D., received the 2023 RSA Distinguished Researcher Award. Dr. Pandey, an endowed professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, leads NADIA’s Epigenetic/Molecular Core as well as a research component titled Adolescent Alcohol, Epigenetic and Behavioral Changes in Adulthood. The RSA Distinguished Researcher Award is given to an individual who has made significant contributions to the study of alcohol abuse and alcohol use disorder and who has demonstrated themselves to be a leader in the field.

Ed Riley, Ph.D., received the 2023 RSA Lifetime Achievement Award. Riley, a professor emeritus at San Diego State University and a world-renowned expert on fetal alcohol syndrome and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, served on the NADIA External Advisory Board in the past.The RSA Lifetime Achievement Award is given to an individual who has had a long, balanced career including outstanding research, training, service and advocacy.

Teens are wired to seek novel, exciting experiences and take risks. All too often, that leads to experimentation with drugs and alcohol. The teen brain is especially sensitive to the effects of alcohol, increasing the odds that a teen will binge drink or experience blackouts. While adolescents eventually “age out” of these sensitivities, new research shows the effects of binge drinking extend well beyond the teen years, with alterations in the brain and behavior. Donita L. Robinson and Bonnie Nagel discuss the neurobiology of the adolescent brain and the persistent effects of binge drinking.

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Scott Swartzwelder is a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Duke University.