Alcoholism, alcohol abuse, and the medical complications of excessive drinking are major world-wide health problems. There are three long-term goals of my laboratory: (1) Alcohol exposure during development results in fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) and induces profound damages to the central nervous system (CNS). I am interested in elucidating cellular/molecular mechanisms underlying alcohol-induced damage to the developing brain. Particularly I am interested in the interaction among oxidative stress, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and autophagy and how the interaction contributes to alcohol-induced CNS damage. Chronic and heavy alcohol abuse also causes neurodegeneration and thiamine deficiency (TD). I am interested in the interaction between TD and alcohol abuse in the context of neurodegeneration and behavioral deficits. (2) Alcohol is a tumor promoter and enhances the progression of mammary tumor. I am interested in elucidating cellular/molecular mechanisms underlying alcohol-promoted tumor progression, particularly the metastasis of breast cancer cells. (3) Alcohol abuse is the major risk factor for pancreatitis. I am interested in elucidating the role of ER stress in alcohol-promoted pancreatitis.

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