Alcohol and other drugs play an integral role in our society today by a complex interaction of biological, psychological, and social mechanisms.
Defining and exploring the nature of the processes involved in the use and misuse of alcohol and other drugs is essential in finding solutions to the harms that they have the potential to cause at the cellular, individual and societal level in the 21 st century.
The Wessex Alcohol Research Collaborative ( www.soton.ac.uk/warc ) initially brought together researchers with an interest in the health consequences of alcohol (public health, hepatology, traumatic brain injury, and co-morbid physical and mental illness, as well as addiction) and this has now expanded to include pre-clinical scientists ( Holden-Dye , O'Connor ) working on a single cell models ( c. elegans ) of neural circuits that underpin adaptation to chronic ethanol exposure, expertise in health geography and social epidemiology ( Moon ) focussed on the analysis of administrative and survey data sets, and strategies to support teenagers' decision-making about health issues ( Grace ). WARC has a well established, independent panel of ‘lay experts' who are an integral part of the research process, contributing to applications and the review process.
The methodologies used to investigate the key questions in this area include qualitative studies, randomised controlled trials and other clinical intervention studies, experimental paradigms and epidemiological methods across a wide range of populations.
Current work across faculties of the University includes:
Psychological mechanisms including attentional biases and subjective response to alcohol in clinical populations (Garner, Sinclair ).
Explanatory models for illness and levels of health literacy in patient and offender groups who misuse alcohol and other drugs ( Parkes , Roderick , Sheron , Sinclair ).
Alcohol Specific Health Literacy in Young People ( Sinclair , Grace , Moon ).
Screening and biomarkers of alcohol liver disease -ALD ( Moore , Roderick , Sheron ).
Epidemiology of liver disease using markers of liver function (prevalence, associations, outcomes) ( Roderick ).
Other Public Health research focussed on the link between alcohol and sexual health and risk ( Roderick , Sheron ), alcohol consumption, alcohol-related health service use and alcohol related mortality ( Sheron , Roderick , Moon ) and National and EU alcohol policy ( Sheron ).
The links between nutrition, obesity and alcohol are being explored, utilising well established cohorts within the MRC unit (Byrne, Inskip, Robinson). The effect of alcohol use in young adults with T1-DM ( Holt , Sinclair .)
Developing effective approaches to teaching adolescents about the science underpinning health issues ( Grace ).
To maximise the impact of this work members are also involved in related policy areas, and teaching and training at National and International levels.
Theme images
These images were commissioned by WARC from Pauline Pratt, previous Artist in Residence at the Faculty of Medicine.
