👉NEW in ACER 🧬 Narrowing sex difference in acute alcohol health care encounters 🔗 https://bit.ly/4ddyxqT

Congratulations to this incredible team! This work that can have real impact on public health. This is how science serves. Document a harm and then use the best evidence available to design approaches to reduce that harm. Proud to see this work @browncaas.bsky.social @brownpublichealth.bsky.social

This is a wonderful way to connect at the meeting. I encourage folks to sign up!

RSA Celebrates Women's History Month During her time as RSA President (2018–2019), Mary Larimer brought a strong focus on mentorship, collaboration, and advancing impactful research. Thank you, for your service and for the meaningful contributions you’ve made to RSA and the field.

“It’s not really fair that drinkers don’t have all the information in front of them to be able to decide what risks they want to take on for themselves." CISUR/ @ccsacanada.bsky.social scientist Adam Sherk in @aptnnews.bsky.social www.aptnnews.ca/national-new...

BREAKING: @delauro.house.gov announces at a House Oversight hearing with NIH director Jay Bhattacharya that OMB approved the agency's apportionment last night. That means the agency should have access to its appropriated funds — 42 days after its spending bill passed.

open.substack.com/pub/elizabet... Another thoughtful article from Elizabeth Ginexi on the dramatic reduction in the Notice of Funding Opportunities (NOFO) published by the NIH in 2025 and 2026.

Hit the streets with us at a Stand Up for Science rally on March 7th! Find a rally near you here: zurl.co/J2GDc #science #standupforscience #rally #March7 #savescience

📣Join us TODAY for a live seminar on updates from RSA Gordis Award Winners!🎉 The seminar will be held on March 4th from 1:30-2:30pm EST via Zoom. See flyer for more information and the zoom link below! 🔗 https://bit.ly/46eQ3H2

Congratulations, Julie! We are so proud of you and of our incredible postdoctoral fellows. @juliecristello.bsky.social

As cannabis moves toward federal rescheduling, pregnant people are being left in a vulnerable position. CAAS Assistant Professor Lauren Micalizzi, Ph.D. @laurenmic.bsky.social and Elizabeth Tobin-Tyler, J.D., M.A. co-authored this piece in STAT about the importance of reform.

2026 basically

The 2nd annual ✨Recovery and Harm Reduction Film Festival✨ will bring together @brown.edu and local community members Feb 27 & 28 to reduce stigma around addiction, recovery and harm reduction through film and art.🎥 Learn more at the link! #harmreductionsaveslives

It is acknowledged here that multiyear funding likely reduced success rates. grants.nih.gov/news-events/...

🎉 RSA Members in the news 📰 Tom Kash and Bob Messing contributed to this NYT article on how alcohol impacts the body 🔗https://nyti.ms/4kLkiLG

RSA Members featured in NYT article on alcohol’s role as “social lubricant” & risks of social drinking. It highlights Michael Sayette, Kasey Creswell, Catharine Fairbairn, Julia Buckner, & John Kelly, on importance of understanding alcohol’s social effects in public health.🔗https://nyti.ms/4cpO1rf

This is a great program. I encourage folks to participate!

At this point, all NIN institutes and centers have made at least one new or competitive renewal award except for NIAAA, NEI, NCCIH, NLM, and FIC. Progress but still much to do to catch up to historically normal rates. 4/4

NIH-funded scientists, this is the explainer you need! It breaks down the FY26 budget and outlines the ominous threats to science funding. Of note: "Despite oft repeated claims that the bill allows “no more” multiyear funding, it is important to note that the “more” is relative to FY2025 levels."

I enjoyed participating in this @npr.org podcast segment by Andrew Stelzer on California Sober and the study led by @janemetrik.bsky.social at @browncaas.bsky.social, published in the American Journal of Psychiatry: psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/... whyy.org/episodes/our...

CAAS Associate Professor Hayley Treloar Padovano discusses Dry January (and beyond) with Women's Health.

It is past time for Congress to ensure that federal immigration officers practice humane treatment of all people. Tell your members of Congress to speak up and hold ICE accountable. Send a message NOW: www.votervoice.net/PublicHealth...

Professor @janemetrik.bsky.social spoke to the Today Show about trends in alcohol alternatives, including her new study that found #cannabis may reduce alcohol consumption.🍷

YES! A step in the right direction. After a horrendous year for science & the #NIH, it is imperative to protect it from political interference. NIH's success is due to decisions based on science, not political ideology. Science does not belong to politicians. 🧪 degette.house.gov/media-center...

The multi-year NIH funding of grants tagged to 2025 allows Russell Vought to reduce the number of grants funded this year because he insists that a 5 years of $$$ has to be committed. This is bad. We could see a cut in actual grants by 1/3 or more. Spread the word. www.statnews.com/2026/01/16/n...

The Research Society on Alcohol (RSA) has released an official statement on the new US Dietary Guidelines. Read the full statement here: researchsocietyonalcohol.org/statements/ #RSA

“Overall I think this continues to be encouraging," Professor Brandon Marshall says of falling US #overdose deaths, "especially since we’re seeing declines almost across the nation.” Despite our progress, the monthly death toll is still above pre-COVID levels however.

Wonderful to have @mamlung.bsky.social with us today at @browncaas.bsky.social. He shared not only his outstanding work on behavioral economics and addiction but also highlighted the important contributions of students and trainees at all levels. Thank you, Michael!

This article provides some very useful language to help us communicate with Congress and the public about the harms of multi-year funding. "As you can see, what’s being done with NIH funding is pretty unprecedented. No other profession, industry or sector works that way." Truth.

It is hard to overstate the impact that the NIH multiyear funding debate happening in congress right now could have on biomedical research over the next few years.

The new year has brought new federal nutritional guidance. To discuss the changes, nutrition expert Professor Jen Sacheck joined @wpri12.bsky.social.⤵️

Yes, keep advocating. This case has a strong chance of making it into my research methods course segment on research protections. If you see something unethical, call it out! As scientists, we are obligated to do so.

If you called or wrote your representatives yesterday about the disastrous SAMHSA grant cancellations, thank you. You did good. That pressure worked, and the reinstatement will save lives and improve population health. Recognize a win when you get one and keep it up.

Pay attention! Especially those in Alabama! Contact your rep per the thread below. And Vought sucks (trying to keep things PG)

URGENT! Call your Senators and Representatives. #Trump and #RFKJr just slashed two billion dollars in funding for addiction and mental health services. Thanks to @5calls.org and @defendpublichealth.bsky.social for taking the lead on this. 5calls.org/issue/samhsa...

Last night, billions of dollars in SAMHSA grants were abruptly canceled, erasing critical support for many orgs providing substance use & addiction services. AMERSA shares your concerns and is working with partner organizations to respond. Join us in taking action. 📞 Call Congress: 202-224-3121

No, President Trump. Illegally canceling $2 billion in funding to deal with the mental health, addiction and opioid crises will not Make America Healthy Again. It will lead to more illnesses, more overdoses and more deaths. This blatantly unconstitutional act must be rescinded.

Unconscionable.

We are collecting information on terminated SAMHSA grants at Grant Witness: grant-witness.us/submit-samhs... If you worked on one of these programs, please let us know at the link! And please share with your colleagues. We need a comprehensive record of these terminations to fight back!

Shameful and cruel. Trump is breaking his pledge to MAHA, cutting addiction care, and pulling the plug on programs that improve Americans' mental health to prevent suicide. Illinois is fighting for the support our people deserve — we'll be here for you.

This is unacceptable. As noted, "the safety net for people experiencing an addiction or mental health crisis could unravel." Congress has to exert its oversight responsibilities to save the lives of their constituents. What representative can tell their constituents that these terminations are good?

There are several factors, from muscle loss to medication, impacting how our bodies handle alcohol as we age. The @nytimes.com spoke to @browncaas.bsky.social Professor Mollie Monnig about why hangovers get worse when we get older.🍷

Agreed. And right now we can ask: "What will it take to get to that day? How can I help? What role can I play to keep my field of inquiry moving forward in the midst of this chaos?"

Experts need to keep this conversation going, raising awareness of risks but also of the myriad options for cutting down on drinking or finding support for an alcohol use disorder. #NIAAA is a trusted source, building on years of science it has supported. rethinkingdrinking.niaaa.nih.gov

Alcohol researchers will need to take the lead to communicate to the public what the risks of alcohol are, what we know with relatively high certainty and what we don't. People can make decisions on risk informed by science, even when that science is imperfect. www.usatoday.com/story/life/h...

Amanda Gorman wrote this poem for Renee Good and that’s it for me tonight.

"[CISUR Director Tim] Naimi said he had hoped that guidelines would be tighter, calling for no more than a few drinks per week, or no more than one per day for men and women."

Good morning. I'd like to invite anyone who is interested to make a small gesture of kindness today. It's up to you to decide what that can be. The key is for you to act on the idea. With so much out of our control, we can choose how to be with each other today and every day.

Remember, even if you have not yet started your own #DryJanuary this year, it is not too late to try. You can still learn what works for you and how it feels to be alcohol free. I'm giving it a go. If you are, let others know. The social commitment and support matters.

In the scientific foundation document for the guidelines, the check mark on the right indicates that this recommendation from the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee was not implemented in the published guidelines. We are left only with "Consume less alcohol for better overall health."