Foundation conference funds primarily support the International Medical Advisory Group (IMAG) conference. The IMAG is an annual meeting that presents various topics in current alcohol research and brings together scientists and industry representatives from around the world.

The Foundation also supports the Research Society on Alcoholism (RSA) Annual Scientific Meeting, which provides an opportunity for researchers, clinicians and students to interact and present their latest findings. Foundation funding to the RSA goes toward Student Merit and Junior Investigator Awards, so that the newest members of the research community are able to attend the meeting.

In addition, ABMRF/The Foundation for Alcohol Research Advisory Councils gather twice yearly to review grant applications.  Board of Trustees meetings are held concurrent to these grant review meetings.

The Spring Advisory Council was held on April 2, 2008 and the Board of Trustees meeting was held on April 3, 2008.  Both meetings took place at the Westin St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco, California.

The Fall 2008 Advisory Council and Board of Trustees meetings are planned respectively for November 20 and November 21 at the Barton Creek Resort in Austin, Texas.

In 2009, both groups plan to assemble for Spring meetings on April 23 and 24, and in the Fall from October 25 through October 28. The Fall meeting will coincide with the 36th International Medical Advisory Conference hosted in the U.S. by ABMRF/The Foundation for Alcohol Research with two days of scientific sessions planned for October 26 and 27.

35th International Medical Advisory Group Conference

Halifax - October 14-16, 2007

The 35th International Medical Advisory Group Conference was hosted in Halifax by the Brewers Association of Canada with scientific conference programming by the Advisory Councils and staff of ABMRF/The Foundation for Alcohol Research. Delegates attended from sixteen countries spanning Australia/New Zealand, Central and South America, the U.K. and Europe, the Russian Federation, Asia, and North America.

The conference program was planned to highlight the Foundation’s 25th anniversary and showcase pioneering work undertaken by Canadian and U.S. grantees over the years. Three types of sessions were organized to demonstrate different aspects of knowledge development that have played such an important role in the Foundation’s nurturing of new understanding of the effects of alcohol on health and behavior over the years. The “ABMRF Research Highlights” sessions demonstrated the long-term dedication necessary to advance understanding within specific areas of investigation. Several sessions were organized under the theme of “Building a Body of Knowledge” to underscore both individual and organizational components essential to cultivating research innovation. The conference concluded with a session organized under the umbrella “Putting Knowledge to Work” that underscored the long-term gains to society implicit in the funding of basic research and also the tremendous talent of ABMRF Trustees and Advisory Council members working at the forefront in bringing science into clinical practice.

35th International Medical Advisory Group Conference Sessions:

ABMRF Research Highlights

ADH and ALDH2 and Risk of Alcoholism, Moderator: David Crabb, Indiana University

Tamara L. Wall, University of California, San Diego and San Diego VA Medical Center, “Low Risk for Alcohol Involvement in Jewish Americans”
David Crabb, Indiana University, "Aldehyde Dehydrogenase Genotypes (ALDH2) and Alcohol Sensitivity" 
Susan Luczak, University of Southern California, “Real-time Assessment of  Alcohol Involvement Across ALDH2 Genotypes”

Co-Morbidity, Especially with Nicotine, Moderator: Kenneth Sher, University of Missouri Columbia

Kristina Jackson, Brown University, “Unraveling Alcohol and Tobacco Use Co-Morbidity: Secondary Analysis of Prospective Data” 
Sherry McKee, Yale University, “Unraveling the Relationship Between Non-daily Smoking and Alcohol Use in Young Adults”  
Julie Staley, Yale University, “Delineating the Regulatory Effects of Alcohol Drinking and Tobacco Smoking on Brain Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Availability”  

Interventions, Moderator: G. Alan Marlatt, University of Washington

Joseph LaBrie, Loyola Marymount University, “Group Social Norms Motivational Intervention with Interactive Real-Time Feedback” 
Thomas Brown, Douglas Hospital Research Center, “Ultra Brief Motivational Interviewing for DUI Recidivists Not Engaged in Remedial Measures” 
Brad Krevor, Brandeis University, “The Responsible Retailing Forum’s New Model of Underage Sales Prevention”

 

Stem Cells/Neurogenesis, Moderator: Fulton Crews, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 

Kimberly Nixon, University of Kentucky, “Alcohol Regulation of Neural Stem Cells: Roles in Neurodegeneration and Regeneration”  
Tod Kippin, University of California at Santa Barbara, “Voluntary Alcohol Consumption Reduces the In Vivo Proliferation of Adult Neural Stem Cells” 
Brian Christie, University of Victoria, “Running to the Rescue: How Exercise Can Help Rebuild the Brain after Prenatal Ethanol Exposure”

Building a Body of Knowledge

“An Appreciation of Anne-Marie Wall’s Impact on the Field,” presented by Marvin D. Krank, University of British Columbia, Okanagan and moderated by Sherry Stewart, Dalhousie University

“An Overview of ABMRF’s 25 Years of Funding Alcohol Research” presented by Mack C. Mitchell, Jr., president, ABMRF/The Foundation for Alcohol Research

Three Generations of ABMRF Researchers, From Describing Behavior to Exploring Behavioral Control, Moderator: Louise Nadeau, Université de Montreal

Muriel Vogel-Sprott, University of Waterloo, “Drunk or Sober? Getting What You Expect” 
Mark Fillmore, University of Kentucky, “Alcohol Impairment: People Differ in Their Expectancies"  
Cecile A. Marczinski, University of Kentucky, “Alcohol Impairment and Behavioral Control” 

Putting Knowledge to Work

Drug Development for Alcohol Disorders 
Moderator: Mack C. Mitchell, Jr., ABMRF/The Foundation for Alcohol Research

Ivan Diamond, CV Therapeutics & Founding Director Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center, “Drug Development Using Targets Developed in Basic Academic Research: CVT Experience Developing a Selective Reversible Inhibitor of Aldehyde Dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2)”
Raymond Anton, Medical University of South Carolina, “Medications Development for Alcohol Treatment: Promises and Pitfalls”

Austern Memorial Lecture

The Austern Memorial Lecture was presented at the IMAG closing dinner by The Honourable Frank McKenna, former Canadian Ambassador to the United States and former New Brunswick Premier.  He presented his thoughts and perspectives on the importance of corporate responsibility in the Canadian, North American, and International context. The lectureship was established in 1984 to honor H. Thomas Austern, legal adviser to ABMRF and its predecessor organization for 14 years. When he died in 1984, his associates and friends established a lectureship to be given when the IMAG meeting is held in Canada or the United States. The lectureship series was inaugurated in 1986 by Pierre Berton, the distinguished Canadian writer, at an IMAG meeting in Ottawa.

Learn more about previous IMAG conferences or other meetings by way of the links below:

35th International Medical Advisory Group Conference

34th International Medical Advisory Group Conference

33rd International Medical Advisory Group Conference

32nd International Medical Advisory Group Conference

31st International Medical Advisory Group Conference

30th International Medical Advisory Group Conference

29th International Medical Advisory Group Conference

Alcohol Consumption and Indigenous People: An International Research Symposium