Dr. Howard Becker
Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Professor, Department of Neurosciences
Medical Research Career Specialist, Ralph H. Johnson Veterans Affairs Medical Center |
Research Interests Dr. Becker’s research interests include neuropsychopharmacology of alcohol and other drugs of abuse and mechanisms underlying initial sensitivity to CNS drug effects, as well as neuroadaptive changes that result from chronic drug exposure (tolerance and dependence).
Education | State University of New York, Buffalo, NY | B.S. | 1979 | Biology | | Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ | M.S. | 1984 | Biopsychology | | Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ | Ph.D. | 1984 | Biopsychology | | Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC | Postdoctoral | 1985 | Psychiatry/Alcohol Research |
Professional Experience | 1985-1987 | Instructor, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, MUSC, Charleston, SC | | 1985-1991 | Research Health Scientist, Ralph H. Johnson Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Charleston, SC | | 1987-1990 | Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, MUSC, Charleston, SC | | 1990-1998 | Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, MUSC, Charleston, SC | | 1990-present | Adjunct Professor, Psychology Department, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC | | 1991-present | Medical Research Career Scientist, Ralph H. Johnson Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Charleston, SC | | 1990-1998 | Associate Professor, Department of Neurosciences, MUSC, Charleston, SC | | 1998-present | Professor, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences and the Department of Neurosciences, MUSC, Charleston, SC | | 1999-present | Scientific Director for Basic Research, Charleston Alcohol Research Center, MUSC, Charleston, SC |
Awards and Honors | 1991 | Health Sciences Foundation Developing Scholars Award, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC | | 1992-1995 | Member, VA Merit Review Board (Alcoholism and Drug Dependence) | | 1993-1994 | President, South Carolina Chapter of Society for Neuroscience | | 1994-1999 | Editorial Board: Alcohol Clin Exp Res | | 1994-2001 | Member, NIH/CSR, Neuroscience and Behavior IRG, NIAAA (ALTX-3) | | 1995-2000 | NIAAA Research Career Scientist Award | | 1996 | Member, VA Special Review Board for Alcohol and Drug Abuse Research Centers | | 1998 | Member, VA Special Review Board for Alcohol and Drug Abuse Research Centers | | 1998 | Member, NIAAA Special Review Board for Alcohol Research Centers | | 1999-2003 | Member, VA Behavioral, Psychiatric and Addictive Disorders Medical Research Advisory Group | | 2000 | Member, NIAAA Special Review Board for Alcohol Research Centers | | 2001-2005 | Elected Member, Board of Directors, Research Society on Alcoholism | | 2002 | Member, NIAAA Special Review Board for Alcohol Research Centers | | 2002-2005 | Chair, Elections Committee, Research Society on Alcoholism | | 2005-present | Editorial Board: Alcohol | | 2006-present | Scientific Director, NIAAA Integrative Neuroscience Initiative on Alcoholism (INIA-Stress Consortium) |
Recent Publications
Kroener S, Mulholland PJ, New NN, Gass JT, Becker HC & Chandler LJ. Chronic alcohol exposure alters behavioral and synaptic plasticity of the rodent prefrontal cortex. PLoS One 7(5):e37541, 2012. PMCID: 3364267 Lopez MF, Griffin WC, 3rd, Melendez RI & Becker HC. Repeated cycles of chronic intermittent ethanol exposure leads to the development of tolerance to aversive effects of ethanol in C57BL/6J mice. Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research 36(7):1180-1187, 2012. Melendez RI, McGinty JF, Kalivas PW & Becker HC. Brain region-specific gene expression changes after chronic intermittent ethanol exposure and early withdrawal in C57BL/6J mice. Addiction Biology 17(2):351-364, 2012. Becker HC. Animal models of excessive alcohol consumption in rodents. Current Topics in Behavioral Neurosciences 13:355-357, 2013.
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