Dr. Muhammad Azhar Nisar, PhD is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of medicine at Stony Brook University, working under Dr. Chiung-Kuei Huang on his NIH supported grants. His research focuses on the epigenetic regulation of alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD), with a particular emphasis on the role of TET family enzymes and DNA methylation dynamics in hepatic inflammation, fibrosis, and hepatocyte plasticity. He employs cutting-edge approaches including single-nucleus RNA sequencing, ChIP-seq, and multiomics to dissect disease mechanisms at single-cell resolution. Dr. Nisar holds a PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and has 15+ peer-reviewed publications spanning liver disease, epigenetics, and cancer biology.

Regina Mangieri, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Pharmacology and Toxicology in the College of Pharmacy at The University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Mangieri received her Ph.D. in Pharmacology from the University of California, Irvine, and performed her postdoctoral training at The University of Texas at Austin, during which time she was awarded a Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award postdoctoral fellowship from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. She is interested in alcohol-induced changes in cellular, synaptic, and circuit physiology, and the relationship of these changes to the development of pathological behaviors. Her current research, funded by the National Institute of Mental Health and National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, focuses on neuronal physiology and glia-neuron interactions in cortico- and meso-limbic circuits to understand the basic mechanisms underlying alcohol use disorder, alcohol misuse, and maladaptive aggression.

Marisa M. Silveri, PhD, MHC, is Director of the Neurodevelopmental Laboratory on Addictions and Mental Health at McLean Hospital and Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. A translational neuroscientist and clinician, her research focuses on adolescent brain development and neurobiological vulnerability to alcohol and substance use disorders. For nearly 30 years, her program has used multimodal approaches, including neuroimaging, cognitive testing, and clinical assessment, to examine how developmental changes in brain systems contribute to the initiation of substance use during adolescence and risk for addiction later in life. Her work has been continuously funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism since 2004. Dr. Silveri has published more than 90 peer reviewed papers and has received research, mentoring, and media awards from McLean Hospital, Harvard University, and the Research Society on Alcohol. She is also committed to public education and science communication and has delivered more than 200 talks to students, parents, educators, clinicians, and community groups. In addition to leading her research program, she provides clinical care to adolescents and families at the Arlington Youth Counseling Center, bringing scientific insights directly to practice and informing her research with the realities of patient care.

Siara K. Rouzer, PhD is a Research Scientist in the Department of Neuroscience & Experimental Therapeutics at the Texas A&M College of Medicine. Her research focuses on how prenatal and preconception alcohol exposures alter brain development and neural circuitry to influence behavioral and mental health outcomes across the lifespan. Using rodent models and molecular neuroscience approaches, her work examines how alcohol and other substances affect developing neural systems that regulate cognition, emotion, and substance use risk. Dr. Rouzer’s research is supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, including a Pathway to Independence (K99/R00) Award, as well as a Young Investigator Grant from the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation. She is actively involved in scientific outreach and advocacy as Chair of the National Alcohol Public Outreach Committee for the Research Society on Alcohol. Her work has been recognized with several honors, including the Kenneth Warren Merit Award from the Fetal Alcohol Study Group of the Research Society on Alcohol, the Elizabeth Young New Investigator Award from the Organization for the Study of Sex Differences, the Outstanding Scholar in Neuroscience Award (OSNAP) from the National Institutes of Health, and the John and Patricia O’Neill Addiction Science Education Award from the Research Society on Alcohol.