Cindy Ehlers, PhD

Professor

Department of Neuroscience

Research Focus

Understanding genetic risk and protective factors for alcoholism in Native, African and Hispanic Americans.

Our laboratory has been studying natural variation in the genes that encode the structure of the enzymes that metabolize alcohol between ethnic groups and conducting genome-wide scans for other genes that influence the development of alcoholism. The goal of our studies is to identify candidate genes that encode for the neurophysiological processes that underlie drug dependence. Genetic information is combined with data on clinical course and environmental risk factors with the aim of: describing the etiology of substance dependence; and developing prevention and intervention programs appropriate to the different ethnic groups.

A second thrust of our laboratory involves the investigation of the toxic effects of alcohol on the developing fetal and adolescent brain.

Education

Professional Experience

Awards & Professional Activities

Awards
1973 Citation for Outstanding Performance in Physiology, UC Davis
1979 Giannini Foundation Fellow, UCLA
1980 Klingenstein Foundation Fellow, The Salk Institute
1985 Research Scientist Award, MacArthur Foundation Network Scientist
1986 Research Scientist Development Awards, NIAAA
2007 Thurman Award, UNC Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies
2007 Merit Award, National Institute of Health
2011 Wendy and Stanley Marsh 3 Endowed Lectureship, TTUHSC
2014 RSA Distinguished Researcher Award, Research Society on Alcoholism
2020 Henri Begleiter Excellence Research Award, Research Society on Alcoholism

Other Professional Activities
Journal Associate Editorships: Reviewing Editor, Alcoholism, Clinical & Experimental Research, Associate Editor, Biological Psychiatry and Journal of Alcohol Studies
NIAAA Council, 2007-2010
Steering Committee member National Advisory Board on Underage Drinking 2004
Board of Directors, Research Society on Alcoholism, 1999-2002
Scientific Advisory Board for the Alcohol Research Center University of North Carolina, Skipper Bowles Center 1997
Scientific Advisory Board Alcohol Research Center Howard University 2004
Scientific Advisory Board Alcohol Research Center UC Berkeley CA 2004-present.
Member, program committee ACNP 2000-2003
Chairman, Awards Committee RSA, 2000
Member, Committee on Social Outcomes, San Diego Foundation 1998-2000.
Chair: Education & Training Committee, ACNP, 1998-1999
Consultant, Native American Graves protection and repatriation committee, culture and language retention committee, Luiseno nation-inter tribal coalition, 1998-present.

Journal Associate/Review Editorships:
Alcoholism: Clinical Experimental Research
Biological Psychiatry
Critical Reviews in Neurobiology
Depression and Anxiety
Neuropsychopharmacology

Societies:
Fellow, American College of Neuropsychopharmacology
Research Society on Alcoholism
Society for Neuroscience
Society for Biological Psychiatry
International Behavioural and Neural Genetics Society
International Society for Biomedical Research on Alcoholism
International Society for Psychoneuroendocrinology (scientific secretariat, 1997)
International Society for Twin Studies

Select Publications

Peng, Qian; Ehlers, Cindy L.; Peng, Qian; Ehlers, Cindy L. Long tracks of homozygosity predict the severity of alcohol use disorders in an American Indian population.. Molecular Psychiatry 2021, 1-12.
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Wehrenberg, W. B.; Ehlers, Cindy L. Effects of growth-hormone releasing-factor in the brain. Science 1986, 232, 1271-1272.
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Ehlers, C L.; Frank, E; Kupfer, D J. Social zeitgebers and biological rhythms. A unified approach to understanding the etiology of depression. Archives of General Psychiatry 1988, 45, 948-52.
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Kupfer, D. J.; Ehlers, Cindy L. Two roads to rapid eye movement latency. Archives of General Psychiatry 1989, 46, 945-948.
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Genetic loci for alcohol-related life events and substance-induced affective symptoms: indexing the "dark side" of addiction.. Translational psychiatry 2019, 71.
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Ehlers, Cindy L.; Havstad, J. W.; Garfinkel, A.; Kupfer, D. J. Nonlinear-analysis of EEG sleep states. Neuropsychopharmacology 1991, 5, 167-176.
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Ehlers, Cindy L.; Kupfer, David J.; Frank, Ellen; Monk, Timothy H. Biological rhythms and depression: The role of zeitgebers and zeitstorers. Depression 1993, 285-293.
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Associations Between Genomic Variants in Alcohol Dehydrogenase Genes and Alcohol Symptomatology in American Indians and European Americans: Distinctions and Convergence.. Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research 2017, 1695-1704.
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Ehlers, Cindy L. Chaos and complexity - can it help us to understand mood and behavior. Archives of General Psychiatry 1995, 52, 960-964.

Podcast

Wired for risk: Cindy Ehlers on the science of addiction and mental health

Depression and alcohol dependence are often seen as personal struggles—but decades of study by Scripps Research professor Cindy Ehlers reveal a much bigger picture. In this episode of Science Changing Life, Ehlers breaks down how biology, culture and trauma interact to shape mental health outcomes. Learn how her work is paving the way for more effective interventions, and how new strategies—like culturally grounded prevention programs and digital tools—can reduce harm in high-risk communities.

Neuroscience