This is a multidisciplinary, highly collaborative consortium that combines next-generation sequencing with state-of-the-art behavioral screening in a unique, genetically diverse, nonhuman animal model.

 

The goals of this consortium are to identify gene variants that are associated with compulsive oxycodone intake using genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in behaviorally characterized heterogeneous stock rats, and to establish a data/tissue repository accessible to all researchers to study the cellular and molecular mechanisms of oxycodone addiction.

 

Results from these studies have the potential to have a sustained and powerful impact on the field of addiction because they will identify novel druggable targets, provide a comprehensive analysis of compulsive oxycodone use in males and females, and create a unique data/tissue repository that will facilitate follow-up and replication studies.