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Draft:Cindy L. Ehlers

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Cindy L. Ehlers
Alma materUniversity of California, Davis (PhD) University of California, Davis (BA)
Known forDepression and Alcoholism Research
Scientific career
InstitutionsUniversity of California Los Angeles

The Salk Institute University of Pittsburgh (adjunct faculty) University of California San Francisco (adjunct faculty) University of California San Diego (adjunct faculty)

The Scripps Research Institute

Cindy L. Ehlers is an American neuroscientist and professor in the Department of Neuroscience at The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California.[1] She is recognized for her research on the genetic and environmental factors influencing the risk of depression and alcoholism, with a particular focus on mental health in minority populations, including American Indian and Mexican American communities. Ehlers has also contributed to the fields of neuroendocrinology and epilepsy and has authored over 300 peer-reviewed publications.[2]

Early Life and Education

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Cindy L. Ehlers was born (1951) in Oakland, California. She and her brother were the first in their family to pursue higher education, and she is the first in her extended family to earn a doctoral degree. She received a Bachelor of Science in physiology from the University of California, Davis, in 1973, graduating with a citation for outstanding performance. As an undergraduate, she worked in the laboratory of Ray Burger.

She earned her Ph.D. in physiology from UC Davis in 1977, conducting research on the causes of epilepsy under the supervision of Eva and Keith Killam.[3] She then completed postdoctoral training at the University of California, Los Angeles, in the laboratory of Charles Sawyer, where she began studying neuroendocrinology and its relationship to epilepsy.[4]

In 1979, Ehlers joined Floyd Bloom’s laboratory at The Salk Institute as a research fellow. There, she investigated the role of stress hormones in the development of epilepsy and began her work in mental health research.[5] She joined The Scripps Research Institute in 1983 and was promoted to professor in 2008.

Ehlers has received several honors, including a National Institutes of Health (NIH) MERIT Award.[6] She has served on the Advisory Council for the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism[7] and on the council of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology. She has also held adjunct professorships in psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh and the University of California, San Diego.[8]

Research

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Ehlers' research focuses on the biological, genetic, and sociocultural factors contributing to the development of major mental health disorders, particularly alcoholism and major depression. As a MacArthur Foundation network scientist, she developed the "social zeitgeber" hypothesis, which proposes that life events involving social disruption—such as divorce, bereavement, or childbirth—can disturb biological rhythms and trigger depression in vulnerable individuals.[9][10] In collaboration with David Kupfer at the University of Pittsburgh, Ehlers investigated sleep disturbances associated with depression,[11] contributing to the development of a related hypothesis concerning rapid eye movement (REM) latency. Her work has also explored the roles of neuropeptides and stress.[12][13][14][5]

Ehlers is recognized for her innovative use of brain wave analysis in psychiatric research.[15][16][17] Her studies have identified potential biomarkers for suicide through electroencephalographic (EEG) data.[18] In the field of alcoholism, her research spans a wide range of topics, including the neurophysiological effects of alcohol, the role of neuropeptides, fetal alcohol syndrome, early onset of binge drinking, and the impact of alcohol on adolescent brain development.

A significant portion of Ehlers' work has focused on the genetic and environmental factors influencing alcohol use and dependence in minority populations, including Asian,[19] African American, Mexican American,[20] and American Indian communities. Her studies have examined hypotheses such as the "firewater myth," the "fat-sparing gene," and the "depression-dark side" theory in relation to alcohol use among American Indians. These investigations have revealed differences among ethnic groups in alcohol-metabolizing enzymes, neuroimmune responses, subjective and physiological reactions to alcohol, and the influence of cultural factors such as historical trauma and acculturation stress .[21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28] Ehlers has also led intervention and prevention initiatives aimed at reducing alcohol use in American Indian communities, with a particular focus on adolescents.[29]

Awards and Honors

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  • Thurman Award, UNC Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies
  • National Institutes of Health (NIH) Merit Award[6]
  • Wendy and Stanley Marsh 3 Endowed Lectureship in Pharmacology and Neurochemistry of Substance Abuse/Addiction Disorders[30]
  • Research Society for Alcoholism 2014 Distinguished Researcher Award[31]
  • Research Society for Alcoholism 2020 Henri Begleiter award for excellence in Research[31]

Selected publications

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  1. ^ "Scripps Faculty".
  2. ^ "Pubmed".
  3. ^ Ehlers, C. L.; Killam, E. K. (1977). "Influence of cortisone on seizure activity in the Papio papio model of epilepsy". Proceedings of the Western Pharmacology Society. 20: 51–55. ISSN 0083-8969. PMID 408824.
  4. ^ Ehlers, C. L.; Clifton, D. K.; Sawyer, C. H. (1980-05-05). "Facilitation of amygdala kindling in the rat by transecting ascending noradrenergic pathways". Brain Research. 189 (1): 274–278. doi:10.1016/0006-8993(80)90028-1. ISSN 0006-8993. PMID 7363094.
  5. ^ a b Ehlers, C. L.; Henriksen, S. J.; Wang, M.; Rivier, J.; Vale, W.; Bloom, F. E. (1983-11-14). "Corticotropin releasing factor produces increases in brain excitability and convulsive seizures in rats". Brain Research. 278 (1–2): 332–336. doi:10.1016/0006-8993(83)90266-4. ISSN 0006-8993. PMID 6605787.
  6. ^ a b "Scripps News and Views 2011".
  7. ^ "NIAAA advisory council meeting minutes 2009".
  8. ^ "Psychiatry Dept non-salaried faculty".
  9. ^ Ehlers, Cindy L. (1988-10-01). "Social Zeitgebers and Biological Rhythms: A Unified Approach to Understanding the Etiology of Depression". Archives of General Psychiatry. 45 (10): 948–952. doi:10.1001/archpsyc.1988.01800340076012. ISSN 0003-990X. PMID 3048226.
  10. ^ Ehlers, Cindy L.; Kupfer, David J.; Frank, Ellen; Monk, Timothy H. (January 1993). "Biological rhythms and depression: The role of zeitgebers and zeitstorers". Depression. 1 (6): 285–293. doi:10.1002/depr.3050010602. ISSN 1062-6417.
  11. ^ Kupfer, David J. (1989-10-01). "Two Roads to Rapid Eye Movement Latency". Archives of General Psychiatry. 46 (10): 945. doi:10.1001/archpsyc.1989.01810100087016. ISSN 0003-990X.
  12. ^ Ehlers, C. L.; Somes, C.; Seifritz, E.; Rivier, J. E. (1997). "CRF/NPY interactions: a potential role in sleep dysregulation in depression and anxiety". Depression and Anxiety. 6 (1): 1–9. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1520-6394(1997)6:1<1::AID-DA1>3.0.CO;2-J. ISSN 1091-4269. PMID 9394869.
  13. ^ Ehlers, C. L.; Kupfer, D. J. (April 1987). "Hypothalamic peptide modulation of EEG sleep in depression: a further application of the S-process hypothesis". Biological Psychiatry. 22 (4): 513–517. doi:10.1016/0006-3223(87)90173-9. ISSN 0006-3223. PMID 3032289.
  14. ^ Ehlers, C. L.; Reed, T. K.; Henriksen, S. J. (1986). "Effects of corticotropin-releasing factor and growth hormone-releasing factor on sleep and activity in rats". Neuroendocrinology. 42 (6): 467–474. doi:10.1159/000124489. ISSN 0028-3835. PMID 3084988.
  15. ^ Ehlers, C. L.; Havstad, J. W.; Garfinkel, A.; Kupfer, D. J. (November 1991). "Nonlinear analysis of EEG sleep states". Neuropsychopharmacology: Official Publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology. 5 (3): 167–176. ISSN 0893-133X. PMID 1755932.
  16. ^ Ehlers, C. L.; Havstad, J.; Prichard, D.; Theiler, J. (1998-09-15). "Low doses of ethanol reduce evidence for nonlinear structure in brain activity". The Journal of Neuroscience: The Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience. 18 (18): 7474–7486. doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.18-18-07474.1998. ISSN 0270-6474. PMC 6793232. PMID 9736666.
  17. ^ Ehlers, Cindy L.; Wills, Derek N.; Havstad, James (2012-04-23). "Ethanol reduces the phase locking of neural activity in human and rodent brain". Brain Research. 1450: 67–79. doi:10.1016/j.brainres.2012.02.039. ISSN 1872-6240. PMC 3503530. PMID 22410292.
  18. ^ Ehlers, Cindy L.; Wills, Derek N.; Karriker-Jaffe, Katherine J.; Gilder, David A.; Phillips, Evelyn; Bernert, Rebecca A. (2020-10-07). "Delta Event-Related Oscillations Are Related to a History of Extreme Binge Drinking in Adolescence and Lifetime Suicide Risk". Behavioral Sciences (Basel, Switzerland). 10 (10): 154. doi:10.3390/bs10100154. ISSN 2076-328X. PMC 7599813. PMID 33036364.
  19. ^ Wall, T. L.; Thomasson, H. R.; Schuckit, M. A.; Ehlers, C. L. (October 1992). "Subjective feelings of alcohol intoxication in Asians with genetic variations of ALDH2 alleles". Alcoholism, Clinical and Experimental Research. 16 (5): 991–995. doi:10.1111/j.1530-0277.1992.tb01907.x. ISSN 0145-6008. PMID 1443441.
  20. ^ Ehlers, Cindy L.; Gilder, David A.; Criado, Jose R.; Caetano, Raul (December 2009). "Acculturation stress, anxiety disorders, and alcohol dependence in a select population of young adult Mexican Americans". Journal of Addiction Medicine. 3 (4): 227–233. doi:10.1097/ADM.0b013e3181ab6db7. ISSN 1932-0620. PMC 2805002. PMID 20161543.
  21. ^ Garcia-Andrade, C.; Wall, T. L.; Ehlers, C. L. (July 1997). "The firewater myth and response to alcohol in Mission Indians". The American Journal of Psychiatry. 154 (7): 983–988. doi:10.1176/ajp.154.7.983. ISSN 0002-953X. PMID 9210750.
  22. ^ Ehlers, Cindy L.; Wilhelmsen, Kirk C. (March 2007). "Genomic screen for substance dependence and body mass index in southwest California Indians". Genes, Brain, and Behavior. 6 (2): 184–191. doi:10.1111/j.1601-183X.2006.00246.x. ISSN 1601-1848. PMID 16764678.
  23. ^ Ehlers, Cindy L.; Gizer, Ian R. (February 2013). "Evidence for a genetic component for substance dependence in Native Americans". The American Journal of Psychiatry. 170 (2): 154–164. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.2012.12010113. ISSN 1535-7228. PMC 3603686. PMID 23377636.
  24. ^ Ehlers, Cindy L.; Gizer, Ian R.; Gilder, David A.; Ellingson, Jarrod M.; Yehuda, Rachel (2013-11-01). "Measuring historical trauma in an American Indian community sample: contributions of substance dependence, affective disorder, conduct disorder and PTSD". Drug and Alcohol Dependence. 133 (1): 180–187. doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2013.05.011. ISSN 1879-0046. PMC 3810370. PMID 23791028.
  25. ^ Ehlers, Cindy L.; Yehuda, Rachel; Gilder, David A.; Bernert, Rebecca; Karriker-Jaffe, Katherine J. (December 2022). "Trauma, historical trauma, PTSD and suicide in an American Indian community sample". Journal of Psychiatric Research. 156: 214–220. doi:10.1016/j.jpsychires.2022.10.012. PMC 9842016. PMID 36265258.
  26. ^ Peng, Qian; Gizer, Ian R.; Libiger, Ondrej; Bizon, Chris; Wilhelmsen, Kirk C.; Schork, Nicholas J.; Ehlers, Cindy L. (December 2014). "Association and ancestry analysis of sequence variants in ADH and ALDH using alcohol-related phenotypes in a Native American community sample". American Journal of Medical Genetics Part B: Neuropsychiatric Genetics. 165 (8): 673–683. doi:10.1002/ajmg.b.32272. ISSN 1552-4841. PMC 4364382. PMID 25270064.
  27. ^ Ehlers, Cindy L.; Gilder, David A.; Gizer, Ian R.; Wilhelmsen, Kirk C. (January 2019). "Indexing the 'dark side of addiction': substance-induced affective symptoms and alcohol use disorders". Addiction. 114 (1): 139–149. doi:10.1111/add.14431. ISSN 0965-2140. PMC 6320236. PMID 30153346.
  28. ^ Peng, Qian; Ehlers, Cindy L. (June 2021). "Long tracks of homozygosity predict the severity of alcohol use disorders in an American Indian population". Molecular Psychiatry. 26 (6): 2200–2211. doi:10.1038/s41380-020-00989-9. ISSN 1359-4184. PMC 8254832. PMID 33398086.
  29. ^ Moore, Roland S.; Gilder, David A.; Grube, Joel W.; Lee, Juliet P.; Geisler, Jennifer A.; Friese, Bettina; Calac, Daniel J.; Finan, Laura J.; Ehlers, Cindy L. (August 2018). "Prevention of Underage Drinking on California Indian Reservations Using Individual- and Community-Level Approaches". American Journal of Public Health. 108 (8): 1035–1041. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2018.304447. ISSN 0090-0036. PMC 6050833. PMID 29927644.
  30. ^ "Scripps News and Views 2010".
  31. ^ a b "RSA annual awards".
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