This $480,468.00 Project Grant award from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) under the Alcohol Research Programs (CFDA 93.273) supports research to investigate the mechanisms by which ethanol disrupts jaw development and morphogenesis of the anterior pharyngeal endoderm. The University of Louisville's Office of Research & Innovation Division is using this 5-year grant, awarded on May 15, 2024, to conduct in vivo studies in zebrafish to examine how ethanol exposure modulates bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) and planar cell polarity (PCP) signaling pathways, and how disruptions to these pathways impact endoderm cell behaviors critical to proper jaw formation. The research aims to elucidate the cellular and molecular processes underlying fetal alcohol spectrum disorders to inform potential diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. Specific focus areas include quantifying the effects of ethanol on BMP and PCP signaling, downstream impacts on endoderm cell migration, polarity, and adhesion, and the epistatic relationship between BMP and PCP in jaw development.