Federal Grant Award Summary

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) awarded Columbia University's Health Sciences Division a Project Grant of $723,453 on July 10, 2026, under the Alcohol Research Programs (CFDA 93.273) to conduct the Prenatal Alcohol Gene-by-Exposure (PAGE) Study. This research initiative will investigate the roles of maternal and child genetic profiles in determining vulnerability to Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD), the most common preventable cause of neurodevelopmental delay worldwide. The study addresses a critical knowledge gap by employing genome-wide approaches integrating both maternal and child genetics to examine common and rare genetic variants associated with variable severity of neurocognitive deficits in children exposed to prenatal alcohol. This will be the largest genome-wide FASD genetics study conducted to date, utilizing whole-genome sequencing data, methylomic, transcriptomic, and phenotypic information.

The PAGE Study leverages previously collected data and biological samples from three major cohorts: the UK-based Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC)—the largest known genetics birth cohort with clinically significant prenatal alcohol exposure levels—two Cape Town birth cohorts with the highest prospectively studied prenatal alcohol exposure levels, and the US-based Collaborative Initiative for FASD (CIFASD) clinical cohort. The project is scheduled for completion by March 31, 2031, and is expected to yield genetic determinants of FASD severity, thereby improving prevention and treatment program implementation strategies.