Project Grant R01AA033156

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism awarded The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center $753,141 on August 1, 2026, under the Alcohol Research Programs (CFDA 93.273) to conduct clinical and preclinical research on pregnenolone therapy for alcohol use disorder with co-occurring major depressive disorder.

The recipient will evaluate pregnenolone, a naturally occurring neurosteroid available over the counter in the U.S., as a dual-indication treatment targeting both alcohol use disorder and depression. The research builds on the recipient's prior randomized, placebo-controlled trial in individuals with bipolar disorder and alcohol use disorder, which demonstrated significant reductions in drinks per drinking day, overall alcohol consumption, and self-reported depressive symptom severity. The funded work will employ clinical trial methodology, neuroimaging, and mechanistic studies to characterize changes in neurosteroid levels related to alcohol use and assess pregnenolone's effects on alcohol self-administration, depressive symptoms, and cannabis craving as measured by functional MRI.

Performance occurs in Dallas, Texas. The project runs through July 31, 2031. The award is structured as a Project Grant, a standard NIH investigator-initiated research vehicle supporting up to five years of support, renewable through competing continuation applications.