The University of Tennessee Health Science Center · Pharmacology

Vascular Alcohol Mechanisms Lab

Alex Dopico · Memphis, Tennessee

Research Focus

Dr. Alex Dopico's research lab focuses on understanding how alcohol consumption leads to blackouts, a form of memory loss often related to a specific brain region and its blood vessels. By exploring the actions of alcohol on ion channels in the blood vessels of the brain, the lab aims to uncover new molecular targets that could be used to develop treatments for alcohol-induced blackouts. The research combines various experimental techniques to investigate how these mechanisms work at different levels, from isolated cells to living mice.

alcohol-induced blackoutsion channelscerebral arteriespharmacotherapyvascular mechanisms

Research Aims

AIM 01Investigate the role of specific amino acids in BK channels during alcohol exposure.

AIM 02Determine the effects of alcohol on middle cerebral artery constriction and find ways to reverse it.

AIM 03Evaluate the impact of novel pharmacological agents on alcohol-induced blackouts in mice.

Skills the Lab Values

molecular biology techniquespatch-clamp electrophysiologyin vivo imagingmouse modelscell culturebiochemical assayscomputational modelingelectroporationsite-directed mutagenesis

Output against the department

Publications114bottom 31% of dept.316th of 462

this lab

most publishedleast published

Citations1.4kbottom 8% of dept.426th of 462

this lab

most citedleast cited

Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.