Subhash Pandey

Subhash Pandey (Photo: Joshua Clark/University of Illinois Chicago)

Subhash Pandey, the Joseph A. Flaherty MD, Endowed Professor of Psychiatry and director of the UIC Center for Alcohol Research in Epigenetics, is an internationally recognized expert on the impact of alcohol on the brain. Pandey’s research has uncovered several epigenetic mechanisms activated by alcohol that can modify gene expression and leave lasting effects on the developing adolescent brain.

Pandey also has zeroed in on another type of epigenetics that involves microRNA. These non-coding RNA molecules can be affected by alcohol and, in turn, alter gene expression.

Pandey is also investigating how alcohol-related epigenetic changes influence “synaptic remodeling” — the networking of nerve cells to each other — and how these changes correlate with behavior, such as anxiety and depression. He also is investigating whether epigenetics plays a role in the withdrawal symptoms that make abstinence difficult.