Dr. John McDaid Shares Insights on Alcohol and The Human Brain

CHICAGO - March 5, 2015 - PRLog -- University of Chicago researcher Dr. John McDaid will present a lecture titled “Alcohol and its Effects on the Brain” on Tue. Mar. 17, 2015 as part of the East-West Perspectives lecture series in the Fourth Floor Auditorium at East-West University, 829 S. Wabash Ave., in Chicago.  The event begins with a reception at 5:30 p.m. followed by the lecture at 6:00 p.m.  Admission is free.

Dr. McDaid is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Anesthesia and Critical Care at the University of Chicago. Dr. McDaid’s current work is predominantly centered around research into the effects of alcohol on the brain reward system and the changes in that brain pathway which may predispose one towards increased alcohol consumption and, possibly later on, alcohol addiction.

Although Dr. McDaid’s doctoral work focused on the cardiovascular effects of the drug ecstasy, his fascination with addiction led him to switch over to neuroscience research in order to study the behavioral effects of drugs of abuse.  In the process of making that change in research direction, John moved to the U.S. shortly after obtaining his Ph.D. in order to work in the laboratory of Dr. Celeste Napier at Loyola University Medical Center in Chicago, and then with Mark Brodie at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC).

Dr. McDaid joined the University of Chicago in 2007 working at first in the lab of Professor Dan McGehee and then with the help of an RO1 grant from the NIH, setting up his own lab in 2011, which he now runs with the help of a postdoctoral scholar and research technician.  John has been actively engaged in addiction research for 13 years and has authored publications in a number of scientific journals including the Journal of Physiology and Cell Reports.  Dr. McDaid, who is an Irish national, obtained his undergraduate degree in Physiology from Cork University and carried out his doctoral studies in the Department of Physiology at the Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin, Ireland, receiving his Ph.D. in 2002.

East-West Perspectives is a series of monthly lectures hosted by East-West University.  All events are free, and are held on the third Tuesday of every month from January to March, October and November.  The April and May events are held on the third Wednesday of the month.

East-West University is a private, non-profit, non-denominational four-year university in Chicago’s South Loop.  East-West is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA), and provides affordable, quality higher education to students from all ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds.