national institute on alcohol abuse and alcoholism national institute on alcohol abuse and alcoholism the national institute on alcohol abuse and alcoholism (niaaa), as part of the u.s. national institutes of health, supports and conducts biomedical and behavioural research on the causes, consequences, treatment, and prevention of alcoholism and alcohol-related problems. the niaaa functions both as a funding agency that supports research by external research institutions and as a research institution itself, where alcohol research is carried out in‐house. it funds approximately 90% of all such research in the united states. the niaaa publishes the academic journal alcohol research: current reviews. national institute on alcohol abuse and alcoholism (niaaa)agency overviewformeddecember 31, 1970 (1970-12-31)jurisdictionfederal government of the united statesagency executivedr. george f. koob, directorparent departmentdepartment of health and human servicesparent agencynational institutes of healthwebsitewww.niaaa.nih.gov former logo past directors past directors from 1972–present portrait director took office left office morris e. chafetz 1972 september 1, 1975 ernest noble february 1976 april 1978 loran archer (acting) april 1978 april 1979 john r. deluca may 1979 october 1981 loran archer (acting) november 1981 july 1982 william e. mayer august 1982 july 1983 robert g. niven august 1983 december 1985 loran archer (acting) january 1986 october 1986 enoch gordis november 1986 january 2002 raynard s. kington january 2002 november 2002 ting-kai li november 2002 october 2008 kenneth r. warren november 2008 january 2014 george koob january 27, 2014 present mission the mission of the national institute on alcohol abuse and alcoholism is to generate and disseminate fundamental knowledge about the effects of alcohol on health and well-being, and apply that knowledge to improve diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of alcohol-related problems, including alcohol use disorder, across the lifespan. niaaa provides leadership in the national effort to reduce alcohol-related problems by: conducting and supporting alcohol-related research in a wide range of scientific areas including genetics, neuroscience, epidemiology, prevention, and treatment. coordinating and collaborating with other research institutes and federal programs on alcohol-related issues. collaborating with international, national, state, and local institutions, organizations, agencies, and programs engaged in alcohol-related work. translating and disseminating research findings to health care providers, researchers, policymakers, and the public. extramural research extramural research is research conducted by organizations outside the nih with nih support through grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements. niaaa’s extramural research includes both clinical and basic science research. clinical research comprises more than 30 percent of niaaa’s extramural research and includes programs in: prevention (neo-prohibitionism) treatment health services the laboratories and researchers housed within niaaa seek to unravel the biological basis of alcohol use disorders and related problems and to develop new strategies to prevent and treat these disorders.