UTEP awarded $2.5 million grant to study nicotine dependence in women

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- The new $2.5 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and will help researchers on a new study. The grant will provide stipends to four graduate students throughout its five-year duration.

Researchers at The University of Texas at El Paso wil study nicotine dependence in women. UTEP states this could lead to improved nicotine cessation treatments for women. The study will be lead by Laura O'Dell, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Psychology at UTEP. They will research into how stress produced by nicotine withdrawal is intensified by variations in ovarian hormones in women. 

“Despite how nicotine is consumed, this drug is known to have adverse effects on brain development and proper regulation of hormone levels in females, so we are addressing an important public health problem,” said O'Dell. "The results of this research are expected to contribute meaningfully to the development of more effective therapeutics for nicotine cessation for women, who are at greater risk for experiencing the adverse consequences of long-term nicotine use."

UTEP also says the results of this research could help explain the causes behind anxiety-like behavior experienced by females during abstinence from nicotine.