Elizabeth Glover: Studying the brain to design better treatments for alcohol use disorder

Elizabeth Glover, assistant professor in the UIC Department of Psychiatry, named 2024-25 Rising Star in Basic Life Sciences. (Photo: Martin Hernandez/UIC)

Over the last century, science has radically transformed our understanding of addiction. What was once considered a moral failing was gradually understood to be a brain disease. By studying a newly discovered region of the brain, Elizabeth Gloverhopes to provide a path to improve treatment and prevention for alcohol use disorder.

Glover's research focuses on an area of the brain called the rostromedial tegmental nucleus, which signals information about harmful experiences so we can learn to avoid them in the future. She believes disruptions in the input to this region of the brain might be one reason people keep using alcohol, despite serious negative consequences. She thinks this may be true for input from the prefrontal cortex - a brain region critically involved in decision-making. Glover said her group is the only lab in the country studying the role of this pathway in addiction.

"If we can understand how neural circuits work in the brain and how they might be disrupted in alcohol use disorder, then someone else who has expertise in things like drug development can use that information to design better treatments, preventative measures or diagnostics," said Glover, assistant professor of psychiatry at UIC.

"We're trying to provide some kind of mechanistic understanding of the brain and how it's disrupted after chronic alcohol exposure, because that mechanistic understanding is crucial in order for us to know how best to treat individuals who have this disease."

Glover, director of the Behavior Core for the Center for Alcohol Research in Epigeneticsat UIC, came to addiction neuroscience by accident. She initially envisioned herself as a scientist watching primates in Africa but ended up pursuing biomedical research in a lab that was studying why we drink alcohol. She discovered a passion for the field.

Since joining UIC in 2018, her lab has developed research tools - such as a portable, day/night-vision video camera for behavioral studies and a low-cost "lickometer" to monitor rodent drinking patterns - that advance the field for other neuroscientists. Because rodents are nocturnal, Glover said, it's hard to find a camera that can easily adjust to changes in light and function in various test settings.

"We developed them for ourselves out of a clear need, and people are very excited because they need them, too," she said of these tools.

Glover said UIC has given her a community that's helped her flourish, and she considers herself lucky to mentor the next generation of scientists.

"It's the most rewarding aspect of the job, and the thing that I'm proudest of," Glover said. "To see people who come in super enthusiastic about neuroscience and help them carve out a career path to continue to pursue that as a lifelong goal is awesome."