Collaborative study on the genetics of alcoholism: The strength of collaboration, team science, and longitudinal data

Abstract

This issue contains a series of articles describing the various resources, studies, results, and future directions for the collaborative study on the genetics of alcoholism (COGA). The collaborative and integrative approach initiated by this group ~30 years ago serves as an excellent example of the strength of team science. Individually, various aspects of COGA would be limited in their impact toward improved understanding of alcohol use disorder. Collectively, their wholistic approach which spans deep longitudinal phenotypic assessments in families to include the application of large-scale omics technologies and cell-culture based molecular studies has demonstrated the power of working together.