My research focuses primarily on understanding the genetic influences that contribute to the development of externalizing spectrum disorders, including disorders of childhood such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, and conduct disorder as well as disorders of adolescence and adulthood such as drug and alcohol abuse and dependence and antisocial personality disorder. Further, I am interested in examining how correlates of these disorders, such as aspects of personality, cognitive deficits, and co-occurring disorders, can be used to refine our understanding of the genetic contributions to their development in a manner that will further our overall understanding and classification of these disorders.
Miller, A.P. & Gizer, I.R. (in press). Dual-systems models of the genetic architecture of impulsive personality traits: Neurogenetic evidence of distinct but related factors. Psychological Medicine.
Dash, G.F., Gizer, I.R., Agrawal, A., Lynskey, M.T., Heath, A.C., Martin, N.G., & Slutske, W.S. (in press). Specificity in genetic and environmental risk for prescription opioid misuse and heroin use. Psychological Medicine.
Demontis, D., Walters, G.B., Athanasiadis, G., Walters, R., Therrien, K., Nielsen, T.T., et al. (2023). Genome-wide analyses of ADHD identify 27 risk loci, refine the genetic architecture and implicate several cognitive domains. Nature Genetics, 55, 198-208.
Davis, C.N., Gizer, I.R., Agrawal, A., Lynskey, M.T., Heath, A.C., Martin, N.G., & Slutske, W.S. (2023). Adolescent substance use and high school noncompletion: Exploring the nature of the relationship using a discordant twin design. Addiction, 118, 167-176.
Yeung, E.W., Spychala, K.S., Miller, A.P., Otto, J.M., Deak, J.D., Kim, H., Gilder, D.A., Ehlers, C.L., Wilhelmsen, K.C., & Gizer, I.R. (2022). Genetic risk for alcohol dependence and onset of regular drinking on the progression to alcohol dependence: A polygenic risk score approach. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 230, Article 109117.
Spychala, K.M., Gizer, I.R., Davis, C.N., Dash, G.F., Piasecki, T.M., & Slutske, W.S. (2022). Predicting disordered gambling across adolescence and young adulthood from polygenic contributions to Big 5 personality traits in a UK birth cohort. Addiction, 117, 690-700.
Mullins, N., Forstner, A. J., O'Connell, K. S., Coombes, B., Coleman, J. R., Qiao, Z., et al. (2021). Genome-wide association study of over 40,000 bipolar disorder cases provides novel biological insights. Nature Genetics, 91, 313–327.
Yeung, E.W., Lee, M.R., McDowell, Y., Sher, K.J., & Gizer I.R. (2020). The association between alcohol consumption and pain interference in a nationally representative sample: The moderating roles of gender and alcohol use disorder symptomatology. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 44, 645-659.
Miller, A.P., Gizer, I.R., Fleming III, W.A., Otto, J.M., Deak, J.D., Martins, J.S., & Bartholow, B.D. (2019). Polygenic liability for schizophrenia predicts shifting-specific executive function deficits and tobacco use in a moderate drinking community sample. Psychiatry Research, 279, 47-54.
Gizer, I.R., Bizon, C., Wilhelmsen, K.C., Gilder, D.A., Ehlers, C.L. (2018). Whole genome sequence study of cannabis dependence in two independent cohorts. Addiction Biology, 23, 461-473.
Otto, J.M., Gizer, I.R., Deak, J.D., Fleming, K.A., Bartholow, B.D. (2017). A cis-eQTL in OPRM1 is associated with subjective response to alcohol and alcohol use. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 41, 929-938.
Richmond-Rakerd, L., Otto, J.M., Slutske, W.S., Ehlers, C.L., Wilhelmsen, K.C, & Gizer, I.R. (2016). A Novel Tobacco Use Phenotype Suggests the 15q25 and 19q13 Loci May Be Differentially Associated with Cigarettes per Day and Tobacco-Related Problems. Tobacco & Nicotine Research, 19, 426-434.
Otto, J.M., Gizer, I.R., Ellingson, J.M., Bizon, C., Wilhelmsen, K.C., Ehlers, C.L. (2016). Polygenic risk scores for cigarettes smoked per day do not generalize to a Native American population. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 167, 95-102.
Gizer, I.R. (2016). Molecular genetic approaches to understanding comorbidity of psychiatric disorders. Development & Psychopathology, 28, 1089-1101.
Gizer, I.R., Otto, J.M. Ellingson, J. (2015). Molecular Genetic Approaches to the Study of the Externalizing Spectrum. To appear in T. Beauchaine & S. Hinshaw (Eds.), Oxford Handbook on Externalizing Spectrum Disorders (pp. 125-148). Oxford University Press.
Peng, Q., Gizer, I.R., Libiger, O., Bizon, C., Wilhelmsen, K.C., Schork, N.J., & Ehlers, C.L. (in press). Association and ancestry analysis of ADH and ALDH variants with alcohol-related phenotypes in a Native American community sample. American Journal of Medical Genetics Part B: Neuropsychiatric Genetics.
Norden-Krichmar, T.M., Gizer, I.R., Libiger, O., Wilhelmsen, K.C., Ehlers, C.L. (2014). Correlation analysis of genetic admixture and social identification with body mass index in a Native American community. American Journal of Human Biology, 26, 247-260. PMID: 24757035
Criado, J.R., Gizer, I.R., Edenberg, H.J., Ehlers, C.L. (2014). CHRNA5 and CHRNA3 variants and level of neuroticism in young adult Mexican American men and women. Twin Research and Human Genetics, 17, 80-88. PMID: 24588897
Bizon, C., Spiegel, M., Chasse, S.A., Gizer, I.R., Li, Y., Malc, E.P., Mieczkowski, P.A., Sailsbery, J.K., Wang, X., Ehlers, C.L., Wilhelmsen, K.C. (2014). Variant calling in low-coverage whole genome sequencing of a Native American population sample. BMC Genomics,15:85. doi: 10.1186/1471-2164-15-85. PMID: 24479562
Gizer, I.R., Gilder, D.A., Lau, P., Wang, T., Wilhelmsen, K.C., Ehlers, C.L. (2013). Contributions of ethnicity to differential item functioning of cannabis abuse and dependence symptoms. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 74, 320-328. PMID: 23384380
Ehlers, C.L. & Gizer, I.R. (2013). Evidence for a genetic component for substance dependence in Native Americans. American Journal of Psychiatry, 170, 154-164. PMID: 23377636
Gizer, I.R. & Waldman I.D. (2012). Double Dissociation between Lab Measures of Inattention and Impulsivity and the Dopamine Transporter Gene (DAT1) and Dopamine D4 Receptor Gene (DRD4). Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 121, 1011-1023. PMID: 22564179
Gizer, I.R., Ehlers, C.L., Vietan, C., Feiler, H.S., Gilder, D.A., & Wilhelmsen, K.C. (2012). Genome-wide linkage scan of antisocial behavior, depression, and general substance misuse in the UCSF Family Alcoholism Study. Psychiatric Genetics, 22, 235-244. PMID: 22517380
Gizer, I.R., Ehlers, C.L., Vietan, C., Seaton-Smith, K.L., Feiler, H.S., Lee, J.V., Segall, S.K., Gilder, D.A., & Wilhelmsen, K.C. (2011). Linkage scan of nicotine dependence in the UCSF Family Alcoholism Study. Psychological Medicine, 41, 799-808. PMID: 20594377
Gizer, I.R., Ehlers, C.L., Vietan, C., Seaton-Smith, K.L., Feiler, H.S., Lee, J.V., Segall, S.K., Gilder, D.A., & Wilhelmsen, K.C. (2011). Linkage Scan of Alcohol Dependence in the UCSF Family Alcoholism Study. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 113, 125-132. PMID: 20817416
Gizer, I.R., Seaton-Smith, K.L, Ehlers, C.L., Vietan, C. & Wilhelmsen, K.C. (2010). Heritability of MMPI-2 scales in the UCSF Family Alcoholism Study. Journal of Addictive Diseases, 29, 84-97.
Ehlers, C.L., Phillips, E., Gizer, I.R., Gilder, D.A., and Wilhelmsen, K.C. (2010). EEG spectral phenotypes: heritability and association with marijuana and alcohol dependence in an American Indian community study. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 106, 101-110. PMID: 19748744
Ehlers, C.L., Gizer, I.R., Vieten, C., Gilder, D.A., Finnerman, G., Lau, P., & Wilhelmsen, K.C. (2010). Cannabis dependence in the San Francisco Family Study: Age of onset of use, DSM-IV symptoms, withdrawal, treatment, and heritability. Journal of Addictive Behaviors, 35, 102-110. PMID: 19818563
Gizer, I.R., Ficks, C. & Waldman, I.D. (2009). Candidate Gene Studies of ADHD: A meta-analytic review. Human Genetics, 126, 51-90. PMID: 19506906
English, B.A., Hahn, M.K., Gizer, I.R., Mazei-Robison, M., Steele, A., Kurnik, D.M., Stein, C.M., Stein, M.A., Waldman, I.D., & Blakely, R.D. (2009). Choline transporter gene variation supports Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders, 1, 252-263.
Gizer, I.R., Waldman, I.D., Abramowitz, A., Barr, C.L., Feng, Y., Wigg, K., Misener, V., & Rowe, D.C. (2008). Relations between multi-informant assessments of ADHD symptoms and DAT1 and DRD4. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 117, 869-880. PMID: 19025233
Waldman, I.D., Gizer, I.R., Nigg, J., Friderici, K., Park, L., & Rappley, M. (2006). The adrenergic receptor 2-α gene (ADRA2A) and endophenotypes for childhood ADHD. Cognitive, Affective, and Behavioral Neuroscience, 6, 18-30. PMID: 16869226
Kim, C.-H., Hahn, M.K., Joung, Y., Steele, A.H., Cohen, B.M., Robertson, D. Waldman, I.D., Gizer, I.R., Blakely, R.D., & Kim, K.-S. (2006). A novel polymorphism in the human norepinephrine transporter gene alters promoter activity and associated with attention deficits. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 103, 19164-19169. PMID: 17146058