Presenter: Dr. Michael C. Golding, Ph.D. Professor of Physiology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas
Description: Until recently, we did not anticipate that paternal lifestyle choices and health could impact offspring growth and development. However, emerging research now reveals that epigenetic mechanisms of paternal inheritance are a plausible driver of multiple adverse developmental outcomes, including those associated with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs). Because maternal and paternal alcohol use is interrelated, there is now an urgent need to understand how male drinking interacts with maternal alcohol exposures to influence and potentially exacerbate FASD outcomes.