Foundation for Alcohol Research

This article is part of the Spinwatch public health oriented Alcohol Portal project.

The Foundation for Alcohol Research(ABMRF) in their own words are “the premier private foundation in North America that fosters and communicates research to understand the effects of alcohol on health and behaviour”. . The research foundation is a non-profit organisation funded by American and Canadian brewers. It is run by a board of trustees; a minority of board members come from the alcohol industry the rest consist of alcohol industry representatives and academics. Two advisory councils, who do not include members form the alcohol industry, but consist of scientists from biomedical, social, and behavioural research fields review and award grant proposals for research into alcohol and health. The foundation boast over 2000 publications have been supported by their funds and are determined to demonstrate its independence from industry by restricting board membership of industry executives to a minority and encouraging the research they fund to be published in peer reviewed journals without review by them.

History

ABMRF’s predecessor organization, the Medical Advisory Group (MAG), was 'formed in 1969 under the administrative auspices of The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. The MAG was created to provide independent medical advice concerning the health effects of alcoholic beverages to members of the United States Brewers Association (USBA) -- today's Beer Institute. Proceeding upon the advice of the Johns Hopkins Hospital president, USBA enlisted Dr. Thomas B. Turner, distinguished dean emeritus of The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. Turner drew upon well-known physicians from the Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, and Johns Hopkins medical schools to create an esteemed group.