ABMRF/The Foundation for Alcohol Research is a private, non-profit foundation supporting young investigators researching the effects of alcohol on health and behavior. The Foundation's mission is "To achieve a better understanding of the effects of alcohol on the health and behavior of individuals; To provide the scientific basis for the prevention, treatment and future cure of alcohol-use disorders; To fund innovative, high quality research; To support promising new investigators; To share information with the research community and other interested parties." Studies on the effects of alcohol consumption - innovative ideas, looking at alcohol in the context of many complex factors - are approved annually by independent advisory committees, with grants being awarded to institutions in the United States, Canada and South Africa. Currently, the Foundation funds approximately $1.2 million in research grants and conference support annually. Over 260 institutions and more than 570 grantees in the United States, Canada and South Africa have been awarded grants since ABMRF's founding in 1982. The Foundation encourages open communication of research through peer-reviewed scientific journals and research conferences without any foundation review or approval, assuring quality and independence in science. To date, ABMRF grantees have amassed more than 2,350 articles, book chapters or scientific presentations based upon Foundation-funded research. History ABMRF was founded in 1982 as the Alcoholic Beverage Medical Research Foundation (ABMRF). Prior to its founding, ABMRF's predecessor organization was the Medical Advisory Group (MAG). Formed in 1969 under the administrative auspices of The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, the MAG was created to provide independent medical information on the health effects of alcoholic beverages and prevention of alcohol abuse to members of the brewing industry. The MAG was an esteemed council of physicians from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Harvard University, Yale University and Dartmouth College. The MAG merged with a similar group in Canada, the Health Advisory Group. At this point, the Foundation became independent of Johns Hopkins and the Alcoholic Beverage Medical Research Foundation was formed, ensuring ironclad scientific independence from its financial contributors. Evaluating and recommending applications for research grants became the primary focus. Emphasis was placed on prevention rather than treatment, concentrating on short- and long-term effects of moderate drinking, why a minority of drinkers move beyond moderate to excessive intake, and prevention of alcohol misuse. These effects could be not only medical but also social and behavioral, so two advisory committees were born: the