Research
Genetic, molecular, and neural underpinnings of sleep and sleep deprivation
Appointments
- Associate Professor; Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology
Biography
Dr. Paul studies the genetic, molecular, and neural underpinnings of sleep. His primary interests are comprised of uncovering the mechanisms responsible for the negative effects of sleep deprivation in adults and children. He also probes the origins of gender/sex differences in the ability to recover from sleep loss to develop therapeutic targets for sleep disorders that disproportionately affect females.
His work has shown that sex differences in daily sleep amount are dependent on circulating reproductive hormones while sex differences in the ability to recover from sleep loss are relatively insensitive to them. Dr. Paul’s current research involves applying a forward genetics approach to uncover the core genes responsible for sleep-wake regulation and the impairing effects of sleep loss. Effective treatments for common sleep-wake disorders are elusive.
Dr. Paul conducts a forward genetics approach to facilitate gene identification that takes advantage of natural variation occurring in sleep-replete and sleep-deprived mice. This approach applies the most cutting edge genome mapping, positional cloning, and DNA sequencing techniques to identifying the genetic origins of unique sleep phenotypes in transgenic mouse models. These studies are expected to identify novel sleep regulatory genes and lead to the development of new therapeutic targets and improved treatments for sleep disorders.
Publications
- Gong, Y, Paul, KC, Lin, Y, Jones, DP, Walker, DI, Del Rosario, IPC et al.. Agricultural Copper Pesticide Exposure and Metabolic Profiles among Parkinson's Disease Cases and Community Controls in California. Chem Res Toxicol. 2025; :. doi: 10.1021/acs.chemrestox.5c00245. PubMed PMID:41460852 .
- Sepucha, K, Vo, H, Marques, F, Valentine, KD, Abdeen, A, Bedair, H et al.. Patient Decision Aids into Routine Orthopedic Care: Results from an Implementation Study at 12 Sites. Med Decis Making. 2025; :272989X251405892. doi: 10.1177/0272989X251405892. PubMed PMID:41439597 .
- Jehle, DVK, Mehta, K, Kim, EM, Bothwell, LG, Mireles, B, Ghogomu, M et al.. Analgesia Disparities in Hispanic vs White Patients with Long Bone Fractures. J Emerg Med. 2025;80 :287-296. doi: 10.1016/j.jemermed.2025.11.003. PubMed PMID:41418629 .
- Saakre, M, Raman, KV, Jaiswal, S, Tilgam, J, Paul, K, Bhattacharjee, S et al.. Host-delivered amiRNA-chimeric Bt protein, Cry1AcF, combinatorial mediated resistance against the polyphagous insect-pest, Helicoverpa armigera. Pest Manag Sci. 2025; :. doi: 10.1002/ps.70451. PubMed PMID:41414739 .
- Wang, Y, Paul, KN, Block, GD, Deboer, T, Colwell, CS. Dim light at night disrupts the sleep-wake cycle and exacerbates abnormal EEG activity in Cntnap2 knockout mice: implications for autism spectrum disorders. Mol Autism. 2025;16 (1):62. doi: 10.1186/s13229-025-00689-7. PubMed PMID:41408339 PubMed Central PMC12713241.