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
- Murphy, LR, Jehle, D, Paul, K. In reply. Ann Emerg Med. 2024;84 (2):228-229. doi: 10.1016/j.annemergmed.2024.03.013. PubMed PMID:39032990 .
- Narayana, S, Gowda, BHJ, Hani, U, Shimu, SS, Paul, K, Das, A et al.. Inorganic nanoparticle-based treatment approaches for colorectal cancer: recent advancements and challenges. J Nanobiotechnology. 2024;22 (1):427. doi: 10.1186/s12951-024-02701-3. PubMed PMID:39030546 PubMed Central PMC11264527.
- Talbott, MM, Waguespack, AN, Armstrong, PA, Davis, JW, Paul, KK, Williams, SM et al.. Bicarbonate and Serum Lab Markers as Predictors of Mortality in the Trauma Patient. West J Emerg Med. 2024;25 (4):661-667. doi: 10.5811/westjem.18363. PubMed PMID:39028253 PubMed Central PMC11254141.
- Saravanapandian, V, Madani, M, Nichols, I, Vincent, S, Dover, M, Dikeman, D et al.. Sleep EEG signatures in mouse models of 15q11.2-13.1 duplication (Dup15q) syndrome. J Neurodev Disord. 2024;16 (1):39. doi: 10.1186/s11689-024-09556-7. PubMed PMID:39014349 PubMed Central PMC11251350.
- Furlong, MA, Paul, KC, Parra, KL, Fournier, AJ, Ellsworth, PC, Cockburn, MG et al.. Pre-Conception And First Trimester Exposure To Pesticides And Associations With Stillbirth. Am J Epidemiol. 2024; :. doi: 10.1093/aje/kwae198. PubMed PMID:39013781 .