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
- Thakur, R, Luxami, V, Paul, K. Ruthenium(II)-catalyzed C-2 alkenylation of indole with olefins via a quinazolin-4(3H)-one directing group: a platform for selective fluorescent anion sensors. Chem Commun (Camb). 2025; :. doi: 10.1039/d5cc00984g. PubMed PMID:40842363 .
- Arellano, M, Barnhill, LM, Kim, AM, Hasan, KMM, Li, S, Paul, KC et al.. Identification of Pesticides Associated with an Increased Risk of Parkinson's Disease using a Multi-Screen Approach. bioRxiv. 2025; :. doi: 10.1101/2025.07.22.666186. PubMed PMID:40777452 PubMed Central PMC12330532.
- Zhikharevich, DM, Paul, KT. From jurisdiction to veridiction: Expertise and economization of immunization policy in the United States. Econ Soc. 2025;54 (2):310-333. doi: 10.1080/03085147.2025.2517951. PubMed PMID:40756762 PubMed Central PMC12315836.
- Chaithra, SR, Nair, SP, Chaithanya, SR, Nagashree, KS, Shreya,, Paul, K et al.. Targeting diabetic foot ulcer pathophysiology: altered signaling pathways and 3D scaffold as an emerging treatment strategy. 3 Biotech. 2025;15 (8):272. doi: 10.1007/s13205-025-04440-0. PubMed PMID:40726570 PubMed Central PMC12297080.
- Jehle, DV, Schultz, H, Khatri, R, Forks, PJ, Paul, KK, Reed, SA et al.. Creatine Kinase Elevations and Risk of Renal Failure and Dialysis in Patients With Rhabdomyolysis. Cureus. 2025;17 (6):e86536. doi: 10.7759/cureus.86536. PubMed PMID:40698228 PubMed Central PMC12282552.