Exploring the interaction between light- and food- entrainable oscillators in the mammalian circadian system

我们体内的生物钟与外部环境同步，并调节我们的日常行为和生理节奏。哺乳动物的昼夜节律系统由位于大脑和全身的多个时钟组成。大多数研究都研究了大脑中的中央时钟，它与环境的明暗循环同步。相比之下，其他时钟，如那些对进食时间有反应的时钟，则是“黑匣子”之谜，因为它们在体内的位置是未知的。在这个项目中，行为学、分子学和数学方法将结合起来研究这些难以捉摸的时钟的计时机制，以及它们如何与昼夜节律系统相互作用以控制行为。这些研究将确定在这些时钟中对计时很重要的基因，未来的研究评估这些基因的表达模式可能会导致这些振荡器的位置识别，这可能会改变我们对昼夜节律系统功能的理解。这项研究是一个独特的机会，本科生和博士后学员参与一个项目，将解决长期以来对生物计时的猜测。这些研究将教会受训者实验观察、创造力的价值，以及在发展和检验假设时使用多种技术方法的价值。来自各个学术水平的学员，包括博士后、本科生和高中生，以及来自不同人口背景的学员，包括女性和代表性不足的少数民族，将沉浸在一个丰富的昼夜生物学研究环境中。最后，这个项目将为社区外展提供机会，因为实验室成员在所有经济和种族背景的儿童免费活动中组织和操作生物钟展台。

Our internal biological clocks are synchronized with our external surroundings and regulate our daily (circadian) rhythms of behavior and physiology. The mammalian circadian system is composed of multiple clocks located in the brain and throughout the body. Most studies have investigated the central clock in the brain, which synchronizes to the environmental cycle of light and dark. In contrast, other clocks, such as those that respond to feeding time, are "black box" mysteries because their locations in the body are unknown. In this project, behavioral, molecular, and mathematical approaches will be combined to investigate the timekeeping mechanisms of these elusive clocks and how they functionally interact with the circadian system to control behavior. These studies will identify genes that are important for timekeeping in these clocks and future studies evaluating the expression patterns of these genes could lead to the identification of the location(s) of these oscillators, which could transform our understanding of the function of the circadian system. This research is a unique opportunity for undergraduate and post-doctoral trainees to participate in a project that will address long-standing speculation about biological timekeeping. The studies will teach trainees about the value of experimental observation, creativity, and using multiple technical approaches when developing and testing hypotheses. Trainees from all academic levels, including a postdoctoral fellow, undergraduate students and high school students, and from diverse demographic backgrounds, including women and underrepresented minorities, will be immersed in an environment rich in the study of circadian biology. Finally, this project will provide opportunities for community outreach, because lab members organize and operate the biological clocks booth at free events for children of all economic and racial backgrounds.