O’Donnell Brain Institute hosts inaugural gathering of elite sleep scientists
From staff reports
Chances are good that you didn’t get enough sleep last night, but UT Southwestern Medical Center scientists and other investigators are actively working to change that. They’re making great strides in researching the causes of sleep disruption and developing potential cures. Many of these internationally recognized experts in research and clinical fields of circadian and sleep science recently gathered at UT Southwestern Medical Center for the Peter O’Donnell Jr. Brain Institute’s inaugural Circadian and Sleep Medicine Symposium, tackling topics ranging from genetics to personalized medicine.
“This symposium serves as a catalyst to advance the exciting science around the fundamental molecular basis of circadian rhythms and sleep, as well as the clinical assessment and diagnosis of patients with sleep disorders,” said Dr. Daniel K. Podolsky, President of UT Southwestern, in welcoming the scientists to campus. “It embodies our vision for the Peter O’Donnell Jr. Brain Institute: to understand brain function and the underlying causes of related illness, and with those insights, to drive new and innovative approaches to treatment and, eventually, prevention and cure.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates as many as 70 million adults in the U.S. may have sleep and wakefulness disorders ranging from sleep apnea to chronic insomnia. Poor sleep contributes to numerous chronic diseases – including diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and depression – and is a leading cause of accidents on the road, at home, and in the workplace.
Ongoing research is targeting many of these medical issues. Investigators at the Symposium discussed the new genetic approaches they are taking to sleep disorders, molecular architecture behind the circadian clock, and important molecular ties to immunology and functions that protect the heart. On the clinical front, presenters reviewed new research into nerve stimulation therapies, pediatric sleep disease, ties between neuromuscular disorders and sleep, and the development of personalized approaches to sleep disorder therapies.
“Recent discoveries have fueled new recognition of the importance of understanding the biology behind these disorders, so we can find better solutions to sleep and body clock issues that affect so many,” said Dr. Joseph Takahashi, Chairman of Neuroscience.
Dr. Takahashi identified and cloned the first mammalian gene related to biological clocks, known as circadian rhythms. He and colleagues have since identified nearly two dozen genes affecting the body clocks, including two recently identified genes discovered in work with Dr. Masashi Yanagisawa, Professor of Molecular Genetics. Named Sleepy and Dreamless, these are the first two core genes that regulate the amount of deep sleep and dreaming. Previous research revealed genes critical to the switch between sleep and wakeful states.
That work continues to fuel multidisciplinary collaborations among basic scientists in fields such as Molecular Genetics and Immunology, and bolsters strategic coordination with departments and divisions in the clinical realm, including Neurology and Neurotherapeutics, Otolaryngology, Pulmonology, and multiple divisions within Internal Medicine.
“The research showcased at our Circadian and Sleep Medicine Symposium reveals how much ground we have gained in understanding the biological foundation of sleep and wake cycles, as well as the opportunity currently at hand to make substantive breakthroughs in our field,” said Dr. Takahashi, who is also a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Medicine, and the 2016 recipient of the Peter Farrell Prize in Sleep Medicine.
Moderators and presenters for the Symposium included Dr. Lora Hooper, Chairman of Immunology and Professor with the Center for the Genetics of Host Defense and of Microbiology; Dr. Ryan Hays, Assistant Professor of Neurology and Neurotherapeutics and Medical Director of William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital’s epilepsy and electroencephalography (EEG) services; Dr. Won Lee, Associate Professor of Internal Medicine and Medical Director of the Clinical Center for Sleep and Breathing Disorders; and Dr. Imran Khawaja, Associate Professor of Psychiatry and of Neurology and Neurotherapeutics, and Director of the Center for Sleep Medicine at the VA North Texas Health Care System.
Other presenters included Dr. Carla Green, Professor of Neuroscience; Dr. Beverly Rothermel, Associate Professor of Internal Medicine and of Molecular Biology; Dr. Robert Greene, Professor of Psychiatry and of Neuroscience; Dr. Qinghua Liu, Associate Professor of Biochemistry and of Neuroscience; Dr. Ron Mitchell, Professor of Otolaryngology and of Pediatrics, and Chief of Pediatric Otolaryngology; and Dr. Teresa Chan-Leveno, Associate Professor of Otolaryngology.
Dr. Green is a Distinguished Scholar in Neuroscience.
Dr. Greene holds the Sherry Gold Knopf Crasilneck Distinguished Chair in Psychiatry, in Honor of Mollie and Murray Gold and the Sherry Knopf Crasilneck Distinguished Chair in Psychiatry, in Honor of Albert Knopf.
Dr. Hooper holds the Jonathan W. Uhr, M.D. Distinguished Chair in Immunology.
Dr. Mitchell holds the William Beckner, M.D. Distinguished Chair in Otolaryngology.
Dr. Podolsky holds the Philip O’Bryan Montgomery, Jr., M.D. Distinguished Presidential Chair in Academic Administration and the Doris and Bryan Wildenthal Distinguished Chair in Medical Science.
Dr. Takahashi holds the Loyd B. Sands Distinguished Chair in Neuroscience.
