Swathi Yadlapalli

Our research focuses on understanding the neural and molecular basis of circadian rhythms. Circadian rhythms are 24-hour oscillations in behavior and physiology that are generated by endogenous clocks found in a majority of living organisms. The disruption of clocks has been linked to many human pathologies including diabetes, cancer and neurodegenerative diseases. Our goal is to understand the fundamental processes of circadian systems at different organizational levels, from molecules and cells and large-scale networks to organismal physiology and behavior. We use the Drosophila circadian system as it provides an ideal platform because it has a clock system that is highly conserved from flies to humans, superb genetic and neural activity monitoring tools, along with robust behavioral paradigms. We propose to build an interdisciplinary research program spanning the fields of circadian clocks, cell biology, neuroscience, and engineering to gain a rich, multi-level understanding of how circadian clocks are regulated in the fruit fly with the long-term goal of a deeper understanding of the human circadian clocks and ultimately discover new therapeutic targets in the treatment of human malignancies.  

Associated Grad Programs

Cell & Developmental Biology, Cellular & Molecular Biology,  Neuroscience