Lee Lab

Sleep and circadian rhythms are crucial aspects of our physiology and behavior and are involved in or affected by many disease states. The mission of our lab is to advance our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underpinning these processes and their disorders. In doing so, we will provide important insights for treating a wide variety of diseases in which sleep disorders are major causes, symptoms, or comorbidities.

Sleep is regulated by two distinct but interconnected mechanisms: sleep homeostasis and the circadian clock. Optimal sleep quality requires alignment of these two pathways, and disruptions in either one can affect the other and lead to sleep disorders. It has been hypothesized that t he multiple brain centers forming the homeostatic mechanism regulate the total amount of sleep and sleep depth, while the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) circadian clock regulates timing of sleep/wake onset and continuous sleep. In the last 30 years, great strides have been made in elucidating the molecular mechanisms of the circadian clock, but there remains much that is unknown, and the molecular basis for sleep homeostasis and the crosstalk between the clock and the homeostat remain almost entirely mysterious. Our lab uses a mix of mouse and cell-based models to both deepen our molecular understanding of the circadian clockwork as well as shine a light on the mechanisms of sleep homeostasis.

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Choogon Lee, Ph.D.

Florida State University
College of Medicine
Dept. of Biomedical Sciences
1115 West Call Street
Tallahassee, FL 32306-4300
Office: (850) 645-1478, MSR 2300-L
Lab: (850) 645-1508, MSR 2310-N
Dr. Lee's Faculty Profile