Description of Research Expertise

Dr. Naidoo’s research focuses on the molecular mechanisms of sleep regulation. She uses both the mouse and Drosophila models in her studies using biochemical and proteomic approaches to study the cellular responses to sleep deprivation. She has established that the endoplasmic reticulum is a critical sensor of perturbations that result from sleep deprivation and that a cellular protective pathway, the unfolded protein response, is induced when mice or Drosophila are sleep deprived. In addition, Dr. Naidoo is studying age-related changes in cellular protective pathways in response to sleep deprivation. Recently completed studies suggest that inadequate sleep in the elderly, who normally experience sleep disturbances, leads to an impaired cellular protective response that may in turn lead to further sleep disturbances beginning a vicious cycle of sleep loss and cellular damage. Current studies are exploring the mechanisms by which this may occur. She is also studying the role of the synaptic scaffolding protein, Homer, in sleep-wake behavior.