Project Mentor
Dr. Zhao-Wen Wang
Department of Neuroscience
Undergraduate Research Opportunity Description
| Project Description | We recently discovered that melatonin promotes sleep in the nematode C. elegans by activating the SLO-1 potassium channel through a specific melatonin receptor, PCDR-1 (Niu et al., PNAS 117: 25128-25137, 2020). This project is to identify the neurons where PCDR-1 and SLO-1 act to regulate sleep by analyzing activities of neurons in the C. elegans sleep neural circuit using a genetically encoded calcium indicator, and by correlating neuronal activities with worm sleep behavior. |
| Project Direction | C. elegans is often used as a model to interrogate the neural circuit bases of behavior because it can perform diverse behaviors with a nervous system of only 302 neurons. Our recent discovery that melatonin plays a sleep-promoting role in worms makes it possible to determine where and how melatonin function in the C. elegans nervous system to regulate sleep. The resulting knowledge may help us understand how melatonin promotes sleep in mammals. |
| Mentorship and Supervision | The student will be assigned reading materials related to the summer project. The lab PI and senior lab members will guide and train the student to learn necessary experimental techniques, such as imaging calcium signals of single neurons in live worms, analyzing the calcium signals to correlate them with worm sleep behavior, and constructing plasmids for transgenic injections. The student will attend our weekly group meetings, and present at least one published paper at the meeting. Progress will be monitored and feedback will be provided through direct interactions. |
| Student Qualifications | • Strong interest in pursuing a biomedical career. • Excellent GPA. • Willingness to work with C. elegans, which is a tiny and harmless worm (~1 mm long). |
| Summer Schedule Options | Research Dates: May 23 to July 29, 2022 Schedule: M-F, 9am-6pm (flexible within these hours) |
| Project Continuation | Fall 2022, Spring 2023 |
| Academic Year Time Commitment | 9 hours/week |
| Possible Thesis Project | Yes |
Application
Submit an online application for this research opportunity at https://quest.uconn.edu/prog/HRP22-32. The application deadline is Monday, January 31, 2022.
This application requires a resume or CV and an unofficial transcript. Reference information should be provided in application.