Background
Obesity and poor sleep health are concurrent epidemics among teenagers, posing critical public health concerns (1). Beyond caloric intake and physical inactivity, poor sleep hygiene emerges as a significant factor contributing to obesity and associated long-term cardiometabolic risks (2). However, the specific mechanisms linking insufficient sleep to metabolic disorders are still unclear. We want to investigate how sleep deprivation during adolescence can lead to long-term metabolic imbalances, by developing adolescent sleep deprivation models in mice. We believe that sleep deprivation during adolescence can disrupt critical windows for adipose tissue development and maturation, causing long-term effects on metabolic health. We will use chemogenetic approaches to induce targeted sleep deprivation aiming to simulate the effects observed in teenagers.
Project
This master project will be a part of the ongoing project SmartSense, focusing on sleep and metabolism, and will be a part of a PhD project. The thesis can/will entail different aspects of the workflow, from animal work, behavioural testing, comparing sleep deprivation models, data/tissue analysis. The exact project/workflow will be suited to the student’s experience and wishes.
Methods
The student will either be working with animals, in vitro techniques, or analysis of data. Depending on the project, the student can learn a wide range of methods such as microinjection surgeries, behavioural testing, electrophysiological recordings/data analysis, tissue harvest, qPCR, ELISA, tissue fixation, tissue slicing, immunohistochemistry, imaging, etc.
About the student
We are looking for a motivated and independent student with a background in biology/physiology/neuroscience. As this project is based on animal work, a CAREiN animal certificate and previous animal experience are a big advantage. Previous experience with lab techniques or electrophysiology is also a plus.
About us
For this master project, the student will be welcomed into an interdisciplinary environment including neurophysiology of sleep at the Norwegian Centre for Molecular Biosciences and Medicine (boccaralab), and adipose tissue biology at the Institute of Basic Medical Sciences (IMB).
If you think sleep, metabolism and development sounds interesting, please contact us by e-mail:
References
1. Gohil A, Hannon TS. Poor Sleep and Obesity: Concurrent Epidemics in Adolescent Youth. Front Endocrinol. 2018 Jul 10;9:364.
2. Duraccio KM, Krietsch KN, Chardon ML, Van Dyk TR, Beebe DW. Poor sleep and adolescent obesity risk: a narrative review of potential mechanisms. Adolesc Health Med Ther. 2019 Sep;Volume 10:117–30.