PhD position at the interface between Neurochemistry, Neurobiology, and Behavior

id="offer-description" class="ecl-u-type-heading-2 ecl-u-mt-none ecl-u-mb-l">Offer Description Project : Sleep disruption is strongly and bidirectionally associated with cardiometabolic diseases, yet the mechanisms linking sleep/wake defects to these pathologies remain poorly understood. We hypothesize that modulation of the transport and utilization of branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) in the brain across the sleep/wake cycle represents a key mechanistic link. BCAAs are essential amino acids central to insulin and TOR signaling and, in the brain, participate in the glutamate/GABA/glutamine cycle, thereby influencing the excitatory/inhibitory balance. Their cellular uptake, including transport across the blood–brain barrier, depends on the large neutral amino acid transporter LAT-1, where BCAAs compete with monoamine precursors such as phenylalanine, tryptophan, histidine, and tyrosine, potentially impacting monoaminergic neurotransmission. Our published and recent work in Drosophila demonstrates that BCAA transport modulates the activity of specific GABAergic and dopaminergic neuronal subpopulations and affects the sleep/wake cycle. Together, these data indicate that free BCAA levels are regulated by clock- and sleep/wake-dependent metabolic interactions that ultimately shape the activity of selective neuronal circuits involved in sleep regulation. The goal of this project is to exploit the experimental flexibility of Drosophila to elucidate how BCAAs shape the sleep/wake c