A Professor and Distinguished Scholar of Neuroscience at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas.

Her lab studies the molecular mechanism of the mammalian circadian clock and how it controls rhythmic physiology.   She originally identified the rhythmic gene Nocturnin and demonstrated that this gene encodes an NADP(H) phosphatase, an enzyme that converts NADP(H) to NAD(H).

Her studies of Nocturnin function have led to the discovery that this protein is a key circadian regulator of lipid metabolism and oxidative stress responses.  Her lab continues to focus on Nocturnin and its role in metabolism, as well as studying more broadly the general role of the circadian clock in metabolism and aging. 

Research Interest:

Circadian control of metabolism

Molecular mechanisms of circadian rhythmicity

Post-transcriptional regulatory mechanisms