Dr Ko-Fan Chen

Supervisor Details

Contact Details

Scientific Background

Research Interests

Broadly speaking the Chen lab is interested in two aspects of sleep research:

How environmental factors influence sleep and circadian behaviours?
How sleep-related cellular mechanisms modulate progress of human diseases?

These research questions are addressed using the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster as an experimental model, allowing the application of diverse methods to identify evolutionary conserved molecular mechanisms.

The group works closely with various research groups across departments in following expertises

Behavioural Neurogenetics
Neurodegeneration
Social Epigenetics
Ophthalmology
Neurophysiology
Cancer

Scientific Inspiration

My attitude towards scientific research was shaped by my former PhD supervisor 鈥� Professor Ralf Stanewsky. Under his mentorship, I learnt to be thorough when collecting and describing biological data, and to let the data guide my investigation while keeping an open mind. To see more information about my scientific upbringing and inspiration, please visit

Research Groups

Supervision Style

In three words or phrases: Supervisee-oriented, encouraging and inclusive, organised and details-oriented.

Provision of Training

I will provide the student with necessary technical training, either by myself or via arranged collaborations, facilitating their future independence to conduct their own research directions.

Progression Monitoring and Management

Initially we will plan your project goals together and during b-weekly follow-up meetings we will discuss experimental results and general progression. Through these meetings and ad hoc discussions there will also be opportunities for us to troubleshoot and resolve operational issues.

Communication

Apart from in person conversations, we will use emails and video calls to communicate. You should feel free to contact me anytime about matters that require my advice/assistance, but I will respect work-life boundary and to respond to you during the working hours unless it is an emergency.

PhD Students can expect scheduled meetings with me:

In a group meeting

At least once per week

In year 1 of PhD study

At least once per week

In year 2 of PhD study

At least once per week

In year 3 of PhD study

At least once per week

These meetings will be a mixture of face to face and via video chat or telephone, and I am usually contactable for an instant response on every working day.

Working Pattern

Certain tasks in my lab need to occur at set times, and students need to be able to commit to a rota/timetable shared with other members of the team.

Notice Period for Feedback

I need at least 1 week鈥檚 notice to provide feedback on written work of up to 5000 words.

MIBTP Project Details

Primary supervisor for:

Genetic mechanism underlying pigmentation, vision and sleep

See the PhD Opportunities section to see if this project is currently open for applications via MIBTP.

Please Note: The main page lists projects via BBSRC Research Theme(s) quoted and then relevant Topic(s).

Genetic mechanism underlying pigmentation, vision and sleep

Secondary Supervisor(s): Dr Hollie Marshall

University of Registration: University of Leicester

BBSRC Research Themes:

Understanding the Rules of Life (Neuroscience and Behaviour)
Integrated Understanding of Health (Ageing)

Project Outline

Melanin is a pigment in animal skins and cuticles. Naturally occurred mutations in genes in melanin synthesis pathways cause condition called albinism across animal kingdom. We and others recently found that gene orthologues of oca2 and slc45a2, the two melanin synthesis genes, express in the nervous system. The mutations of these genes cause sleep and vision phenotype in the fruit fly Drosophila and cavefish (1, 2). Sleep is required for regulating neural activity. Evidence indicates that vision and sleep regulate each other (3-5). Our finding therefore suggests an evolutionary conserved function of pigmentation genes in nervous system. This PhD project, therefore, aims to use the highly genetically editable model, Drosophila, to uncover this novel sleep controlling mechanism by the following objectives.

1) Neural circuits: using scRNA-seq data (1), the student will identify cells enriched with oca2 and slc45a2 in the fly brain. Vertebrate and fly oca2 and slc45a2 transgenes will be reintroduced into these cells and verify if sleep and visual phenotype in oca2 and slc45a2 mutants is reversed. Connectome (6) will then be used to define neural connection between oca2/slc45a2-expressing neurons and the sleep controlling circuits.

2) Neuronal function: oca2 and slc45a2 are predicted to control sleep-related neurotransmission by regulating neuronal pH and Cl- (1). Using fluorescence reporter in brain imaging, the student will verify whether oca2/slc45a2 mutations cause altered pH and Cl- levels.

3) Sleep and vision interaction: to verify if sleep modifies the visual defect in oca2/slc45a2 mutants, the student will perform electroretinogram before and after artificially enhancing the mutants鈥� sleep by drug feeding or optogenetically activating sleep promoting circuits.

Reference:

(please use ID provided to locate references on https://europepmc.org/)

1. PPR: PPR1243431. 2. PMID: 34293332. 3. PMID: 31100151. 4. PMID: 30355611. 5. PMID: 41815955. 6. PMID: 39638801

Co-supervisor on a project with Professor Eamonn Mallon.

糖心TV

Midlands Integrative Biosciences Training Partnership

Dr Ko-Fan Chen

Supervisor Details

Contact Details

Research Interests

Scientific Inspiration

Research Groups

Provision of Training

Progression Monitoring and Management

Communication

Working Pattern

Notice Period for Feedback

MIBTP Project Details

Genetic mechanism underlying pigmentation, vision and sleep

Project Outline

Reference: