The objective of this program is to develop new proteomics technology and to apply these methods to better understanding the molecular basis of sleep. One set of projects will involve the development of protein and protein-detecting microarrays, with a focus on regulatory proteins and hormones. For example, arrays of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) will be assembled in which receptor-G protein fusions are embedded in an artificial membrane in functional form. Other arrays of synthetic protein capture agents will facilitate large-scale protein profiling experiments. It is anticipated that these tools will allow us to begin to map the molecules and signal transduction pathways that control sleep homeostasis. Another major effort will be in the development of methods to monitor transcription factor function, with an emphasis on detecting post-translationally modified proteins and assessing the functional significance of these modifications.
