University of Connecticut · NeurosciencePotassium Channels and Sleep Regulation Lab
Zhao-Wen Wang · Storrs, Connecticut
Research Focus
Dr. Zhao-Wen Wang's lab at the University of Connecticut focuses on understanding how certain proteins interact with potassium channels to affect sleep and neurotransmitter release. Their research utilizes a model organism, C. elegans, to uncover how a specific type of potassium channel, called the BK channel, works in the nervous system. They explore the role of melatonin in this process, aiming to reveal important cellular pathways that could impact our understanding of sleep regulation and related disorders.
BK channelsmelatoninneurotransmitter releaseC. elegansE3 ligasesleep regulationsynaptic transmissionmolecular biology
Research Aims
3AIM 01Investigate how the E3 ligase regulates the BK channel through an inhibitory regulator and other proteins.
AIM 02Determine where and how the BK channel acts in the nervous system to regulate sleep in C. elegans.
AIM 03Examine how melatonin activates the BK channel through specific receptors in both C. elegans and mouse models.
Skills the Lab Values
electrophysiologygenetic screeningcell culturemass spectrometryimmunohistochemistryprotein interactionsmolecular cloningbehavioral assaysdata analysisfluorescence microscopy
Output against the department
Publications444top 14% of dept.93rd of 671
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations14ktop 29% of dept.196th of 671
this lab
most citedleast cited
Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.