Steve A. Kay
Dean
Division of Biological Sciences, UCSD
Professor and Richard C. Atkinson Chair in the Biological Sciences
Section of Cell and Developmental Biology, UCSD

e-mail: skay@ucsd.edu
Lab Homepage: Kay Lab

 Kay photo

Research Focus:

     We study the construction and evolution of complex genetic networks that underlie circadian rhythms in animals and plants. We also develop and use cutting-edge technologies for measuring transcription in live cells, tissues and intact organisms.

    Our studies impact our understanding of how plants know when to flower, how we might manipulate rhythms in plants to benefit yields and the production of plant-based products such as biofuels. In the biomedical arena, we are interested in the central role of circadian disorders in regulating the sleep-wake cycle, glucose homeostasis and weight control, with a long term view to developing small molecule drugs that could benefit patients suffering from disorders as diverse as insomnia and diabetes.

Pruneda-Paz, J.L., Breton, G., Para, A., Kay, S.A. (2009) A functional genomics approach reveals CHE as a novel component of the Arabidopsis circadian clock. Science 323:1481-1485.

Liu, A., Welsh, D.K., Ko, C., Tran, H., Zhang, E., Priest, A., Burr, E., Singer, O., Meeker, K., Verma, I., Doyle, F., Takahashi, J., and Kay, S.A. (2007) Intercellular coupling confers robustness against mutations in the SCN circadian clock network. Cell 129:605-616.

Sato, T.K., Panda, S., Miraglia, L.J., Reyes, T.M., Rudic, R.D., McNamara, P., Naik, K.A., FitzGerald, G.A., Kay, S.A., Hogenesch, J.B. (2004) A functional genomics strategy reveals Rora as a component of the mammalian circadian clock. Neuron 43:527-537.

Imaizumi, T., Tran, H.G., Swartz, T.E., Briggs, W.R., Kay, S.A. (2003) FKF1 is critical for photoperiodic-specific light signaling in Arabidopsis. Nature 426:302-306.

Yanovsky, M.J. and Kay, S.A. (2002) Molecular basis of seasonal time measurement in Arabidopsis. Nature 419:308-312.

Alabadi, D., Oyama, T., Yanovsky, M., Harmon, F.G., Mas, P., Kay, S.A. (2001) Reciprocal regulation between TOC1 and LHY/CCA1 within the Arabidopsis circadian clock. Science 293:880-883.

Harmer, S.L., Hogenesch, J.B., Straume, M., Chang, H-S., Zhu, T., Wang, X., Kreps, J.A., Kay, S.A. (2000) Orchestrated transcription of key pathways in Arabidopsis by the circadian clock. Science 290:2110-2113.

Darlington, T., Wager-Smith, K., Ceriani, F., Staknis, D., Gekakis, N., Steeves, T., Weitz, C., Takahashi, J., Kay, S.A. (1998) Closing the circadian loop: CLOCK-induced transcription of its own inhibitors per and tim. Science 280:1599-1603.

Plautz, J., Kaneko, M., Hall, J., Kay, S.A. (1997) Independent photoreceptive circadian clocks throughout Drosophila. Science 278:1632-1635.

Millar, A.J., Carre, I., Strayer, C., Chua, N-H., Kay, S.A. (1995) Circadian clock mutants in Arabidopsis identified by luciferase imaging. Science 267:1161-1163.

     Dr. Kay received his bachelors' degree in biochemistry from the University of Bristol in 1981 and his Ph.D. in biochemistry from the same institute in 1985. He was a postdoctoral fellow at the Rockefeller University from 1985-1989, and then Assistant Professor there from 1989-1992 where he established his research program in circadian rhythms of the model plant Arabidopsis and the fruitfly, Drosophila. In 1992 Dr. Kay joined the University of Virginia, where he developed real-time luciferase reporter technology for measuring subcellular events in live plants and animals. This technology was used to identify several key clock genes in both systems using genetic screens. Dr. Kay joined TSRI in 1996 where his work has further expanded our knowledge of the molecular components and mechanism of action of circadian clocks, ranging from the mechanism of daylength sensing in plants to behavioral control in mammals. Dr. Kay has received several awards, including a Keck Foundation Faculty Award in 1992, the Honma Prize for Life Sciences in 1999 and his work was cited in Science "Breakthroughs of the Year" consecutively in 1997, 1998 and again in 2002, and most recently Member of the National Academy of Sciences.