Afonso DJS, Liu D, Machado DR, Pan H, Jepson JEC, Rogulja D, Koh K. (2015). TARANIS functions with Cyclin A and Cdk1 in a novel arousal center to control sleep in Drosophila. Current Biology. 25:1717-26. [Highlighted in the Editors' Choice section of Science Signaling.

We identify Taranis as a novel sleep-promoting factor. Taranis controls sleep amount by regulating CycA protein levels and inhibiting Cdk1 activity in a novel arousal center.  (PDF: Koh Taranis CB 2015 Suppl)

Afonso DJS, Liu D, Machado DR, Pan H, Jepson JEC, Rogulja D, Koh K. (2015). TARANIS functions with Cyclin A and Cdk1 in a novel arousal center to control sleep in Drosophila. Current Biology. 25:1717-26. [Highlighted in the Editors' Choice section of Science Signaling.

We identify Taranis as a novel sleep-promoting factor. Taranis controls sleep amount by regulating CycA protein levels and inhibiting Cdk1 activity in a novel arousal center.  (PDF: Koh Taranis CB 2015 Suppl)

Jepson JEC, Shahidullah M, Liu D, le Marchand S, Liu S, Wu MN, Levitan IB, Dalva MB, Koh K. (2014). Regulation of synaptic development and function by the Drosophila PDZ protein DYSCHRONIC. Development. 141:4548-57.

We define novel presynaptic roles for the Dyschronic scaffold protein in synapse morphology, active zone size and neurotransmission.

Liu S, Lamaze A, Liu Q, Tabuchi M, Yang Y, Fowler M, Bharadwaj R, Zhang J, Bedont J, Blackshaw S, Lloyd TE, Montell C, Sehgal A, Koh K*, Wu MN*. (2014). WIDE AWAKE mediates the circadian timing of sleep onset. Neuron. 82: 151-66. *Co-corresponding authors.

We identify a conserved molecule, Wide Awake, that regulates timing of sleep onset by modulating the excitability of an arousal-promoting circuit based on circadian timing information.

Jepson JEC, Shahiddullah M, Lamaze A, Peterson D, Pan H, Koh K. (2012). dyschronic, a Drosophila homolog of a deaf-blindness gene, regulates circadian output and Slowpoke channels. PLoS Genetics. 8(4):e1002671

We identify a Drosophila homolog of a deaf-blindness gene as a new component of the circadian output pathway and an important regulator of potassium channel expression.

Wu MN, Joiner WJ, Dean T, Yue Z, Smith CJ, Chen D, Hoshi T, Sehgal A, Koh K. (2010).  SLEEPLESS, a Ly-6/neurotoxin family member, regulates levels, localization, and activity of Shaker. Nature Neuroscience. 13: 69-75. [Evaluated by Faculty of 1000.]

We show that the sleep-promoting factor Sleepless, which is predicted to belong to the Ly-6/neurotoxin family, regulates levels, localization, and activity of the Shaker potassium channel.