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Faculty Detail Faculty Entry   
Name KAREN LYNNETTE GAMBLE  
Campus Address SC 720 Zip 0017
Phone 205-934-4663
E-mail klgamble@uab.edu" id="FacultyDetail1EmailAddress"><a href="mailto:klgamble@uab.edu">klgamble@uab.edu</a>
URL http://www.psychiatry.uab.edu/faculty/profiles/klgamble/
 
 

Department Affiliations(s)
Appointment Type Department Division Rank
Center  General Clinical Research Center  Comprehensive Neuroscience Center Assistant Professor
Center  General Clinical Research Center  Ctr for Clinical & Translational Sci Assistant Professor
Primary  Psychiatry   Psych - Behavioral Neurobiology Assistant Professor
Secondary  Neurobiology  Neurobiology Assistant Professor

Biographical Sketch 
King College
Bristol, TN
B.A.(Psychology)
1993-1996

Georgia State University
Atlanta, GA
M.A. (Neuropsychology)
1999-2001

Georgia State University
Atlanta, GA
Ph.D. (Neuropsychology)
2001-2004

Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
Postdoctoral Fellowship
Biological Sciences
2004-2009

Society Memberships
Organization Name Position Held Org Link
Society for Neuroscience  Member  www.sfn.org 
Society for Research in Biological Rhythms  Member  www.srbr.org 
Society for Research in Biological Rhythms  2012 Facilities Coordinator   
Society for Research in Biological Rhythms  2012 Travel Awards Committee, Member   
Society for Research in Biological Rhythms  2014 Trainee Day Committee, Organizer   
Society for Research in Biological Rhythms  2012 Trainee Day Committee, Member   
 

Research/Clinical Interest
Title
Description
Mechanisms and Entrainment of Circadian Clocks

The mammalian brain’s primary biological clock (the suprachiasmatic nucleus or SCN) drives daily physiological and behavioral rhythms that persist in the absence of environmental time cues with a near-24 hour period. When the endogenous clock is misaligned with the external environment such as during jet lag and shift work, serious repercussions can result, not only for the circadian system but also for the entire body. For example, shift work is associated with an increased risk of gastrointestinal disorders, cardiovascular disease, depression, and cancer. Clinically, sleep and circadian rhythm disturbances have been linked to neurodegenerative diseases as well as mood and developmental disorders. Given the range of circadian physiological processes, it is not surprising that ~24-hour rhythms in the expression of the core clock genes or electrical activity have been discovered throughout the brain and body. Therefore, determining underlying mechanisms for the types of stimuli that can “reset” and re-align the clock with the environment is important for developing novel therapeutic approaches.

The overall goal of my research program is to investigate how the mammalian clock integrates environmental and molecular signals into robust behavioral and physiological rhythms. The complementary and translational side of this goal is to determine how neurological diseases and disruptive environments (such as shift work) result in dysregulated circadian rhythms that exacerbate disease symptoms. To this end, the projects in my lab can be divided into three primary categories: (i) underlying neurophysiological mechanisms of entrainment in of SCN neurons, (ii) the role of rhythmic regulation of glycogen synthase kinase 3 in the brain and periphery, and (iii) circadian misalignment in shift work nurses. Our laboratory is currently using circadian behavioral analysis, tissue-level imaging and pharmacology, as well as targeted fluorescence electrophysiology in transgenic mouse models to investigate the neural circuitry of the SCN. In clinical studies of shift work nurses, we are measuring circadian rhythms in sleep-wake behavior (actigraphy), diet/nutrition, plasma metabolites, and clock gene expression rhythms in peripheral mononuclear cells to determine the effects of shift work on circadian misalignment.

Postdoc Positions Available
Date Posted Position Title
No records
 

Selected Publications 
Publication PUBMEDID
Gamble, K.L., May, R.S., Besing, R.C., Tankersly, A.P., and Fargason, R.E. (2012). Delayed Sleep Timing and Symptoms in Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: A Controlled Actigraphy Study. Chronobiol Int, in press.   
Paul, J.R., Johnson, R.L., Jope, R.S., and Gamble, K.L. (2012). Disruption of circadian rhythmicity and suprachiasmatic action potential frequency in a mouse model with constitutive activation of glycogen synthase kinase-3. Neuroscience, 226, 1-9.  22986169 
Zhou, W., Chen, L., Paul, J.R., Yang, S., Li F., Sampson, K., Woodgett, J.R., Beaulieu, J.M., Gamble, K.L., and Li, X. (2012). The Effects of Glycogen Synthase Kinase-3beta in Serotonin Neurons. PloS ONE, 7(8), e43262.  22912839 
Fargason R.E., White S., Hollar A., and Gamble, K. (2012). Adults with Attention-deficit Hyperactivity Disorder without Insomnia have Subclinical Sleep Disturbances but not Circadian Delay: An ADHD Phenotype? J of Attention Dis, in press.  22997357 
Bray, M.S., Ratcliffe, W.F., Grenett, M.H., Brewer, R.A., Gamble, K.L., and Young, M.E. (2012). Quantitative Analysis of Light-Phase Restricted Feeding Reveals Metabolic Dyssynchrony in Mice. Int J Obesity, in press.  22907695 
DeAndrade, M.P., Johnson Jr., R.L., Unger, E.L., Zhang, L., van Groen, T., Gamble, K.L., and Li,Y. (2012). Motor restlessness, sleep disturbances, thermal sensory alterations, and elevated serum iron levels in Btbd9 mutant mice. Hum Mol Gen, 21(18), 3984-92.  22678064 
Jackson, C.R., Ruan, G., Aseem, F., Abey, J., Gamble, K., Stanwood, G., Palmiter, R.D., Iuvone, P.M., and McMahon, D.G. (2012). Retinal dopamine mediates multiple dimensions of light-adapted vision. J Neurosci, 32(27), 9359-68.  22764243 
Ruan, G., Gamble, K.L., Risner, M., Young, L., and McMahon, D.G. (2012). Divergent Roles of clock genes in retinal and suprachiasmatic nucleus circadian oscillators. PLoS ONE, 7(6), e38985.  22701739 
Dougherty SE, Reeves JL, Lucas EK, Gamble KL, Lesort M, and Cowell RM (2012). Disruption of Purkinje cell function prior to huntingtin accumulation and cell loss in an animal model of Huntington Disease. Exp Neurol, 236(1), 171-8.  22579526 
Besing, R.C., Hablitz, L.M., Paul, J.R., Johnson, R.L., Prosser, R.A., & Gamble, K.L. (2012). NPY-induced phase shifts of PER2::LUC rhythms are mediated by long-term suppression of neuronal excitability in a phase-specific manner. Chronobiol Int, 29(2), 91-102.  22324550 
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Keywords
circadian rhythms, biological clocks, shift work, entrainment, suprachiasmatic nucleus

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