Carla Green facts for kids

Carla Beth Green, born in 1962, is an American scientist. She studies the brain and how living things keep track of time. This field is called chronobiology.

She is a professor at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. She is also a special scholar in brain science there. Dr. Green used to lead a group called the Society for Research on Biological Rhythms. She is also part of an institute in Japan that studies sleep.

Her work focuses on the circadian clock. This is like an internal timer that controls daily rhythms in our bodies. She studies how this clock works inside cells. She looks at the tiny parts of cells to understand how they keep time.

Dr. Green's lab wants to know how the circadian clock works in mammals. They study how it affects our bodies, how our bodies use chemicals, and how we behave. Her team is working on three main projects right now. They are looking at a gene called Nocturnin and how it is controlled. They also study how Nocturnin affects how our bodies use energy. Finally, they are looking at a protein called Cryptochrome. They want to understand how it helps set the length of our daily rhythms.

Dr. Green has learned a lot about cell biology, how chemicals work in the body, and molecular biology. This has helped her study many different areas. These include genomics (studying genes), proteomics (studying proteins), and how our bodies use energy.

Besides her scientific work, she helps the wider science community. In 2019, she helped organize a special event. It was designed to support women and minorities in STEM fields. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. This event helped people grow in their careers and offered a place for discussion.

Early Life and Education

Carla Green was born in Cheyenne, Wyoming on May 14, 1962. She spent her early years in Wyoming with her mother. Her family moved often after that. They lived in Denver, Colorado, then Saint Paul, Minnesota. When she was in first grade, they moved to Springfield, Missouri.

She stayed in Springfield through her teenage years. She then went to Southwest Missouri State University. In 1984, she earned her first degree in biology. She continued her studies there and received her master's degree in biology in 1986.

After her master's, Dr. Green moved to Kansas City. She attended the University of Kansas Medical Center. There, she earned her Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. From 1991 to 1996, she worked as a postdoctoral researcher. She studied how circadian rhythms work in the eyes of a frog called Xenopus laevis.

In 1997, she became a professor at the University of Virginia. She kept studying circadian rhythms in both frogs and mammals. She focused on how the daily clock works at the molecular and cellular level in animals with backbones.

Dr. Green first learned about chronobiology when she was a student. She heard a talk by Joseph Besharse. He had just joined the University of Kansas. She was finishing her Ph.D. and looking for new research opportunities. The idea of circadian clocks fascinated her.

Mr. Besharse talked about the natural clock in the eyes of Xenopus frogs. At that time, scientists knew very little about how these clocks worked. Dr. Green had trained in biochemistry and molecular biology. She thought this field would be perfect for her skills. Mr. Besharse hired her, and she has been studying circadian clocks ever since.

Dr. Green is married to Joseph Takahashi. He is also a scientist and leads the Neuroscience Department at UT Southwestern.

Carla Green's Career and Research

Key Positions Held

• 1995-1997: Research Assistant Professor, University of Kansas Medical Center
• 1997-2003: Assistant Professor, University of Virginia
• 2003-2007: Associate Professor, University of Virginia
• 2007-2009: Professor, University of Virginia
• 2009–present: Professor, Department of Neuroscience, UT Southwestern

Understanding Circadian Rhythms

Dr. Green is a lead researcher at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. Her lab studies how circadian rhythms work in mammals. They are especially interested in how genes are controlled after they are copied.

The Green Lab is currently focused on three main areas. They want to understand how a protein called Nocturnin works with the circadian clock. They also study how the circadian clock affects our body's energy use. Finally, they look at the structure and function of Cryptochrome proteins.

The Role of Nocturnin

A big part of the Green lab's work is on a protein called Nocturnin. It gets its name because it is found in high amounts at night. Nocturnin helps break down mRNA, which carries instructions from our genes. This suggests it helps control how long genes are active. This control is important for our body's energy use and survival.

In 1996, Dr. Green found nocturnin in the eyes of Xenopus laevis frogs. She saw that the amount of Noc mRNA changed rhythmically. This happened even when the frog's eye was kept alone. She found this gene by looking for genes that showed rhythmic changes.

In 2001, Dr. Green found similar Noc genes in other animals, like mice. These genes were very similar to the frog version. Her studies in mice showed that mouse Nocturnin mRNA also changes rhythmically. It is found in many body parts that have a circadian clock.

Interestingly, Dr. Green's group found that Noc does not directly control the main clock genes. Instead, it helps the clock send out its signals. This means it helps with the body's daily rhythms.

The rhythmic changes of nocturnin are seen throughout the body. This is especially true in important organs for metabolism, like the liver and intestines. In 2011, Dr. Green and her team showed that different forms of Noc affect bone, fat, and lipid creation.

Her lab's current work aims to find which specific mRNAs Nocturnin targets. They also want to understand how it controls their activity.

How Genes are Controlled After Copying

In 2011, Dr. Green's lab found that both copying genes and controlling them afterward are needed for strong daily rhythms. However, we know much less about how genes are controlled after copying. This is because it's hard to study these changes on a large scale. Scientists believe that new ways to study this will help discover many more genes. They will also find new ways that genes are controlled after they are copied.

Dr. Green's discoveries have been important for newer research. This research looks at how human circadian systems are controlled after genes are copied. This is important for understanding sleep problems and how medicines work with our body clocks.

The Mystery of Cryptochrome

Dr. Green's lab has spent a lot of time studying cryptochromes. These are proteins that react to blue light. They are found in both plants and animals. Cryptochrome proteins are vital for the circadian clock to work correctly in insects and mammals. They also help plants grow properly.

Cryptoproteins control the daily clocks of plants, insects, and mammals in different ways. Dr. Green has worked a lot with the African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis). She has also studied mammalian CRY1 and CRY2 proteins. She tries to understand these important proteins that turn off gene activity.

Dr. Green's research on cryptochromes started in 2003. She and her team looked at how cryptochrome stops other clock genes from turning on. These genes include CLOCK and BMAL1. They found that if a part of Cryptochrome was missing, the protein could not stop these genes. This showed that this part of the protein is needed for it to go into the cell's control center.

Dr. Green has also studied how the main brain clock talks to other clocks in the body. Cryptochrome plays a key role in this. For example, a stress hormone can turn on the Cry1 gene. In mice without Cry1 and Cry2, regular feeding can still make many genes show daily rhythms. This is especially true for genes related to metabolism. This shows how other body clocks can work even without the main clock's usual signals.

More recently, in 2018, Dr. Green helped discover a new helper molecule. This molecule helps control genes by directly interacting with CLOCK and BMAL1. This study helps explain how cryptochrome structures have changed over time. It also shows how clock control mechanisms have changed.

Awards and Recognitions

• 1990: Joe R. Kimmel Research Award for Outstanding Research, University of Kansas Medical Center. This award is for excellent research in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.
• 1997: C.J. Herrick Award for Outstanding Young Investigator in Comparative Neurobiology. This award honors young researchers who have made important discoveries in brain anatomy. It also recognizes their future potential.
• 2005: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Fellow. Fellows are chosen for their achievements across different science fields. They are also recognized for their dedication to advancing science.
• 2009: Distinguished Scholar in Neuroscience, UT Southwestern.