Simon Warby
Academic Appointments
- Postdoctoral Research fellow, Psychiatry & Behavioral Science
Key Documents
Contact Information
- Academic Offices
Personal Information Email Tel (650) 725-8896
Professional Overview
Professional Education
| Doctor of Philosophy: | University of British Columbia (2007) |
| Bachelor of Science: | University of Victoria, Psychology (1998) |
| Bachelor of Science: | University of Victoria, Biology (1998) |
Stanford Advisors
| Emmanuel Mignot: | Postdoctoral Faculty Sponsor |
Scientific Focus
Current Research Interests
My research is focused on the genetics of sleep and understanding its relationship to neurological disease.
The brain generates complex patterns of electrical activity that can be measured by electroencephalography (EEG) and thought of as an 'EEG fingerprint' that is unique to individuals. The EEG fingerprint is particularly evident during sleep, when brain activity is generated in the absence of consciousness and sensory inputs. I am interested in genes that regulate the brain circuitry and neurochemistry that generates this EEG fingerprint.
By refining techniques for EEG analysis of human sleep data, we are exploring how variations in the genome influence differences in brain activity during sleep. Many micro-architectural features of EEG activity, such as sleep spindles and k-complexes, are heritable and trait-like. Specific patterns of the EEG fingerprint are altered early in the progression of certain neurodegenerative diseases, such as Huntington disease and Parkinson disease, as well as psychiatric conditions that are associated with sleep disorders, such as depression and schizophrenia.
These stable traits in the EEG fingerprint are endophenotypes - biomarkers of disease with a clear genetic basis - and can lead to a better understanding of the neurobiological basis of sleep and neurological disorders.
Publications
- A fully humanized transgenic mouse model of Huntington disease. Hum Mol Genet. 2013; (1): 18-34
- CAG repeat expansion in Huntington disease determines age at onset in a fully dominant fashion. Neurology. 2012; (10): 690-5
- Determinants of cortical synchrony. Sleep. 2012; (3): 309-10
- Common variants in P2RY11 are associated with narcolepsy. Nat Genet. 2011; (1): 66-71
- HTT haplotypes contribute to differences in Huntington disease prevalence between Europe and East Asia. Eur J Hum Genet. 2011; (5): 561-6
- Narcolepsy onset is seasonal and increased following the 2009 H1N1 pandemic in China. Ann Neurol. 2011; (3): 410-7
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