Assistant Professor
E-Mail: iliak@vetmed.wsu.edu
Office: VBRB rm. 331
WSU Pullman, WA
Phone: 335-4829
Circadian (daily) rhythms are evolutionarily ancient, present in
almost all organisms, and regulate nearly every biological process. In
our modern industrialized society, we have altered the relationship
between our circadian rhythms and the day-night cycle. In many cases we
are active long into the night and sleep during the day. In extreme
cases, such as shift-workers and trans-meridian air travelers (e.g.
jet-lag), overriding circadian rhythms can be more than just a nuisance.
Chronically, this can lead to heath problems, including development of
the metabolic syndrome, increased risk of heart disease, higher
incidences of certain types of cancer, disrupted immune responses, and
increased risk of suffering from a major depressive syndrome. Dr.
Karatsoreos' current research focuses on the relationship between
circadian rhythms and mental and physical health, highlighting how
circadian rhythms modulate physiology and behavior, as well as how
disrupting them in animal models can produce physiological and
behavioral abnormalities that change an animal’s susceptibility to
further environmental or psychological stress. It is hoped these models
will provide an understanding of how dysregulation of the body’s timing
and metabolic systems interact to produce changes in behavior and
physiology, and will potentially lead to new clinical interventions to
alleviate some of the physical and mental health consequences of our
modern lifestyles.
Biographical Information
Ilia Karatsoreos received his B.Sc. in Psychology and Zoology from
the University of Toronto in 2001. He earned a Ph.D. in
Neuroscience/Psychology from Columbia University in New York City in
2007, where he studied the structure and function of the suprachiasmatic
nucleus brain clock, and the effects of gonadal hormones on circadian
rhythms, with Rae Silver. Ilia carried out a postdoctoral research
fellowship in the lab of Bruce McEwen at The Rockefeller University in
New York from 2007-2011, where he explored the organism wide effects of
circadian disruption in the context of stress and allostasis. Ilia
joined the faculty in the IPN as an Assistant Professor in December
2011. He has held fellowships from both the National Science and
Engineering Research Council of Canada, and the Canadian Institutes of
Health Research.
Selected Publications
Karatsoreos, I.N. and McEwen, B.S. (2011) Psychobiological Allostasis:
Resistance, Resilience and Vulnerability. Trends in Cognitive Science.
15(12): 576-584.
Karatsoreos, I.N., Butler, M.P., LeSauter, J., Silver, R. (2011) Androgen
regulation of plasticity in the suprachiasmatic nucleus brain clock.
Endocrinology 152: 1970-1978.
Karatsoreos, I.N., Bhagat, S.M., Bloss, E.B., Morrison, J.H., McEwen, B.S.
(2011) Disruption of circadian clocks has ramifications for metabolism,
brain and behavior. PNAS 108(4):1657-62.
Yuen, E.Y., Liu W., Karatsoreos, I.N., Ren, Y., Feng, J., McEwen, B.S., Yan,
Z. (2011) Mechanisms for Acute Stress-Induced Enhancement of Glutamatergic
Transmission and Working Memory. Molecular Psychiatry,
Feb;16(2):156-70.
Hill, M.N., Karatsoreos, I.N., Hillard, C.J., McEwen, B.S. (2010) Rapid
Induction and Steady-State Regulation of Limbic Endocannabinoid Signaling by
Glucocorticoid Hormones. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 35(9):1333-8.
Karatsoreos, I.N., Bhagat, S., Bowles, N.P., Weil, Z.M., Pfaff, D.W.,
McEwen, B.S. (2010) Endocrine and physiological changes in response to
chronic corticosterone: A potential model of the metabolic syndrome in
mouse. Endocrinology. 151: 2117-2127.
Yuen, E.L., Wenhua, L., Karatsoreos, I.N., Feng, J., McEwen, B.S., Yan Z.
(2009) Acute Stress Enhances Glutamatergic Transmission in Prefrontal Cortex
and Facilitates Working Memory. Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences. Aug 18; 106 (33); 14075-79.
Yan, L., Karatsoreos, I., Lesauter J., Welsh D.K., Kay, S., Foley, D.,
Silver R. (2008) Exploring Spatiotemporal Organization of SCN Circuits.
Cold Spring Harbor Symposium on Quantitative Biology. Jan 1;
72:527-541.
Karatsoreos, I.N., Yan, L., LeSauter, J., Silver, R. (2004) Phenotype
Matters: Identification of Light Response Cells in Mouse SCN. Journal of
Neuroscience, 24 (1): 68-75.
