On Oct. 11th, Dr. Steve Kay, Dean of the Division of Biological Sciences of UCSD and Member of US Academy of Sciences, visited BIOPOIC. Prof. Kay listened with great interests to the overview of the center and undergoing projects. He was also given a full lab tour and very impressed by the first class facilities and work spirits of the center.

 

Dr. Steve Kay is the Dean and Richard C. Atkinson Chair in the Division of Biological Sciences at UC San Diego. He also is a Distinguished Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology at UCSD.

  

Dr. Kay received his bachelors' degree in biochemistry from the University of Bristol in 1981 and his Ph.D. in biochemistry from the same institute in 1985. He was a postdoctoral fellow at the Rockefeller University from 1985-1989, and then Assistant Professor there from 1989-1992 where he established his research program in the molecular genetics of circadian rhythms. In 1992 Dr. Kay joined the University of Virginia, where he developed real-time luciferase reporter technology for measuring subcellular events in live plants and animals. This technology was used to identify several key clock genes in both systems using genetic screens. During his tenure at The Scripps Research Institute from 1996-2007, Dr. Kay further investigated the molecular components and mechanism of action of circadian clocks, ranging from the mechanism of daylength sensing in plants to behavioral control in mammals. He has pioneered to the use of large scale genomics tools to investigate the composition and structure of circadian networks.