How Our Body Clocks Adjust to Daily Life and Affect Health
Official title: Potential Role of Compass H3K4 Methyltransferase Complexes in Environmental Circadian-Alignment
Funded at Morehouse School of Medicine · NIH-11142603 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This research explores how our internal body clocks, or circadian rhythms, adapt to daily environmental changes and how this process affects our overall health.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Morehouse School of Medicine NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Atlanta, United States) |
| Project start | July 22, 2022 |
| Project end | June 30, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $177,500 |
| NIH project number | 5R16GM146703-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11142603 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
This foundational research is not directly recruiting patients but aims to understand the basic biological processes relevant to anyone affected by circadian disruption, including those with metabolic disorders, cardiovascular diseases, or certain cancers.
✕Less likely to help
Patients seeking immediate new treatments or direct clinical interventions will not find direct benefit from this basic science project.
What this research studies
Our daily routines, like sleep-wake cycles, are guided by internal body clocks that can be disrupted by things like shift work or jet lag. This disruption is linked to serious health issues, including heart disease, metabolic disorders, and certain cancers. This project looks at specific protein complexes, called COMPASS, that help control how our genes turn on and off. We believe these complexes are key to how our body clocks stay in sync with our environment, potentially influencing our risk for diseases like breast cancer and obesity.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could help us understand the root causes of health problems linked to disrupted body clocks, potentially leading to new ways to prevent or treat these conditions.
How similar studies have gone: While the link between circadian disruption and disease is known, this specific focus on COMPASS complexes and their role in environmental-circadian alignment is a novel area of exploration.
Where this research is happening
-
Morehouse School of Medicine
Atlanta, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Duong, Hao — Morehouse School of Medicine
- Study coordinator: Duong, Hao
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.