Drosophila screening platform for bioactives affecting sleep and circadian function
High-throughput Drosophila melanogaster screening platform for evaluating dietary bioactives, natural products, and botanical extracts that influence sleep and circadian biology. Uses the Trikinetics DAM system to deliver rapid, reproducible, cost-effective phenotypic screening with automated sleep architecture and circadian rhythm analysis.
Overview
This scalable screening platform leverages Drosophila melanogaster to evaluate dietary bioactives, natural products, and botanical extracts for their effects on sleep and circadian biology. The model offers a non-vertebrate, high-throughput alternative to traditional mammalian testing, enabling early-stage prioritization of promising compounds before more costly downstream development. By combining well-characterized fly sleep and circadian pathways with automated locomotor monitoring, the platform delivers quantitative, reproducible phenotypic data at scale and lower cost.
Technical specifications
Validated endpoints captured through automated analysis:
- Sleep duration, latency, bout number, and bout length
- Sleep fragmentation and waking activity
- Circadian rhythm strength and periodicity
Available experimental paradigms:
- Dose-response testing across multiple concentrations
- Longitudinal monitoring over extended time courses
- Sleep deprivation and rebound assessments
- Circadian disruption studies
- Standardized feeding protocols for test compounds
Core instrumentation:
- Trikinetics Drosophila Activity Monitoring (DAM) system for continuous locomotor activity recording
- Automated data processing pipelines generating validated metrics, statistical summaries, and graphical reports
Technology readiness level
The platform is operational and validated for research use, with established protocols, automated analytical workflows, and demonstrated reproducibility. It is suited for sponsored research collaborations and pilot engagements in which study design, dosing strategy, controls, and primary endpoints are jointly defined. Iterative study cycles enable candidate selection, prioritization, and follow-on optimization, supporting efficient translation of screening hits into further development pipelines.
About Loma Linda University
Loma Linda University is a private, faith-based health sciences university serving the Inland Empire and Greater Los Angeles region. Integration with a major academic medical center and a children’s hospital enables rapid industry collaboration, from feasibility assessments and contracting to multi-site trials and real-world evidence studies, supported by experienced regulatory and data teams. Corporate partners benefit from access to specialty treatment environments, streamlined research administration, and recruitment across a large, diverse patient population. Research is supported by funding from the National Institutes of Health and other competitive federal sponsors. A dedicated technology transfer office manages IP protection, licensing, and startup formation.
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