Deniz Top

Research Interests

Dr. Top’s laboratory uses an innovative interdisciplinary approach, combining biochemistry, neurobiology and behavioural studies to understand how behaviour is regulated at molecular resolution in the model organism Drosophila melanogaster. By extension, the Top lab also seeks to understand the molecular etiology of mental illness, which is estimated to affect 1 in 3 Canadians in their life time.

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Selected Publications

Johnstone, P. S., Ogueta, M., Akay, O., Top, I., Syed, S., Stanewsky, R., & Top, D. (2022). Real time, in vivo measurement of neuronal and peripheral clocks in Drosophila melanogaster. eLife, 11, e77029. https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.77029

Top, D., O'Neil, J. L., Merz, G. E., Dusad, K., Crane, B. R., & Young, M. W. (2018). CK1/Doubletime activity delays transcription activation in the circadian clock. eLife, 7, e32679. https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.32679

Lin, C., Top, D., Manahan, C. C., Young, M. W., & Crane, B. R. (2018). Circadian clock activity of cryptochrome relies on tryptophan-mediated photoreduction. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 115(15), 3822–3827. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1719376115

Top, D., & Young, M. W. (2018). Coordination between Differentially Regulated Circadian Clocks Generates Rhythmic Behavior. Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in biology, 10(7), a033589. https://doi.org/10.1101/cshperspect.a033589

Top, D., Harms, E., Syed, S., Adams, E. L., & Saez, L. (2016). GSK-3 and CK2 Kinases Converge on Timeless to Regulate the Master Clock. Cell reports, 16(2), 357–367. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2016.06.005 

Vaidya, A. T., Top, D., Manahan, C. C., Tokuda, J. M., Zhang, S., Pollack, L., Young, M. W., & Crane, B. R. (2013). Flavin reduction activates Drosophila cryptochrome. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 110(51), 20455–20460. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1313336110

Zoltowski, B. D., Vaidya, A. T., Top, D., Widom, J., Young, M. W., & Crane, B. R. (2011). Structure of full-length Drosophila cryptochrome. Nature, 480(7377), 396–399. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature10618 

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Laboratory Members