Martha Ulbrick Gillette is a chronobiologist and neurobiologist with research focusing on the effects of circadian clocks on integrative brain functions metabolism and the molecular mechanisms involved in signaling pathways.
[2] Gillette's research at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) focuses on the relationship between the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) and cells in the hippocampus, as well as how those interactions are influenced by the changes in the circadian rhythm.
Gillette's research has shown that the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) generates ~24h neuronal oscillations in rat hypothalamic brain slice in vitro,[3] and she has investigated temporal windows of sensitivity to circadian phase-shifting by different resetting stimuli, including secondary messengers, hormones, and neuropeptide.
[5] Gillette first discovered that SCN redox state exhibits self-sustained circadian oscillations, which requires the functional molecular clockwork of the Bmal1 gene.
[6] This ~24hr redox oscillation of SCN dictates its own neuronal excitability via non-transcriptional modulation of potassium (K+) channel.