Rate My Professor Matt Thimgan

Matthew Thimgan, PhD, serves as Associate Professor of Biological Sciences at Missouri University of Science and Technology, where he directs the Laboratory of Sleep Biology. His research as a sleep biologist utilizes the model organism Drosophila melanogaster and human subjects to explore biochemical and genetic factors regulating sleep, the consequences of sleep deprivation on metabolism and cognition, sleep-wake transitions as markers of health and aging, and physiological and molecular biomarkers of sleepiness. Thimgan's work aims to identify strategies for mitigating sleep loss effects. He earned a B.S. from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1995 and a Ph.D. in Cell and Molecular Physiology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2005. He conducted postdoctoral research in the Department of Neuroscience at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis from 2005 to 2010 under Paul J. Shaw before joining Missouri S&T.

Thimgan's influential publications include 'Inducing sleep by remote control facilitates memory consolidation in Drosophila' (Science, 2011), cited over 430 times; 'The perilipin homologue, lipid storage droplet 2, regulates sleep homeostasis and prevents learning impairments following sleep loss' (PLoS Biology, 2010); 'Identifying sleep regulatory genes using a Drosophila model of insomnia' (Journal of Neuroscience, 2009); 'Foraging alters resilience/vulnerability to sleep disruption and starvation in Drosophila' (PNAS, 2012); and 'Cross-translational studies in human and Drosophila identify markers of sleep loss' (PLoS One, 2013). He co-authored the book 'Human Fatigue Risk Management: Improving Safety in the Chemical Processing Industry' (2016). Thimgan received the College of Arts, Sciences and Education Research Award in 2024 and the Faculty Service Award in 2025 at Missouri S&T. He has presented public lectures on sleep's importance and historical changes.