Michael Menaker, PhD
Professor of Biology, University of Virginia,
Charlottesville, VA
Awarded in celebration of the life and work of Michael Menaker, trailblazer in circadian biology and prescient illuminator of how Light and Dark, the alternating ancient heritages of our planet, come to govern and synchronize living clocks.
- Pioneer explorer of retinal and extraretinal photoreceptors regulating circadian and photoperiodic events in birds, reptiles and mammals;
- Innovative designer of rigorous transplantation experiments revealing the pineal gland in birds and the suprachiasmatic nuclei in mammals to be the source of the circadian activity rhythm in each;
- Ground-breaking investigator of the first circadian genetic mutation in mammals;
- Architect of landmark experiments that elucidate how central and peripheral circadian oscillators are coordinated to each other and with the environment;
- Scientific father, mentor and friend to a generation of circadian researchers.
Harvard Medical School
Division of Sleep Medicine
2007 Annual Prize in Sleep Medicine Recipient
See more information about the 2007 Sleep and Health Benefit Dinner.