Michael Rosbash

Michael Rosbash, PhD
Peter Gruber Endowed Chair in Neuroscience
Professor of Biology, Brandeis University

On October 29, 2018, the Division of Sleep Medicine's annual Peter C. Farrell Prize in Sleep Medicine was awarded to Michael Rosbash, Ph.D., Peter Gruber Endowed Chair in Neuroscience, Professor of Biology, and Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, Brandeis University along with Michael W. Young, Ph.D., Richard and Jeanne Fisher Professor, Vice President for Academic Affairs, The Rockefeller University for their contributions to the field of Sleep Medicine.

Awarded in celebration of the life and work of Professor Michael Rosbash for his landmark discoveries in the field of circadian rhythms, which for the first time revealed the inner workings of our biological clocks. Professor Rosbash’s pioneering contributions have reshaped our understanding of biological timekeeping and the profound role it plays in physiology and behavior.

The many notable findings of Professor Rosbash and colleagues include:

  • Cloning and characterization of the period gene in Drosophila, the first circadian clock gene to be identified in any organism.
  • Revealing that the PERIOD protein is primarily nuclear in subcellular localization and that it cycles in abundance with a circadian rhythm.
  • Discovering that the PERIOD protein feeds back on the cycling of its mRNA levels, revealing the transcriptional feedback loop underlying circadian rhythms. Harvard Medical

Harvard Medical School
Division of Sleep Medicine
2018 Peter C. Farrell Prize in Sleep Medicine Recipient

See more information about the 2018 Sleep and Health Benefit Dinner.