Harvard Medical School is one of the leading centers for research in sleep and sleep disorders in the United States. Overall, at the Medical School and in the Harvard-affiliated hospitals, Harvard Medical School faculty receive substantial federally-funded (NIH) research support for projects related to sleep and sleep disorders. Currently, major areas of investigation include mathematical modeling of sleep and circadian rhythms, occupational safety related to work hours and sleep deficiency, neurobiology of narcolepsy, pathophysiology, epidemiology and consequences of obstructive sleep apnea, biological control systems related to sleep and circadian rhythms, impact of circadian variation on health and disease and the impact of sleep and circadian dysfunction on visual attention.
Faculty conducting sleep research at Harvard Medical School began meeting together informally in the mid-1990's to bring a greater sense of community to this enterprise. Several Program Project and Training Grants were written and funded as a result of these efforts. We have also built a centerpiece seminar series, the Sleep Grand Rounds series, which has served as a focal point to bring our community together.