The Circadian Physiology and Photobiology Translational Research Program
Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders, Brigham and Women's Hospital
Acting Director: Shadab A. Rahman, PH.D., M.P.H.
Research
The Circadian Physiology and Photobiology Translational Research Program focuses on basic and applied aspects of human circadian physiology and photobiology. Our translational approach includes use of a range of techniques including inpatient intensive physiological monitoring to field-based physiological and application studies.
We study circadian regulation on a range of physiological systems including immune response, bone metabolism, reproductive function, liver function and lipid and glucose regulation, and are examining these systems in shiftwork and dementia. We are also identifying and validating a series of biomarkers to measure circadian phase and sleepiness under real-world conditions including lipidomics, metabolomics and urinomics and assessing other real-time circadian assessment technologies.
We have a particular interest in human circadian photobiology and the effects of light on the circadian pacemaker and other non-image forming responses. Our studies include investigations of the effects of timing, duration, intensity and wavelength of light exposure on circadian resetting, melatonin suppression and the acute alerting effects of light. We are also conducting a series of applied lighting interventions to improve circadian rhythms, sleep and performance on the International Space Station and other NASA analogs, care homes, hospitals, and offices. This work is also being translated into architectural lighting design approaches and lighting standards.
With the Harvard Work Hours Health and Safety Group, we assess the impact of extended work hours on health and safety of workers and the public. Our studies include the development of interventions that reduce extended duration work hours, fatigue and medical errors in hospital residents, and the implementation of large-scale occupational fatigue management and sleep disorders screening programs in police and firefighters nationwide.
With the Women’s Hormones and Aging Research Program, we assess the impact of menopausal sleep disruption on neurocognitive and cardiometabolic health during the menopausal transition. Our studies include mechanistic basic-science clinical research and clinical trials aiming to improve sleep and circadian health in women across the reproductive age span from healthy young adulthood to menopause.
Contact
Circadian Physiology and Photobiology Translational Research Program
Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders,
Departments of Medicine and Neurology
Brigham and Women’s Hospital
221 Longwood Avenue, RF-489
Boston, MA 02115
Tel: 617 732 4977
Fax: 617 732 4015
Email:srahman@bwh.harvard.edu
Group Members
Faculty
Shadab A. Rahman, Ph.D., M.P.H.
Director, Circadian Physiology Program
Lead Investigator, Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders, Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Assistant Professor in Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Leilah K. Grant, Ph.D.
Associate Physiologist, Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders, Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Instructor in Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Charles A. Czeisler, Ph.D., M.D.
Frank Baldino Jr, Ph.D. Professor of Sleep Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Frank Baldino Jr, Ph.D. Professor of Sleep Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Faculty of Arts & Sciences
Director, Division of Sleep Medicine
Chief and Senior Physician, Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders, Departments of Medicine and Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital
Senior Investigator, Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders, Departments of Medicine and Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital
Melissa A. St. Hilaire, Ph.D.
Associate professor of Data Science, Department of Computer and Data Sciences, School of Engineering and Computational Sciences, Merrimack College
Lecturer on Medicine, Part-time, Harvard Medical School
Research Assistants
Lauren E. McKenzie, B.S.
Audra S. Murphy, B.S.
Affiliated Faculty
Steven W. Lockley, Ph.D.
Visiting Professor, Surrey Sleep Research Centre, University of Surrey, UK
Honorary Professor, School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Australia
Former Fellows
- Adriana Lira-Oliver, D.Des.
- Joshua J. Gooley, Ph.D.
- Eliza Van Reen, Ph.D.
- Kate E. Crowley, Ph.D.
- Brian K. Abaluck, M.D.
- Melanie Rüger, Ph.D.
- Joseph T. Hull, Ph.D.
- Erin E. Flynn-Evans, Ph.D.
- Brianne A. Kent, Ph.D.
- Corrado Garbazza, M.D. Ph.D.
- Joon Chung, Ph.D.
Former PhD students
- Joseph T. Hull (in collaboration with University of Surrey)
- Erin E. Flynn-Evans (in collaboration with University of Surrey)
- Julia Shekleton (in collaboration with Monash University)
- Suzanne Ftouni (in collaboration with Monash University)
- María L. Ámundadóttir (in collaboration with EPFL)
- Simonne Cohen (in collaboration with Monash University)
- Leilah K. Grant (in collaboration with Monash University)
- Julia E. Stone (in collaboration with Monash University)
- Saranea Ganesan (in collaboration with Monash University)
- Laura J. Connolly (in collaboration with Monash University)
- Lauren J. Bulfin (in collaboration with Monash University)
- Lauren A. Booker (in collaboration with IBAS and Monash University)
Collaborators
Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston
- Hadine Joffe, M.D.
- Pamela Mahon, Ph.D.
- Elizabeth B. Klerman, M.D., Ph.D.
- Carolina Bibbo, M.D.
- Jacqueline Lane, Ph.D.
- Jeanne F. Duffy, Ph.D.
- Laura K. Barger, Ph.D.
- Christopher P. Landrigan, M.D., M.P.H.
Current National and International Collaborators
- Bruce S. Kristal, Ph.D., Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging, Tufts University, Boston
- George C. Brainard, Ph.D., Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia
- Erin E. Flynn-Evans, Ph.D., NASA Ames, Moffett Field
- José Guillermo Cedeño Laurent, M.Sc., Sc.D., Rutgers School of Public Health, Piscataway
Selected Recent Publications
[Full for list, click on Circadian Physiology Group Members' Papers]
- CIRCADIAN PHYSIOLOGY IN MULTIPLE SYSTEMS
Rahman SA, Gathungu RM, Marur VR, St Hilaire MA, Scheuermaier K, Belenky M, Struble JS, Czeisler CA, Lockley SW, Klerman EB, Duffy JF, Kristal BS. Age-related changes in circadian regulation of the human plasma lipidome. Commun Biol. 2023 Jul 20;6(1):756. PMID: 37474677
Kent BA, Rahman SA, St Hilaire MA, Grant LK, Rüger M, Czeisler CA, Lockley SW. Circadian lipid and hepatic protein rhythms shift with a phase response curve different than melatonin. Nat Commun. 2022 Feb 3;13(1):681. PMID: 35115537
Grant LK, St. Hilaire MA, Brainard GC, Czeisler CA, Lockley SW, Rahman SA. Endogenous circadian regulation and phase resetting of clinical metabolic biomarkers. Journal of Pineal Research; 2021; in press. Jun 12:e12752. doi: 10.1111/jpi.12752. Online ahead of print. PMID: 34118084
Grant LK, Czeisler CA, Lockley SW, Rahman SA. Time-of-day and meal size effects on clinical lipid markers. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism 2021; 106(3):e1373-e1379. PMID: 33051649
Grant LK, Gooley JJ, St Hilaire MA, Rajaratnam SMW, Brainard GC, Czeisler CA, Lockley SW, Rahman SA. Menstrual phase-dependent differences in neurobehavioral performance: The role of temperature and the progesterone/estradiol ratio. Sleep 2020; 43(2). pii: zsz227. PMID: 31670824
Rahman SA, Grant LK, Gooley JJ, Rajaratnam SMW, Czeisler CA, Lockley SW. Endogenous circadian regulation of female reproductive hormones. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism 2019; 104(12):6049-6059. PMID: 31415086
Vidafar P, Gooley JJ, Burns AC, Rajaratnam SMW, Rueger M, Van Reen E, Czeisler CA, Lockley SW, Cain SW. Increased vulnerability to attentional failure during acute sleep deprivation in women depends on menstrual phase. Sleep 2018; 41(8). PMID: 29790961
St. Hilaire MA, Rahman SA, Gooley JJ, Witt-Enderby PA, Lockley SW. Relationship between melatonin and bone resorption rhythms in premenopausal women. Journal of Bone and Mineral Metabolism 2019; 37(1):60-71. PMID: 29318392
Grant LK, Ftouni S, Nijagal B, De Souza DP, Tull D, McConville MJ, Rajaratnam SW, Lockley SW, Anderson C. Circadian and wake-dependent changes in human plasma polar metabolites during prolonged wakefulness: A preliminary analysis. Scientific Reports 2019; 9(1):4428. PMID: 30872634 PMCID: PMC6418225
Bullock B, Murray G, Anderson JL, Cooper-O’Neil T, Gooley JJ, Cain SW, Lockley SW. Constraint is associated with earlier circadian phase and morningness: Confirmation of relationships between personality and circadian phase using a constant routine protocol. Personality and Individual Differences 2017; 104:69–74. PMID: 28216802
Rahman SA, Castanon-Cervantes O, Scheer FAJL, Shea SA, Czeisler CA, Davidson AJ, Lockley SW. Endogenous circadian regulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines in the presence of bacterial lipopolysaccharide in humans. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity 2015; 47:4-13. PMID: 25452149.
- LABORATORY STUDIES
Grant LK, Kent BA, Mayer MD, Stickgold R, Lockley SW, Rahman SA. Daytime exposure to short wavelength-enriched light improves cognitive performance in sleep-restricted college-aged adults. Frontiers in Neurology 2021; 12:624217. PMID: 33692742 PMCID: PMC7937889
Rahman SA, Brainard GC, Czeisler CA, Lockley SW. Spectral sensitivity of circadian phase resetting, melatonin suppression and acute alerting effects of intermittent light exposure. Biochemical Pharmacology 2021; in press. Mar 9:114504. PMID: 33711285
Rahman SA, Wright Jr KP, Lockley SW, Czeisler CA, Gronfier C. Characterizing the temporal dynamics of melatonin and cortisol changes in response to nocturnal light exposure. Scientific Reports 2019; 9(1):19720. PMID: 31873098 PMCID: PMC6928018
Phillips AJK*, Vidafar P*, Burns AC, McGlashan EM, Anderson C, Rajaratnam SMW, Lockley SW, Cain SW. High sensitivity and interindividual variability in the response of the human circadian system to evening light. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science USA 2019; 116(24):12019-12024. PMID: 31138694 PMCID: PMC6575863
Hanifin JP, Lockley SW, Cecil K, West K, Westa M, Jablonski M, Warfield B, James M, Ayers M, Byrne B, Gerner E, Pineda C, Rollag M, Brainard GC. Randomized trial of polychromatic blue-enriched light for circadian phase shifting, melatonin suppression, and alerting responses. Physiology and Behavior 2019; 198:57-66. PMID: 30296404
Rahman SA, St. Hilaire MA, Gronfier C, Chang AM, Santhi N, Czeisler CA, Klerman EB, Lockley SW. Functional decoupling of melatonin suppression and circadian phase resetting in humans. Journal of Physiology 2018; 596(11):2147-2157. PMID: 29707782
Rahman SA, St. Hilaire MA, Lockley SW. The effects of spectral tuning of evening ambient light on melatonin suppression, alertness and sleep. Physiology and Behavior 2017; 177: 221-229. PMID: 28472667
Rahman SA, St. Hilaire MA, Chang AM, Santhi N, Duffy JF, Kronaeur RE, Czeisler CA, Lockley SW, Klerman EB. Circadian phase resetting by a single short-duration light exposure. JCI Insight 2017; 2(7):e89494.PMID: 28405608 PMCID: PMC5374060
- CIRCADIAN PHOTOBIOLOGY BASIC SCIENCE STUDIES
Grant LK, Gooley JJ, St Hilaire MA, Joffe H, Brainard GC, Van Reen E, Rüger M, Rajaratnam SMW, Lockley SW, Czeisler CA, Rahman SA. A pilot study of light exposure as a countermeasure for menstrual phase-dependent neurobehavioral performance impairment in women. Sleep Health. 2024 Feb;10(1S):S34-S40. PMID: 37748973
Grant LK, Gonsalvez I, Cohn AY, Nathan MD, Harder JA, Klerman EB, Scheer FAJL, Kaiser UB, Crawford S, Luo T, Wiley A, Rahman SA, Joffe H. The effect of experimentally induced sleep fragmentation and estradiol suppression on neurobehavioral performance and subjective sleepiness in premenopausal women. Sleep. 2024;47(8). PMID: 38874415
Cohn AY, Grant LK, Nathan MD, Wiley A, Abramson M, Harder JA, Crawford S, Klerman EB, Scheer FAJL, Kaiser UB, Rahman SA, Joffe H. Effects of Sleep Fragmentation and Estradiol Decline on Cortisol in a Human Experimental Model of Menopause. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2023 Oct 18;108(11):e1347-e1357. PMID: 37207451
Grant LK, Crosthwaite PC, Mayer MD, Wang W, Stickgold R, St Hilaire MA, Lockley SW, Rahman SA. Supplementation of ambient lighting with a task lamp improves daytime alertness and cognitive performance in sleep-restricted individuals. Sleep. 2023 Aug 14;46(8). doi: 10.1093/sleep/zsad096. PubMed PMID: 37026184; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC10424162.
Rahman SA, St Hilaire MA, Grant LK, Barger LK, Brainard GC, Czeisler CA, Klerman EB, Lockley SW. Dynamic lighting schedules to facilitate circadian adaptation to shifted timing of sleep and wake. J Pineal Res. 2022 Aug;73(1):e12805. doi: 10.1111/jpi.12805. Epub 2022 May 25. PubMed PMID: 35501292; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC11316502.
Grant LK, Kent BA,Mayer MD, Stickgold R, Lockley SW, Rahman SA. Daytime exposure to short wavelength-enriched light improves cognitive performance in sleep-restricted college-aged adults. Frontiers in Neurology 2021; 12:624217. PMID: 33692742 PMCID: PMC7937889
St Hilaire MA, Ámundadóttir ML, Rahman SA, Rajaratnam SMW, Rüger M, Brainard GC, Czeisler CA, Andersen M, Gooley JJ, Lockley SW. The spectral sensitivity of human circadian phase resetting and melatonin suppression to light changes dynamically with light duration. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2022 Dec 20;119(51):e2205301119. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2205301119. Epub 2022 Dec 12. PubMed PMID: 36508661; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9907124.
Rahman SA, Brainard GC, Czeisler CA, Lockley SW. Spectral sensitivity of circadian phase resetting, melatonin suppression and acute alerting effects of intermittent light exposure. Biochemical Pharmacology 2021; in press. Mar 9:114504. PMID: 33711285
- CIRCADIAN PHYSIOLOGY AND PHOTOBIOLOGY TRANSLATIONAL STUDIES
- MATHEMATICAL MODELING OF SLEEP AND CIRCADIAN RHYTHMS
- SLEEP AND WOMEN’S HEALTH
Grant LK, Kent BA, Rahman SA, St Hilaire MA, Kirkley CL, Gregory KB, Clark T, Hanifin JP, Barger LK, Czeisler CA, Brainard GC, Lockley SW, Flynn-Evans EE. The effect of a dynamic lighting schedule on neurobehavioral performance during a 45-day simulated space mission. Sleep Adv. 2024;5(1):zpae032. PMID: 38903700
Varma P, Rahman SA. Lighting the path forward: the value of sleep- and circadian-informed lighting interventions in shift work. Sleep. 2024 Nov 8;47(11). PMID: 39301963
Grant LK, St Hilaire MA, Heller JP, Heller RA, Lockley SW, Rahman SA. Impact of Upgraded Lighting on Falls in Care Home Residents. J Am Med Dir Assoc. 2022 Oct;23(10):1698-1704.e2. PMID: 35850166.
Rahman SA, Kent BA, Grant LK, Clark T, Hanifin JP, Barger LK, Czeisler CA, Brainard GC, St Hilaire MA, Lockley SW. Effects of dynamic lighting on circadian phase, self-reported sleep and performance during a 45-day space analog mission with chronic variable sleep deficiency. J Pineal Res. 2022 Nov;73(4):e12826. PMID: 35996978
Chen Y, Broman AT, Priest G, Landrigan CP, Rahman SA, Lockley SW. The effect of blue-enriched lighting on medical error rate in a university hospital ICU. Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety, 2021; 47(3):165-175. PMID: 33341396
Rahman SA, Sullivan JP, Barger LK, St. Hilaire MA, O’Brien CS, Stone KL, Phillips AJK, Klerman EB, Qadri S, Wright Jr KP, Halbower AC, Segar JL, McGuire JK, Vitiello MV, de la Iglesia HO, Poynter SE, Yu PL, Sanderson AL, Zee PC, Landrigan CP, Czeisler CA, Lockley SW for the ROSTERS Study Group. Extended work shifts and neurobehavioral performance in resident-physicians. Pediatrics 2021; 147(3):e2020009936. PMID: 33619044
Landrigan CP, Rahman SA, Sullivan JP, Vittinghoff E, Barger LK, Sanderson AL, Wright Jr KP, O’Brien CS, Qadri S, St. Hilaire MA, Halbower AC, Segar JL, McGuire JK, Vitiello MV, de la Iglesia HO, Poynter SE, Yu PL, Zee PC, Lockley SW, Stone KL, Czeisler CA, for the ROSTERS Study Group. Effect on patient safety of a resident physician schedule without 24 hour Shifts. New England Journal of Medicine 2020; 382(26): 2514-2523. PMID: 32579812
Barger LK, Sullivan JP, Blackwell T, O’Brien CS, St. Hilaire MA, Rahman SA, Phillips AJK, Qadri S, Wright KP, Segar JL, McGuire JK, Vitiello MV, de la Iglesia HO, Poynter SE, Yu PL, Zee PC, Sanderson AL, Halbower AC, Lockley SW, Landrigan CP, Stone KL, Czeisler CA; ROSTERS Study Group. Effects on resident work hours, sleep duration and work experience in a Randomized Order Safety Trial Evaluating Resident-physician Schedules (ROSTERS). Sleep 2019; 42(8). PMID: 31106381
St. Hilaire MA, Anderson C, Anwar J, Sullivan JP, Cade BE, Flynn-Evans EE, Czeisler CA, Lockley SW; for the Harvard Work Hours Health and Safety Group. Brief (<4 hour) sleep episodes are insufficient for restoring performance in first-year resident physicians working overnight extended-duration work shifts. Sleep 2019; 42(5). PMID: 30794317
Brown LS, St Hilaire MA, McHill AW, Phillips AJK, Barger LK, Sano A, Czeisler CA, Doyle FJ 3rd, Klerman EB. A classification approach to estimating human circadian phase under circadian alignment from actigraphy and photometry data. Journal of Pineal Research; 2021 May 29:e12745. PMID: 34050968
Cochrane C, Ba D, Klerman EB, St Hilaire MA. An ensemble mixed effects model of sleep loss and performance. Journal of Theoretical Biology; 2021 Jan 21;509:110497. PMID: 32966825
St Hilaire MA, Lammers-van der Holst HM, Chinoy ED, Isherwood CM, Duffy JF. Prediction of individual differences in circadian adaptation to night work among older adults: application of a mathematical model using individual sleep-wake and light exposure data. Chronobiology International; 2020 Sep-Oct;37(9-10):1404-1411. PMID: 32893681
Kronauer RE, St Hilaire MA, Rahman SA, Czeisler CA, Klerman EB. An exploration of the temporal dynamics of circadian resetting responses to short- and long-duration light exposures: cross-species consistencies and differences. Journal of Biological Rhythms. 2019 Oct;34(5):497-514. PMID: 31368391
St. Hilaire MA, Kristal BS, Rahman SA, Sullivan JP, Quackenbush J, Duffy JF, Barger LK, Gooley JJ, Czeisler CA, Lockley SW. Using a single daytime performance test to identify most individuals at high-risk for performance impairment during extended wake. Scientific Reports 2019; 9(1):16681. PMID: 31723161 PMCID: PMC6853981
Rahman SA, Poort H, Schrag D, Tung SC, Zhou ES, Wiley A, Finkelstein LB, Elguenaoui E, Nolan M, Mayer EL, Joffe H. Incidence of patient-reported fatigue developing on palbociclib and endocrine therapy for advanced HR+ HER2- breast cancer. Oncologist. 2024 Dec 19;. PMID: 39703168.
Grant LK, Gonsalvez I, Cohn AY, Nathan MD, Harder JA, Klerman EB, Scheer FAJL, Kaiser UB, Crawford S, Luo T, Wiley A, Rahman SA, Joffe H. The effect of experimentally induced sleep fragmentation and estradiol suppression on neurobehavioral performance and subjective sleepiness in premenopausal women. Sleep. 2024 Aug 14;47(8). PMID: 38874415
Grant LK, Gooley JJ, St Hilaire MA, Joffe H, Brainard GC, Van Reen E, Rüger M, Rajaratnam SMW, Lockley SW, Czeisler CA, Rahman SA. A pilot study of light exposure as a countermeasure for menstrual phase-dependent neurobehavioral performance impairment in women. Sleep Health. 2024 Feb;10(1S):S34-S40. PMID: 37748973
Cohn AY, Grant LK, Nathan MD, Wiley A, Abramson M, Harder JA, Crawford S, Klerman EB, Scheer FAJL, Kaiser UB, Rahman SA, Joffe H. Effects of Sleep Fragmentation and Estradiol Decline on Cortisol in a Human Experimental Model of Menopause. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2023 Oct 18;108(11):e1347-e1357. PMID: 37207451
Coborn J, de Wit A, Crawford S, Nathan M, Rahman S, Finkelstein L, Wiley A, Joffe H. Disruption of Sleep Continuity During the Perimenopause: Associations with Female Reproductive Hormone Profiles. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2022 Sep 28;107(10):e4144-e4153. PMID: 35878624
Grant LK, Coborn JE, Cohn A, Nathan MD, Scheer FAJL, Klerman EB, Kaiser UB, Harder J, Abramson M, Elguenaoui E, Russell JA, Wiley A, Rahman SA, Joffe H. Sleep Fragmentation and Estradiol Suppression Decrease Fat Oxidation in Premenopausal Women. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2022 Jul 14;107(8):e3167-e3176. PMID: 35569055
Rahman SA, Nathan MD, Wiley A, Crawford S, Cohn AY, Harder JA, Grant LK, Erickson A, Srivastava A, McCormick K, Bertisch SM, Winkelman JW, Joffe H. A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial of suvorexant for the treatment of vasomotor symptom-associated insomnia disorder in midlife women. Sleep. 2022 Mar 14;45(3). PMID: 35022783.
Grant LK, Gooley JJ, St Hilaire MA, Rajaratnam SMW, Brainard GC, Czeisler CA, Lockley SW, Rahman SA. Menstrual phase-dependent differences in neurobehavioral performance: the role of temperature and the progesterone/estradiol ratio. Sleep. 2020 Feb 13;43(2). PMID: 31670824
Rahman SA, Grant LK, Gooley JJ, Rajaratnam SMW, Czeisler CA, Lockley SW. Endogenous Circadian Regulation of Female Reproductive Hormones. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2019 Dec 1;104(12):6049-6059. PMID: 31415086
Rahman SA, Bibbo C, Olcese J, Czeisler CA, Robinson JN, Klerman EB. Relationship between endogenous melatonin concentrations and uterine contractions in late third trimester of human pregnancy. J Pineal Res. 2019 May;66(4):e12566. PMID: 30739346
Selected Recent Research Support
1R01HL159207 (PI: Rahman) 09/15/21-07/31/25
“Determining the role of photic and non-photic time cues in resetting lipid circadian rhythms in humans”
The goal of this proposal is to construct three PRCs that systematically examine the contribution of light and meal timing on resetting lipid circadian rhythms.
1R01HL162102 (MPI: Rahman/St Hilaire) 04/01/22-03/31/26
“Menstrual-phase-dependent differences in response to chronic variable sleep loss”
To evaluate differences in neurobehavioral performance impairment in response to chronic variable sleep loss in women across the menstrual cycle.
1R01HD107064 (PI: Klerman) 12/01/21-11/30/25
“Testing Effects of Melatonin on Uterine Contractions in Women”
The goal of this project is to test the causal link between circulating melatonin levels and uterine contractions in late-term pregnant women.
R01MH128617 (MPI: Joffe/Burdick) 02/01/22-12/31/26
“Using allopregnanolone to probe behavioral and neurobiological mechanisms that underlie depression in women across perimenopausal stage”
The goal of this proposal is to identify how the progesterone metabolite allopregnanolone affects behavior and neurobiology that may underlie perimenopausal depression, as an approach to develop specific and effective interventions for perimenopausal depression.
Completed
BIOS, LLC (PI: Rahman) 06/11/20 - 06/10/25
Investigator-initiated study “The effect of lighting supplementation on cognitive task performance during the day”
The goal of this project is to examine whether supplementing existing poor quality indoor lighting with blue-enriched white lighting can improve daytime cognitive performance in healthy young adults.
Seoul Semiconductor (PI: Rahman) 01/11/19-01/10/24
Investigator-initiated study “Effects of daytime lighting conditions on students' cognitive performance”
The goal is to assess the role light spectrum and intensity on the alerting effects of daytime light exposure.
PNNL (PI: Rahman) 09/10/19-08/31/21
Investigator-initiated study “analyzing de-identified patient data for an inpatient behavioral health unit research”
The goals are to assess the role of light on health outcomes in an inpatient facility. Role: Co-Investigator
1R21NR018974 (PI: St Hilaire) 09/25/19-07/31/21
NINR ‘Urine metabolomics to estimate internal clock time’
The goals are to develop a feasible method to measure circadian phase accurately and reliably using non-invasive urinomics. Role: Co-Investigator
Midwest Lighting Institute (PI: Rahman) 01/01/18-12/31/19
“Senior care facility lighting to improve health, safety and energy efficiency”.
The goal of this project is to examine the impact of a dynamic lighting intervention on the health and safety of seniors living in care homes. Role: Co-Investigator.
In the News
- 2020 ‘The Science of Deep Sleep’, Mindful
- 2020 ‘The Science of Circadian Rhythm: How to Manage Your Body's Sleep Clock’ , Prevention
- 2020 ‘Melissa St. Hilaire Unravels the Mysteries of Sleep’, BWH Clinical and Research News
- 2020 'The Invisible Ways Indoor Light Is Messing With Your Health’, Mind Body Green
- 2019 ‘Presenting the new Lowell House’, Harvard Gazette
- 2019 ‘Lighting design for better health and well being’ , Nature Outlook
- 2019 ‘Does Light Therapy Work? Experts Explain Red, White, and Blue Light Therapies’, Prevention
- 2019 ‘Eliminating extended work shifts improves sleep duration for senior resident physicians’, Science Daily
- 2018 ‘Are You a Night Owl or Early Bird? New Test Tells Time of Internal Clock’, Healthline
- 2018 ‘Effects of night-time light on internal body clock’, Science Daily
- 2018 ‘Lights At Night Could Affect Hormones, Body Clock Differently’, Medical Daily
- 2018 ‘While we sleep, our mind goes on an amazing journey’, National Geographic
- 2018 ‘Seven ways ... to improve your sleep’, The Guardian
- 2017 ‘The Uncertain Science Behind Your Phone's Blue Light Dimmer’, Wired
- 2017 ‘Evening screen time can sabotage sleep’, Science News for Students
- 2017 ‘F1: How crashing out helps win races’, CNN
- 2016 ‘The Power of Light’, NASA
- 2015 ‘Brainwaves: Light’, BBC Radio Scotland
- 2014 ‘Urban light pollution: why we're all living with permanent 'mini jetlag'’, The Guardian
- 2014 Sleepy teenagers experiencing body clock changes could be helped by delayed school hours, ABC News Net Australia
- 2013 Chronotypes, BBC Radio Broadcast
- 2013 Chronobiology: Stepping out of Time, Nature
- 2013 Should Medical Residents Be Required to Work Shorter Shifts? Wall Street Journal
- 2013 Fake mission to Mars leaves astronauts spaced out, The Guardian
- 2012 Blues Clues, Harvard Medicine Magazine
- 2012 How to beat jet lag, USA Today
- 2012 A New Glow in the Dark: Sleeping With Blue Light On, Wall Street Journal
- 2012 A Battle Plan for Jet Lag, New York Times
- 2012 Blue light has a dark side, Harvard Health Publications
- 2012 Where Have All The Stars Gone? , PBS NewsHour
- 2012 Sleep Research in the Blind May Help Us All, The Huffington Post
- 2012 Light from electronic screens at night linked to sleep loss, Chicago Tribune
- 2009 Better care if doctors rest, BBC News report
- 2006 ‘When the blues keep you awake’, Harvard Gazette
- 2004 ‘Overworked interns prone to medical errors’, Harvard Gazette
- 2003 ‘When light has you signing the blues’, Harvard Gazette