Sleep and Chronobiology Laboratory

Administrative Research Center (ARC), Room A29

3100 Marine Street
Boulder, CO 80309-0554
phone: 303-735-1923
fax: 303-735-2864

Research Interests

Health and safety consequences of sleep and circadian disruption.

Influence of sleep and circadian rhythms on human physiology (neuroendocrine, metabolic and immune function) and behavior (sleepiness, memory, learning, mood, cognitive and balance performance) with application to public health and safety.

Countermeasures to improve sleep and wakefulness.

Personnel

Director: Kenneth P. Wright Jr., Ph.D.

Graduate Students: Tina M. Burke, M.S., Evan Chinoy, M.S., Tristan B. Dear, Diane Licata, Andrew W. McHill, Helena Yardley.

Undergraduate Students: Alex Bak, Benjamin Ball, B.S., Brie Dana, Emil Patel, Melissa Ramirez, Ben J. Sullivan.

High School Internship: Elisabeth Meyer.

Professional Research Assistants: Brian R. Birks, B.S., Brandon Griffin, B.A., Gayle K. Wright, MSW, LCSW.

Collaborators: Richard R. Bootzin, Ph.D., University of Arizona; Charles A. Czeisler, Ph.D., M.D., Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women's Hospital; Naomi P. Friedman, Ph.D., University of Colorado Institute for Behavioral Genetics; Robert H. Eckel, M.D., University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus; Leigh Perreault, M.D., University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus; Edward Melanson, Ph.D., University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus; Christopher Drake, Ph.D., Henry Ford Hospital; Phyllis Zee, M.D., Ph.D., Northwestern University.

(L to R): Back row - Dr. Kenneth Wright, Andrew McHill, Benjamin Ball, Benjamin Smith, Brandon Griffin, Bryan Mark, Brian Birks.
Middle row - Fan Yang, Satej Pradhan, Alice Shallcross, Susana Peralta, Tristan Dear, Jamie Pfahl, Rachel Markwald, Brian Perry.
Front row - Evan Chinoy, Brian Can, Kelly Finnegan, Elisabeth Meyer, Anna O'Loughlin, Gayle Wright, Tina Burke, Lindsay Boothby, Eimear McGuire.
Missing from picture - Oren Gordon, Kelcie Rasco.

Current Research Projects

Influence of sleep loss, sleep inertia and circadian disruption on cognitive function.

Melatonin analogs, physiology, circadian rhythm sleep disorders and insomnia.

Countermeasures to improve sleep and wakefulness.

Physiological mechanisms by which sleep loss contributes to obesity and diabetes.

Early morning shift work, genetic and environmental contributions to sleep.

Resetting the human circadian clock with photic and non-photic stimuli.

Persons interested in volunteering to participate in one of these studies should visit the sleep study participant page.

Opportunities for Undergraduate Students

The requirements for undergraduate students who want a research experience in our Laboratory are:

A strong desire to obtain research experiences prior to graduate school, medical school, or advanced study in a health-related field
Minimum commitment: One year
Minimum hours/week when testing subjects: 10 hours (includes journal club)
Minimum experience: No prior experience required
Must be willing to work with a team
Must be able to work various hours during the day, at night, and on weekends.

UROP, independent study, honors thesis, and concurrent BA-MS opportunities are available.

For more information, contact Prof. Ken Wright (kenneth.wright@colorado.edu).

Videos

Recent Publications

Drake CL, Wright KP Jr. Shift work, shift work disorder, and jet lag. Principles and Practice of Sleep Medicine 784-798, 2011.

Frey DJ, Ortega JD, Wiseman C, Farley CT, Wright KP Jr. Influence of Zolpidem on balance and cognition during nighttime awakening: a randomized placebo controlled trial. Journal of the American Geriatric Society 59: 73-81, 2011.

Grady S, Aeschbach D, Wright KP Jr, Czeisler CA. Effect of Modafinil on decrements of neurobehavioral performance associated with extended wakefulness and adverse circadian phase. Neuropsychopharmacology 35: 1910-1920, 2010.

Jung CM, Melanson EL, Perreault L, Eckel RH, Wright KP Jr. Energy expenditure during sleep, sleep deprivation and sleep following sleep deprivation in humans. Journal of Physiology 589: 235-44. 2011.

Jung CM, Khalsa SB, Scheer FAJL, Cajochen C, Lockley S, Czeisler CA, Wright KP Jr. Acute effects of bright light exposure on nighttime cortisol levels in humans. Journal of Biological Rhythms 25: 208-16, 2010.

Jung CM, Ronda JM, Czeisler CA, Wright KP Jr. Comparison of sustained attention assessed by auditory and visual psychomotor vigilance tasks prior to and during sleep deprivation. Journal of Sleep Research 20: 348-55, 2011.

Markwald RR, Lee-Chiong TL, Burke TM, Snider JA, Wright KP Jr. Effects of the melatonin MT-1/MT-2 agonist Ramelteon on daytime body temperature and sleep. Sleep 33: 825-831, 2010.

Nguyen J, Wright KP Jr. Influence of sleep and wakefulness out of phase of internal biological time on the energy balance hormone leptin. Nature and Science of Sleep 2: 9-18, 2010.

Zee PC, Wright KP Jr. Primary Care Update: Shift Work Disorder. Elsevier Inc. 5-24, 2010.

Zee PC, Wang-Weigand D, Wright KP Jr, Peng X, Roth T. Effects of Ramelteon on insomnia symptoms induced by rapid, eastward travel. Sleep Medicine 11: 525-33, 2010.