Renske Lok

  • Assistant Professor
  • INTEGRATIVE PHYSIOLOGY
Renske Lok

Dr. Lok earned her Ph.D. from the University of Groningen, where she investigated how light influences human alertness, thermoregulation, and sleep. Following this, she joined the Stanford University Center for Sleep Sciences and Medicine as a postdoctoral fellow, expanding her research to bridge basic and translational approaches to human sleep and circadian biology. Her work focuses on understanding how sleep patterns relate to health and disease, and how light exposure can be harnessed to improve sleep and cognitive function.

She is the recipient of an NIH K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award from the National Institute on Aging, supporting the launch of her independent research program—the cLOcK Lab—at the University of Colorado Boulder in January 2026. Her lab will focus on developing precision light-based interventions to promote healthy sleep, cognition, and aging. She currently serve as Vice President of the Society for Light, Rhythms, and Circadian Health.

Selected Publications:

  • M. Spitschan, L. Kervezee, O. Stefani, M. Gordijn, J.A. Veitch, R. Lok, Evidence-based public health messaging on the non-visual effects of ocular light exposure: a modified Delphi expert consensus. BMJ Public Health (2025) 3:e003205
  • R. Lok, L. Weed, J. Winer, J.M. Zeitzer. Perils of the nighttime: Impact of behavioral timing and preference on mental health in 73,888 community-dwelling adults. (2024) Psychiatry Research, 337: 115956.
  • R. Lok, S. Ancoli-Israel, K.E. Ensrud, S. Redline, K.L. Stone, J.M. Zeitzer, Timing of outdoor light exposure is associated with sleep-wake consolidation in community-dwelling older men. Frontiers in Sleep (2023) 2:1268379.
  • R. Lok, D.S. Joyce, J.M. Zeitzer, Impact of daytime spectral tuning on cognitive function. Journal of Photochemistry & Photobiology, B: Biology (2022) 230, 112439.
  • R. Lok, M.J. van Koningsveld, M.C.M Gordijn, D.G.M. Beersma, R.A. Hut, Daytime melatonin and light independently affect human alertness and body temperature. Journal of Pineal Research (2019) 67:e12583.