Charles Czeisler MD, PhD, FRCP

Dr. Charles Czeisler directs the Division of Sleep Medicine and is the Frank Baldino, Jr, PhD Professor of Sleep Medicine and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. He teaches undergraduate courses at Harvard College and is Chief of the Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

Dr. Czeisler discovered that light resets the brain’s circadian clock in humans, even in some totally blind people, and that light can treat maladaptation to night shift work; discovered that the brain’s circadian clock regulates sleep duration and structure; and applied his research to improve shift work schedules. He characterized fundamental properties of the human circadian pacemaker, including its intrinsic period; discovered that melatonin can improve misaligned sleep; demonstrated that physicians’ extended-duration work shifts adversely affect both patient and physician safety; and designed clinical trials leading to all three FDA-approved treatments for Circadian Rhythm Sleep-Wake Disorders.

Dr. Czeisler directs the largest NIH-supported sleep- and circadian-research training program, & led NASA’s Sleep Team, co-receiving NASA’s Innovation Award for designing the solid-state lighting system on the International Space Station. Dr. Czeisler has received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Sleep Foundation, the William C. Dement Academic Achievement Award and the Mark O. Hatfield Public Policy Award from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, the NIOSH Director’s Award for Scientific Leadership in Occupational Safety and Health, the Lord Adrian Gold Medal from the Royal Society of Medicine, the Mary A. Carskadon Outstanding Educator Award and the Distinguished Scientist Award from the Sleep Research Society, the Green Cross for Safety Innovation Award from the National Safety Council, the Peter C. Farrell Prize in Sleep Medicine from Harvard Medical School Division of Sleep Medicine, Bernese Sleep Award from University of Bern Switzerland and the J.E. Wallace Sterling Lifetime Achievement Award in Medicine from the Stanford University School of Medicine Alumni Association.

Dr. Czeisler served as President of the Sleep Research Society, Board Chair of the National Sleep Foundation, Chair of the NIH Sleep Disorders Research Advisory Board, and faculty for the World Economic Forum (Davos) and Aspen Ideas Festival, was elected to the National Academy of Medicine and International Academy of Astronautics, and awarded Honorary Fellowships by the Royal College of Physicians (London) and American Physiological Society.