(Wright, Kenneth P - 2020) -- Professor of Distinction
Overview
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Kenneth P. Wright Jr., whose talk is titled “Sleep for Optimal Health and Performance,” is a professor in the Department of Integrative Physiology and the director of the Sleep and Chronobiology Laboratory at CU-Boulder. Wright received a BS in psychology from the University of Arizona (1990) and a PhD in Behavioral Neuroscience from Bowling Green State University (1996). Following postdoctoral training in the Division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, he served on the faculty at Harvard Medical School prior to joining the faculty at CU Boulder in 2002. Wright has more than 25 years of experience in sleep and circadian research, has led individual and multicenter/transdisciplinary team projects, and has participated in multicenter clinical trials. His research aims to understand the physiology of sleep and circadian rhythms in humans and the health and safety consequences of sleep and circadian disruption—such as, metabolic dysregulation, impaired cognition, and compromised performance. Wright’s research also explores strategies to promote sleep, enhance alertness and maintain health and safety when sleep and circadian rhythms are challenged, as well as treatment strategies for patients with sleep and circadian related disorders. He is a frequently invited speaker and media contact and has published more than 115 peer-reviewed articles. Wright manages a large undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate training program in sleep and circadian physiology at CU Boulder. Wright has served in leadership, consulting, and advisory roles for government, professional, community, and commercial stakeholders, such as, the Sleep Disorders Research Advisory Board of the National Institutes of Health, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, and the Board of Directors of the Sleep Research Society. He also serves as a reviewer for numerous national and international granting agencies and scientific journals.
