Orie Shafer

Shafer, a neuroscientist and chronobiologist, studies the neurobiological basis of circadian timekeeping, the mechanism that times sleep and activity; and entrainment, the process by which circadian clocks are set to local time. His research employs genetic, physiological, imaging, and behavioral methods to understand how neural networks create a robust yet entrainable circadian rhythm, and he is particularly interested in how such networks operate when challenged by the unreliability of the modern light environment. He has been with The Graduate Center since 2019 after his time at the University of Michigan.