Announcing Establishment of the Chronobiology and Sleep Institute


June 26, 2019

To:Penn Medicine Faculty and Staff

From:J. Larry Jameson, MD, PhD
Jonathan A. Epstein, MD


We are delighted to announce the formation of the Chronobiology and Sleep Institute (CSI), which will continue the advancement of research and collaboration in circadian biology and sleep at Penn. 

Under the direction of Amita Sehgal, PhD, the new CSI will bring together researchers in multiple disciplines to bridge the basic and clinical sciences, promote educational activities, and increase awareness of the health relevance of daily rhythms and sleep.  Both circadian biology and sleep impact all aspects of physiology and health, and their representation at Penn spans studies of behavior, metabolism, cardiovascular biology, cancer, and the microbiome.  The CSI is an important component of Penn Medicine’s strong commitment to promoting collaborations and innovative research in cross-disciplinary areas of the biomedical sciences.

Dr. Sehgal, the John Herr Musser Professor of Neuroscience and Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at the University of Pennsylvania, is a longstanding leader in our chronobiology programs at Penn.  She has made fundamental contributions towards identifying the molecular mechanisms that generate the endogenous circadian clock and synchronize the clock to light, as well as genetic mechanisms and functions of sleep.  As director of the CSI, Dr. Sehgal will continue to work in close association with researchers from departments and programs across campus, including with Allan Pack, MBChB, PhD, FRCP, the Penn Sleep Center and the Sleep Division of the Department of Medicine.

Please join us in congratulating Dr. Sehgal on the establishment of the Chronobiology and Sleep Institute.