Abhilash Lakshman, Ph.D.

“Why this absurd concern with clocks, my friend?” - Walter de la Mare

As I pursue faculty positions, my goal is to build a research program that addresses fundamental open questions at the intersection of circadian biology, sleep, and metabolism, particularly how timekeeping across central and peripheral tissues is integrated and functionally coordinated. Complementing this, I am deeply interested in how evolutionary and ecological forces have sculpted sleep/wake timing, bridging neuroscience with a broader biological context.

Almost every organism on the planet exhibits rhythms in physiology, behavior, and metabolism on a 24-h basis. These rhythms are driven by networks in the brain that are called circadian clocks. Importantly, these clocks have a speed that is slightly different from 24-h. Therefore, our brains must sense cues in the environment and reset our clocks to an exactly 24-h schedule every day - a process called entrainment - a first rate biological problem.

One of the most common manifestations of circadian clock regulated behaviors is something all of us experience - the daily rhythms in sleep and wakefulness. Most of us are familiar with the physical discomfort and mental disarray that accompanies mistimed sleep. Naturally, one can imagine the importance of understanding mechanisms in the brain that sense and adjust to a 24-h day, thereby ensuring appropriate timing and amounts of sleep.

My research uses behavioral methods, mathematical models, and simple yet powerful computational and statistical tools to understand mechanisms underlying appropriate timing of sleep. See my projects page for more details on my research and the bigger questions I am interested in asking.