H Craig Heller
Academic Appointments
- Professor, Biology (School of Humanities and Sciences)
- Member, Bio-X
Key Documents
Contact Information
- Academic Offices
Personal Information Email Tel (650) 723-1509Alternate Contact May Chin Administrative Assistant Email Tel Work 650 725 1827
Professional Overview
Administrative Appointments
- Curriculum Committee, BioEngineering (2007 - present)
- K-12 Steering Committee, School of Education (2007 - present)
- Executive Committee, Human Biology (2006 - present)
- Chair, Curriculum Committee, Human Biology (2006 - present)
- Chair, Wallenberg Global Learning Network Steering Committee (2001 - present)
- Chair, Biological Sciences (1997 - 2001)
Honors and Awards
- Kenneth M. Cuthertson Award for Exceptional Contributions to Stanford University, University (2010)
- William and Lynde Steere University Fellow, University (2004-present)
- Lorry I. Lokey Business Wire Professor, Biology/Human Biology (1993-present)
- Bing Professor of Human Biology, Human Biology (1987-1993)
- Walter J. Gores Award for Excellence in Teaching, University (1977)
Graduate & Fellowship Program Affiliations
Scientific Focus
Current Research Interests
Neurobiology of sleep, circadian rhythms, regulation of body temperature, mammalian hibernation, and human exercise physiology. We study neural mechanisms controlling arousal states and arousal state transitions, the function of sleep, and the neural mechanisms of circadian rhythms. Research on human exercise physiology focuses on the effects of body temperature on physical conditioning and performance. The focus on Down syndrome is exploring the mechanism whereby reduction of GABA activity restores learning and memory in DS mice and also in mouse models of Alzheimer's disease.
Publications
- Short-term treatment with the GABAA antagonist pentylenetetrazole produces a sustained procognitive benefit in a mouse model of Down's syndrome. Br J Pharmacol. 2013
- The acute effects of light on murine sleep during the dark phase: importance of melanopsin for maintenance of light-induced sleep. Eur J Neurosci. 2013
- Work volume and strength training responses to resistive exercise improve with periodic heat extraction from the palm. J Strength Cond Res. 2012; (9): 2558-69
- Acute light exposure suppresses circadian rhythms in clock gene expression. J Biol Rhythms. 2011; (1): 78-81
- Hibernation in black bears: independence of metabolic suppression from body temperature. Science. 2011; (6019): 906-9
- Optogenetic disruption of sleep continuity impairs memory consolidation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2011; (32): 13305-10
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