Kenneth P. Wright Jr.

  • Professor of Distinction
  • Graduate Affairs Associate Chair
  • INTEGRATIVE PHYSIOLOGY
Address

Office: Clare 112
Fax: 303-492-4009

Research Interests

  • Health and safety consequences of insufficient sleep and circadian misalignment. Development of countermeasures and treatments for sleep and circadian disruption to improve public health and safety.
  • Sleep and Chronobiology Laboratory.

Education

  • 1986-1990, B.S. (Psychology), University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
  • 1991-1994, M.A., (Behavioral Neuroscience/Psychology) Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH
  • 1994-1996, Ph.D. (Behavioral Neuroscience/Psychology) Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH

Professional Experience

  • 1989-1991, Research Assistant in Psychology, Sleep and Cognition Unit, Psychology Department, University of Arizona; Tucson, AZ. Director, Richard R. Bootzin, Ph.D.
  • 1995-1997, Post-doctoral Faculty Fellow, Behavioral Neuroscience/Sleep and Circadian Rhythms, Psychology Department, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH. Director, Pietro Badia, Ph.D.
  • 1997-2000, Research Fellow in Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Circadian, Neuroendocrine and Sleep Disorders Section, Brigham and WomenÃŒs Hospital, Boston, MA. Director, Charles A. Czeisler, Ph.D., M.D.
  • 2000-2001, Associate Neuroscientist, Division of Endocrinology, Circadian, Neuroendocrine and Sleep Disorders Section, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA.
  • 2000-2002, Instructor in Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.
  • 2001-2002, Associate Neuroscientist, Division of Sleep Medicine, Brigham and WomenÃŒs Hospital, Boston, MA.
  • 2001-2002, Director, Fatigue Countermeasures Research Program, Division of Sleep Medicine, Brigham and WomenÃŒs Hospital, Boston, MA.
  • 2002-2003, Assistant Professor, Department of Kinesiology & Applied Physiology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO.
  • 2003-2009, Assistant Professor, Department of Integrative Physiology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO.
  • 2009-2015, Adjunct Associate Professor, Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Diabetes, University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine, Aurora, CO.
  • 2009-2015, Associate Professor, Department of Integrative Physiology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO.
  • 2015- Adjunct Professor, Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Diabetes, University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine, Aurora, CO.
  • 2015- Professor, Department of Integrative Physiology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO.
  • 2019- Professor of Distinction, Department of Integrative Physiology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO.

Honors and Awards

  • 1996, Charles E. Shanklin Award for Research Excellence of the Bowling Green State University.
  • 1997-2000, National Research Service Award (T32) - National Institutes of Health.
  • 1998-2000, Distinction in Teaching; Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning; Harvard University.
  • 1999-2001, Fellowship in Clinical and Community Health Research The Medical Foundation and Harold Whitworth Pierce Charitable Trust.
  • 2000, Young Investigator Award, American Academy of Sleep Medicine, Honorable mention.
  • 2003, Young Investigator, William C. Dement Sleep and Chronobiology Apprenticeship, Brown University.
  • 2005, J. Christian Gillin, M.D. Research Award, Sleep Research Society Foundation.
  • 2007, Distinguished Service Award, Sleep Research Society.
  • 2007, Marinus Smith Award, University of Colorado Parents Association.
  • 2013, Provost's Faculty Achievement Award, °µÍø½ûÇø.
  • ​2018, Boulder Faculty Assembly Excellence Award for Research, Scholarly and Creative Work – °µÍø½ûÇø.
  • 2019  Integrative Physiology Faculty Excellence in Research – °µÍø½ûÇø
  • 2022  Mary A. Carskadon Outstanding Educator Award, Sleep Research Society

Recent Publications

  • Beale AD, Hayter EA, Crosby P, Valekunja UK, Edgar RS, Chesham JE, Maywood ES, Labeed FH, Reddy AB, Wright KP Jr, Lilley KS, Bechtold DA, Hastings MH, O'Neill JS. Mechanisms and physiological function of daily haemoglobin oxidation rhythms in red blood cells. EMBO J. 2023 Oct 4;42(19):e114164

  • Broussard JL, Knud-Hansen BC, Grady S, Knauer OA, Ronda JM, Aeschbach D, Czeisler CA, Wright KP Jr. Influence of circadian phase and extended wakefulness on glucose levels during forced desynchrony. Sleep Health. 2024 Feb;10(1S):S96-S102

  • Chaput JP, McHill AW, Cox RC, Broussard JL, Dutil C, da Costa BGG, Sampasa- Kanyinga H, Wright Jr KP. The role of insufficient sleep and circadian misalignment in obesity. Nat Rev Endocrinol. 2023 19 (2), 82-97.

  • Cox RC, Blumenstein AB, Burke TM, Depner CM, Guerin MK, Hay-Arthur E, Higgins J, Knauer OA, Lanza SM, Markwald RR, Melanson EL, McHill AW, Morton SJ, Ritchie HK, Smith MR, Smits AN, Sprecher KE, Stothard ER, Withrow D, Wright KP Jr. Distribution of dim light melatonin offset (DLMOff) and phase relationship to waketime in healthy adults and associations with chronotype. Sleep Health. 2024 Feb;10(1S):S76-S83

  • Cox RC, Ritchie HK, Knauer OA, Guerin MK, Stothard ER, Wright KP Jr. Chronotype and Affective Response to Sleep Restriction and Subsequent Sleep Deprivation. J Biol Rhythms. 2024 Feb;39(1):35-48.

  • Cox RC, Wright KP Jr, Axelsson J, Balter LJT. Diurnal variation in anxiety and activity is influenced by chronotype and probable anxiety-related disorder status. Psychiatry Res. 2024 Aug;338:116006

  • Dunster GP, Hua I, Grahe A, Fleischer JG, Panda S, Wright KP Jr, Vetter C, Doherty JH, de la Iglesia HO. Daytime light exposure is a strong predictor of seasonal variation in sleep and circadian timing of university students. J Pineal Res. 2023 Mar;74(2):e12843.

  • Fritz J, Huang T, Depner CM, Zeleznik OA, Cespedes Feliciano EM, Li W, Stone KL, Manson JE, Clish C, Sofer T, Schernhammer E, Rexrode K, Redline S, Wright Jr KP, Vetter C. Sleep duration, plasma metabolites, and obesity and diabetes: A metabolome-wide association study in US women. Sleep 2023 46 (1), zsac226
  • Gauglitz JM, West KA, Bittremieux W, Williams CL, Weldon KC, Panitchpakdi M, Di Ottavio F, Aceves CM, Brown E, Sikora NC, Jarmusch AK, Martino C, Tripathi A, Meehan MJ, Dorrestein K, Shaffer JP, Coras R, Vargas F, Goldasich LD, Schwartz T, Bryant M, Humphrey G, Johnson AJ, Spengler K, Belda-Ferre P, Diaz E, McDonald D, Zhu Q, Elijah EO, Wang M, Marotz C, Sprecher KE, Vargas-Robles D, Withrow D, Ackermann G, Herrera L, Bradford BJ, Marques LMM, Amaral JG, Silva RM, Veras FP, Cunha TM, Oliveira RDR, Louzada-Junior P, Mills RH, Piotrowski PK, Servetas SL, Da Silva SM, Jones CM, Lin NJ, Lippa KA, Jackson SA, Daouk RK, Galasko D, Dulai PS, Kalashnikova TI, Wittenberg C, Terkeltaub R, Doty MM, Kim JH, Rhee KE, Beauchamp-Walters J, Wright KP Jr, Dominguez-Bello MG, Manary M, Oliveira MF, Boland BS, Lopes NP, Guma M, Swafford AD, Dutton RJ, Knight R, Dorrestein PC.W Enhancing untargeted metabolomics using metadata-based source annotation. Nat Biotechnol. 2022 Jul 7. doi: 10.1038/s41587-022-01368-1.

  • Hartstein LE, Diniz Behn C, Wright KP Jr, Akacem LD, Stowe SR, LeBourgeois MK. Evening Light Intensity and Phase Delay of the Circadian Clock in Early Childhood. J Biol Rhythms. 2023 Feb;38(1):77-86

  • Marot LP, Tibiletti Balieiro LC, do Vale Cardoso Lopes T, Rosa DE, Wright KP Jr, de Castro Moreno CR, Crispim CA. Meal timing variability of rotating shift workers throughout a complete shift cycle and its effect on daily energy and macronutrient intake: a field study. Eur J Nutr. 2023 Jun;62(4):1707-1718.

  • McHill AW, Melanson EL, Wright KP Jr, Depner CM. Circadian misalignment disrupts biomarkers of cardiovascular disease risk and promotes a hypercoagulable state. Eur J Neurosci. 2024 Jul 25. doi: 10.1111/ejn.16468

  • Morrison CL, Winiger EA, Wright KP, Friedman NP. Multivariate genome-wide association study of sleep health demonstrates unity and diversity. Sleep. 2024 Feb 8;47(2):zsad320.

  • Mühlematter C, Nielsen DS, Castro-Mejía JL, Brown SA, Rasch B, Wright KP Jr, Walser JC, Schoch SF, Kurth S. Not simply a matter of parents-Infants' sleep-wake patterns are associated with their regularity of eating. PLoS One. 2023 Oct 5;18(10):e0291441.

  • Murray JM, Stone JE, Abbott SM, Bjorvatn B, Burgess HJ, Cajochen C, Dekker JJ, Duffy JF, Epstein LJ, Garbazza C, Harsh J, Klerman EB, Lane JM, Lockley SW, Pavlova MK, Quan SF, Reid KJ, Scheer FAJL, Sletten TL, Wright KP Jr, Zee PC, Phillips AJK, Czeisler CA, Rajaratnam SMW; International Association of Circadian Health Clinics. A Protocol to Determine Circadian Phase by At-Home Salivary Dim Light Melatonin Onset Assessment. J Pineal Res. 2024 Aug;76(5):e12994. doi: 10.1111/jpi.12994.

  • Rice A, Sather O, Wright KP, Vetter C, Martin MA, de la Iglesia HO. COVID-19 stay-at-home restrictions increase the alignment in sleep and light exposure between school days and weekends in university students. Sleep. 2023 Jul 11;46(7):zsad059.

  • Thompson RS, Bowers SJ, Vargas F, Hopkins S, Kelley T, Gonzalez A, Lowry CA, Dorrestein PC, Vitaterna MH, Turek FW, Knight R, Wright KP Jr, Fleshner M. A Prebiotic Diet Containing Galactooligosaccharides and Polydextrose Produces Dynamic and Reproducible Changes in the Gut Microbial Ecosystem in Male Rats. Nutrients. 2024 Jun 6;16(11):1790.

    Wang W, Yuan RK, Mitchell J, Zitting KM, St. Hilaire MA,  Wyatt JK, Scheer AJL, Wright Jr KP, Brown EN, Ronda JM, Klerman EB, Duffy JF, Dijk DJ, Czeisler CA. Using Kleitman’s forced desynchrony protocol to 2 assess the intrinsic period of circadian oscillators and estimate the contributions of the circadian pacemaker and the sleep–wake homeostat to physiology and behavior in clinical research.  Nature Protocols  2023. 18 (2), 579-603