Panel participants:
Michael López-Alegría
Dr. Smith L. Johnston III
Steven W. Lockley, Ph.D.
Mickey Beyer-Clausen
Dr. Richard Carmona (moderator)
A major shift in performance and health is currently happening, and circadian science is at the center. This panel will discuss the importance of circadian science in our daily lives, and how disrupting our circadian clock can lead to reduced performance, compromised safety and weakened immune function. Doing the right thing at the right time is central to our health and well-being, and with the correct guidance, the timing of biology is something we all can manage. As a bonus, former NASA astronaut Michael Lopéz-Alegría will share a few incredible stories from his four space missions and 10 spacewalks where circadian science helped him get ready for rocket launches and space walks, and live on orbit on the International Space Station.
Richard Carmona (moderator), MD, MPH, FACS, had a distinguished career in public health, serving as 17th Surgeon General of the United States. His interest in public health stemmed from the realization that most of his patients' illnesses and injuries were preventable. Today, Dr. Carmona serves as chief of health innovations for Canyon Ranch, a global leader in the wellness movement. He is a distinguished professor, Zuckerman College of Public Health, University of Arizona.
Michael López-Alegría has 40 years' experience with the United States Navy and NASA in roles that include naval aviator, engineering test pilot and program manager, NASA astronaut, and International Space Station commander. López-Alegría is former president of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, where he was a spokesman, thought leader and advocate. Now an independent consultant, he serves on several advisory boards and committees of public and private organizations, including the Human Exploration and Operations Committee of the NASA Advisory Council. He chairs ASTM International's Committee on Commercial Spaceflight and is past president of the Association of Space Explorers.
Smith L. Johnston III, MD, MS, is chief medical officer and lead flight surgeon for Axiom Space. He is also special advisor to Timeshifter, a platform for circadian shifting with a mission to solve large, previously unsolved problems caused by the circadian clock. A member of the associate clinical faculty at the University of Texas Medical Branch, Department of Preventive, Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Johnston has spent most of his career as a medical officer and flight surgeon for NASA Medical Operations Branch at NASA Johnson Space Center. In his last years at NASA, he led its Fatigue Management and Wellness, Human Performance, and Longevity Programs.
Steven Lockley, PhD, is a neuroscientist in the Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and an associate professor of medicine in the Division of Sleep Medicine, Harvard Medical School. Dr. Lockley is also a professor and VC Fellow at the United Kingdom's University of Surrey, Sleep Research Centre, and an affiliated faculty at the Center for Health and the Global Environment, Harvard School of Public Health. With more than 25 years of research experience in circadian rhythm and sleep, he is a specialist in ways to reset the circadian clock, particularly the role of light and melatonin.
Mickey Beyer-Clausen is a Danish-born, New York-based serial entrepreneur. In the 1990s, Beyer-Clausen was one of the first to launch Internet businesses, and since 2008, he has pioneered the use of mobile applications to improve people's lives. Currently, he is the cofounder and CEO of Timeshifter. In June 2018, this company launched its first product-a jet lag app. In July 2020, Timeshifter announced its plan to launch a new app for shift workers. Before Timeshifter, Beyer-Clausen cofounded and served as CEO at Mental Workout, which pioneered a new category of mental performance apps, including mindfulness and sleep apps.