Professor Alfred J. Lewy
Professor Alfred J. Lewy is one of the founding figures of human circadian science. He spent his career as a full professor and Vice-Chair of the Department of Psychiatry at Oregon Health & Science University, with earlier work at the National Institute of Mental Health.
His research mapped how light and melatonin shift the human body clock. He developed the first precise plasma melatonin assays and defined the 24-hour secretion patterns that the field now treats as foundational. He demonstrated that morning light and evening melatonin cause phase advances, and that the opposite pattern causes phase delays. That single finding underpins every modern jet lag protocol.
He has applied the work to winter depression, shift work, and totally blind patients whose circadian rhythms run longer than 24 hours without timed melatonin.
Highlights
- MD and PhD, University of Chicago
- Full Professor and Vice-Chair of Psychiatry, Oregon Health & Science University
- Former researcher at the National Institute of Mental Health
- Pioneered the use of bright light and melatonin to shift the body clock
- 94+ peer-reviewed publications in psychiatry, pharmacology and ophthalmology
