Professor Russell Foster discusses new advancements in treatments for 'time blindness' in visually impaired people.

How can our bodies regulate our circadian rhythms when vision loss affects our ability to experience light and dark?

Our biology is governed by a 24-hour biological clock that instructs us when it is the best time to sleep, eat, think, and undertake a myriad of other essential tasks. This daily internal adjustment allows us to function optimally to the varied demands of living on a planet that revolves once every 24 hours.

Individuals who lack eyes or who have suffered severe eye damage are unable to entrain to the light/dark cycle, and drift through time experiencing unremitting sleep/wake disruption. Recent and exciting progress into the identification of new drugs that “mimic” the effects of light on the clock will be discussed.

Speaker

Professor Russell Foster (https://www.ndcn.ox.ac.uk/team/russell-foster) is the Head of Oxford’s Nuffield Laboratory of Ophthalmology, the founder and Director of the Sleep and Circadian Research Institute and is a Fellow of Brasenose College Oxford. His research addresses how circadian rhythms and sleep are generated and regulated and what happens when these systems fail as a result of societal pressures, age and disease.

Event timings

Tea and coffee will be available from 5pm. A networking drinks reception is offered immediately following the talk, from 6.30-7pm.

This event is open to the public and members of Oxford University.

View our website for further details. (https://www.kellogg.ox.ac.uk/?post_type=events&p=20496&preview=true)

Description supplied by the event organiser.