Welcome to the Saper Lab!
Mission
About Us
The Saper lab is affiliated with several Harvard programs, including:
the Harvard Program in Neuroscience (https://pinphd.hms.harvard.edu/people/clifford-b-saper),
the Division of Sleep Medicine (https://sleep.hms.harvard.edu/faculty-staff/clifford-b-saper),
the Harvard Catalyst (https://connects.catalyst.harvard.edu/Profiles/display/Person/17796),
and the Harvard Brain Science Initiative (https://brain.harvard.edu/?people=clifford-saper).
We use cutting edge genetically specified tools including spatial, functional, and connectional transcriptomics to define functional circuitry in the brain; opto- and chemogenetics and in vivo calcium imaging to determine how these circuits function in controlling wake-sleep, circadian rhythms, thermoregulation, and stress responses; and channelrhodopsin-assisted circuit mapping to uncover their synaptic mechanisms, in mice. We then identify homologous circuits in human brains, and how they are affected by aging and neurodegeneration.
Identification of neurons (green cell bodies with red nuclei) that are activated by high CO2 and drive increased breathing during sleep. From Kaur et al., Nat Comm 2024; 14:4475.
Team
Leadership at the Forefront of Research
Our lab contains investigators at all levels, from technicians and undergraduates, to graduate students and post-doctoral fellows, and is closely associated with other faculty with whom we share lab space, equipment, and collaborative projects. Our goal is to train young investigators and provide them with the mentorship they need to launch their own, independent research careers. Among our former trainees, 16 have gone on to become Full Professors, 11 Associate Professors, and 10 Assistant Professors.
Funding
Funding
The Saper Lab is funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, the National Institute on Aging, and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.
Contact:
Clifford B. Saper, MD, PhD
Dept. of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
330 Brookline Avenue, Boston, MA 02215
Email: csaper@bidmc.harvard.edu
Phone: 617-667-0519
Full PubMed Bibliography: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=saper+cb&sort=date
Location:
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Center for Life Sciences
CLS 712-717
3 Blackfan Circle
Boston, MA 02215
CLS 712-717
3 Blackfan Circle
Boston, MA 02215
