Thomas Kilduff, Ph.D., is an expert in the neurobiology of sleep and wakefulness, sleep disorders, and the biological clock. Kilduff was co-first author on the paper that originally described hypocretin/orexin (Hcrt), a neuropeptide system that stimulates arousal and is involved in wakefulness regulation. Dysfunction of the Hcrt system results in narcolepsy, a sleep disorder characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness and a sudden loss of muscle tone known as cataplexy.

In addition to basic research on sleep, his group conducts in vitro and in vivo pharmacology studies related to the development of new medications for the treatment of sleep disorders. Government agencies, private foundations, and pharmaceutical companies have supported this research. Kilduff has authored or co-authored more than 200 published abstracts, scientific articles, and book chapters.

Kilduff was previously a senior research scientist at Stanford University’s Center for Sleep and Circadian Neurobiology. He has been elected to the board of directors of the Sleep Research Society (SRS) and served as secretary/treasurer for both the SRS and SRS Foundation. He received his Ph.D. in biological sciences from Stanford University. In 2010, Kilduff was named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Kilduff was named an SRI Fellow in 2010 and a Distinguished Scientist by the SRS in 2017.

View Dr. Kilduff’s publications via PubMed or Google Scholar.