December 20, 2025
New publication out in CHEST titled “Challenges and Recommendations for Integrating Circadian Medicine in Critical Care: A Roadmap”, presenting a consensus view on integrating circadian biology in the Intensive Care Unit. The publication is the result of the Lorentz Center workshop that we hosted in Leiden in September 2024, attended by 24 international experts on circadian biology, intensive care, and implementation science.
Read the publication here.
November 15, 2025
Super exciting step: the Light for Public Health Initiative is expanding its reach by bringing together five leading organizations in the field of light, biological rhythms, and health, co-chaired by dr. Manuel Spitschan & dr. Laura Kervezee. This week we announced:
– The signing of a Memorandum of Understanding to advance global awareness on light & health by Center for Environmental Therapeutics, CIE – International Commission on Illumination, DLA – Daylight Academy, Good Light Group and Society for Light, Rhythms, and Circadian Health.
– Our publication on the 26 consensus statements to translate our scientific understanding in this field to core messages for public health messaging in BMJ Public Health.
– The translation of the consensus statements into 18 languages, covering >70% of the world population.
Read more in the press release here.
January 5, 2025
Wrapping up our research project in a very special place today: the NEMO Science Museum in Amsterdam! Over the past two weeks, we investigated the differences between morning and evening people and the sensitivity of their biological clock to light. Gaining more insight into how light influences the biological clock can help to develop personalized advice and better education, thereby promoting a healthy lifestyle. Thanks to the enthusiasm of visitors at NEMO and the hard work of the team, we included more than 500 participants! Stay tuned for our insights as we analyze the massive amount of data!
November 16, 2024
Today, we launched our new website www.bioklok.nl at the NIBI conference, the largest conference for high-school biology teachers in the Netherlands! BioklokNL is the Dutch platform for more information on the biological clock and chronobiology in general. It also contains teaching material for high school teachers. We participated at NIBI with a special chronotype activity that was visited by more than 300 people and gave a workshop titled The biological clock in the classroom to a group of 40 enthusiastic biology teachers.
September 20, 2024
Looking back to a successful, inspiring, and fun Lorentz Center workshop that we organized in Leiden last week! Titled “About time: circadian medicine in critical care“, this workshop brought together 24 international experts in the field of circadian biology, critical care, and implementation science. We discussed the challenges in the field and how to build a robust evidence base for the integration of circadian biology in the Intensive Care Unit. We’re currently finishing a manuscript describing the outcome of our discussions, so to be continued!
September 12, 2024
In adults, the stress hormone cortisol shows a very clear 24-hour rhythm, with highest levels in the morning and low levels in the evening. But what’s this like in babies? We provide an answer to this question in our new publication, out now in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. Great collaboration with colleagues from AmsterdamUMC and many many others!
May 30, 2024
Two new publications! Lots of data is collected as part of routine clinical care that may be a treasure trove for addressing chronobiological questions, but how do we tap into these given the biases & confounding that are present in these data? We explore this question in our new publications in eBioMedicine and PLOS Digital Health.
January 13, 2024
I was interviewed for the Dutch newspaper Volkskrant about the health risks of night shift work and strategies to prevent those adverse effects. You can read the article (in Dutch) here.
December 22, 2023
Together with colleagues from Charité University Hospital I published a short perspective article on the potential for circadian medicine on the Intensive Care Unit in the journal Intensive Care Medicine. You can read the full-text here.
November 11, 2023
I gave a lecture at the annual meeting for Dutch Biology teachers in Egmond aan Zee on the biological clock and the relevance for education, organized by NIBI. It was a very engaging session with lots of questions from the audience. For example, why do schools start so early if we know it goes against the circadian timing system of adolescents?
September 16, 2023
On a beautiful Saturday night we were at the Nacht van Ontdekkingen, a science and art festival in the Hortus botanicus in Leiden, representing the BioClock consortium. More than 200 visitors did a short chronotype test to find out if they are an early bird or night owl and added their result to the graph to see how they compare to other people. More info on the BioClock website.
August 16, 2023
New article published in Frontiers of Physiology on patient-level light characteristics in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in collaboration with dr. Jeroen Dudink, neonatologist from UMC Utrecht. Great job by Isabelle van der Linden & Esther Hazelhoff, the first authors of the study! Read the article here.
June 1, 2023
Together with dr. Jeroen Dudink, neonatologist from UMC Utrecht, I obtained a grant from the Velux Stiftung to investigate the effect of light/dark cycles on the development of preterm babies. Looking forward to getting started on this project soon! Read more here.
May 25, 2023
I was interviewed by the Dutch Sleep-Wake Organisation (NSWO) about the importance of sleep and chronobiology in patient care. Read the interview here (in Dutch).
April 20, 2023
It was a pleasure to give a talk at the ERS & ESRS Sleep & Breathing conference in Prague on the health effects of circadian misalignment. Thanks to the organizers for the invitation!
April 17, 2023
The first Dutch Chronobiology Meeting was a success with more than 120 attendees, 24 posters, and a fantastic line-up of speakers! Read the full report on the BioClock website.
March 25, 2023
Interview in the Belgian newspaper De Morgen on how the circadian clock impact much more than just our sleep-wake cycle. Read the full interview (in Dutch) here.
March 1, 2023
The first official day of the circadian medicine research group!
See this page for previous media & outreach activities.
Circadian Medicine Group 