Rensselaer Professor Mariana Figueiro, Light and Health Program Director at the Lighting Research Center was an invited speaker and panelist at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Workshop: Shift Work at Night, Artificial Light at Night, and Circadian Disruption, held March 10-11, 2016. She presented an overview of Light at Night (LAN) and its association with circadian disruption. The workshop was held at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Rodbell Auditorium.

The NIEHS National Toxicology Program (NTP) is conducting health hazard assessments focusing on health effects of circadian disruption related to LAN and shift work, and invited the leading scientists in the areas of lighting research, shift work, and circadian disruption to inform the health hazard assessments, including data gaps and research needs. More information on the workshop is available at http://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/pubhealth/roc/candidates/meetings/workshop_alan.html

Figueiro is the Principal Investigator on three multi-year R01 grants from the NIH. Last year, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) awarded $2.2 million to Professor Figueiro to support research that could benefit the more than 7 million Americans working rotating or night shift schedules. The four-year R01 grant from NIOSH-CDC will focus on lighting interventions to reduce circadian disruption in shift workers.