Orfeu Buxton, Elizabeth Susman Professor of Biobehavioral Health at Penn State, will present the 2025 Pattishall Research Lecture, “Sleep Health Across the Life Span.”
The lecture, sponsored by the College of Health and Human Development, will be presented on Wednesday, Feb. 5, at 3 p.m. in the Edna Bennett Pierce Living Center (110 Henderson Building). The lecture is free and open to the public. Buxton was the recipient of the 2024 Evan G. and Helen G. Pattishall Outstanding Research Achievement Award, which recognizes a faculty member for advancing the frontiers of knowledge.
In his lecture, Buxton will explore the physiology of sleep and circadian rhythm, how sleep health is embedded in everyday life, and sleep as a positive behavior. Sleep health is a pillar of overall health, and adequate restorative sleep is important for mood, positive social interactions, productivity, safety and healing. Conversely, insufficient or poor-quality sleep over the long term increases the risk of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Buxton is the director of the Sleep, Health, and Society Collaboratory at Penn State, which addresses the causes of chronic sleep deficiency in the workplace, home and society and the health consequences of chronic, poor-quality sleep. The lab conducts human studies that seek to understand sleep health, cardiometabolic risk, cognition, disparities and well-being across the life span, including large studies such as the Work, Family and Health Network, the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Sleep Substudy, and the Einstein Aging Study.
He is also a co-funded faculty member in the Social Science Research Institute (SSRI) at Penn State, the associate director of the Penn State Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI), and the second editor-in-chief of the journal Sleep Health, focused on the social epidemiology and public health aspects of sleep.
The Pattishall Research Lecture is delivered each year by the most recent recipient of the Pattishall Outstanding Research Achievement Award, which honors a senior faculty member who has made outstanding research contributions to the field across a major portion of their career. The award was established by the late Evan Pattishall, who served as dean of the former College of Human Development, and his wife, Helen Pattishall.