Stuart Peirson

Neuroscientist

Stuart Peirson is an Associate Professor in the Nuffield Laboratory of Ophthalmology and a Group Leader in the Sleep and Circadian Neuroscience Institute (SCNi). After completing a BSc in Neuroscience at Sheffield University, and a PhD at the Institute of Ophthalmology UCL he moved to Imperial College to work as a BBSRC postdoctoral Research Associate. Subsequently, working as a Wellcome Trust Research Associate, Dr Peirson contributed to the identification of the melanopsin pRGC system in humans as well as the characterisation of melanopsin signalling pathways. Dr Peirson was appointed as a Lecturer at Imperial College in 2005 before moving to the University of Oxford in 2006. His work has continued to focus upon characterising the signalling pathways mediating the effects of light on physiology and behaviour, with the aim of identifying novel targets for the regulation of circadian rhythms and sleep. His recent work helped characterise a natural mechanism preventing our biological clocks shifting more than ~1h per day, which helps explain why we suffer from jet-lag. His work featured in a recent exhibition of contemporary science at the Natural History Museum in Oxford.