AFOSR PRET: Homeostatic & Circadian Regulation of Wakefulness During Jet Lag and Sleep Deprivation: Effect of Wake-Promoting Countermeasures

摘要

The Center was part of the academic-industry Partners for Research Excellence and Transition (PRET) program of AFOSR. Its focus was on basic science discoveries of countermeasures that could be transitioned to Air Force to prevent cognitive and neurobehavioral performance impairments during transmeridian deployment, sustained operations and night operations. Basic clinical research undertaken in laboratories at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and Brigham AND Women's Hospita/Harvard Medical School, resulted in extensive new data on the performance- enhancing effects of the novel wake-promoting drug modafinil. The information acquired on modafinil were transitioned to and implemented by AF operations. These two laboratories also used study results and their mathematical modeling expertise to advance predictive modeling of human performance relative to sleep and circadian dynamics, including collaboration with AFRL and other laboratories engaged in computational modeling. The Center successfully achieved the PRET goal of transitioning basic science on development of wake-promoting drugs through creation and involvement of Hypnion Inc., a sleep-wake biotechnology company. As part of the Center, Hypnion conducted screening of a range of drugs for sleep-wake effects and conducted a forward genetics-based novel drug target discovery program.