Our People

Satchidananda Panda, PhD

Satchidananda Panda, PhD

Satchidananda (Satchin) Panda, PhD is a professor at the Salk Institute, La Jolla, California, where his research focuses on the circadian regulation of behavior, physiology and metabolism in model organisms and in humans. He discovered a blue-light sensing cell type in the retina entrains our master circadian clock, affects mood, and regulates the production of sleep hormone melatonin. Recently he discovered that maintaining a daily feeding-fasting cycle – popularly known as Time-restricted feeding (TRF) – can prevent and reverse metabolic diseases. Based on a feasibility study in humans, his lab is currently carrying out a smartphone based study (www.mycircadianclock.org) to assess the extent of circadian disruption among adults.