Recipient of many prestigious awards, including the David and Lucille Packard Fellowship and Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship, Dr. Hattar is a truly accomplished researcher. His laboratory has identified melanopsin-containing photoreceptors in the retina of mice that are important in non-image-forming functions. When the melanopsin gene was knocked out in these retinal ganglion cells, the cells lost their inherent photosensitivity. These melanopsin-containing cells make up a very small portion of the eye, yet they are imperative for various behaviors including pupil constriction and regulation of the sleep wake cycle. Currently, Dr. Hattar’s studies focus on the effects of light on learing, memory, and behavioral functions such as the sleep wake cycle. His lab has recently found an animal