Dr. Kayser is a psychiatrist and neuroscientist whose work focuses on the regulation and function of sleep during early life. In addition, as a practicing clinician, Dr. Kayser has launched basic and translational studies at the intersection of sleep and psychiatric disease. His long-term goal is to identify molecular targets to harness sleep as an untapped therapeutic modality in disorders across the lifespan. Dr. Kayser’s group primarily uses the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, to study how early life experiences impact neural circuit development and behaviors. His work has demonstrated that sleep in early adulthood is required for sculpting neural circuits underlying complex behaviors. His group has identified genes regulating the development of sleep circuits, with a particular interest in the link between sleep and neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism. Work from Dr. Kayser’s lab has been recognized with an NIH New Innovator Award, Burroughs Wellcome Career Award for Medical Scientists, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Neuroscience Fellowship, and others. Dr. Kayser also serves as Training Director of an NIH-funded research track in the University of Pennsylvania Department of Psychiatry Residency Program, and is passionate about mentoring, training, and advocating for the next generation of physician-scientist psychiatrists.