Meet the Team

by Alice Braga, Ph.D. | Sleep Research Network

Introducing Shaun M. Purcell, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Harvard Medical School

A leader at the intersection of sleep neurophysiology, genetics, and mental health, Dr. Shaun Purcell advances our understanding of how genetic variation shapes sleep phenotypes and their links to psychiatric and cognitive outcomes.

Highlights of his work:

  • Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Columbia Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons
  • Senior Associate, Broad Institute / Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research
  • Leader of the Purcell Lab (Brigham & Women’s) focused on sleep epidemiology, neurophysiology, and behavioral genetics
  • Developer of open-source analytical tools for sleep signal processing (e.g. Luna)
  • Co-director of the National Sleep Research Resource

Research Focus:

  • The genetic architecture of sleep traits (e.g. EEG features, sleep structure) and their association with psychiatric disorders
  • Sleep neurophysiology in aging, cognition, and mental health
  • Development and application of computational tools and pipelines for large-scale sleep data analysis
  • Integration of sleep phenotypes with psychiatric and cognitive outcomes via cross-modal analyses

Clinical & Analytical Contributions:

  • Contributed to large-scale genetic and EEG studies assessing links between sleep traits and psychiatric phenotypes (e.g. in schizophrenia)
  • Oversight of pipelines and signal analysis frameworks to harmonize multi-cohort sleep data
  • Advocacy for open science: tools, data standards, and sharing in sleep genetics research

Educational & Community Contributions:

  • Mentorship of trainees in psychiatric genetics, neurophysiology, and sleep research
  • Participation in sleep training, research education, and collaborative networks within Harvard’s Division of Sleep Medicine

To learn more about the Sleep Research Network (SRN), contact Melissa McKinzie at coordinator@srsnet.org.