CAS

Certificate of Advanced Studies in Light and Chronobiology

****** This course is COMING SOON. ******

© Prof. Dr. Christian Cajochen

The CAS course “Light and Chronobiology” aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the role of daylight in human behaviour, psychophysiology, neuroendocrinology and clinical applications. The course will also highlight the importance of daylight in the built environment for office users, schoolchildren or the elderly in care homes. 

The course will bridge the gaps between research streams that have not yet been integrated into a functional, holistic and sustainable whole. Such a functional entity is urgently needed to determine biological and psychological daylight needs. The CAS will thus provide the essential foundation for understanding daylight and its effects on people from different perspectives, in order to subsequently teach and guide a wide range of practitioners and research users, including building scientists, lighting designers and engineers, educators, policy makers, and medical and health professionals.

Students will gain a deeper understanding of the effects of light on human circadian rhythms and sleep-wake behaviour, endocrine measures and metabolism, cognitive performance and well-being, and the role of daylight in affective disorders. They will also be given insight and practical training in the fundamentals of daylight research in the laboratory, field and clinical settings.

Course structure

Topics:

1. Light and its importance in everyday life
2. Light and its physiologically relevant measurement and quantification
3. Light and chronobiological treatment modalities in the clinic
4. Light in the built environment
5. Light and chronobiology in industry

• Kick-off event and final workshop in Basel, Switzerland
• One module (2 teaching days) in-person in Basel, Switzerland
• The main part of the course lectures will be held online
• During the last 3 to 6 months, students will write a thesis on a topic of their choice which is related to one of the modules of the CAS. 
• Students will present their written theses in an oral presentation during the last workshop.

Persons in charge

Responsible persons from iHCDP:

• Prof. Dr. Christian Cajochen, iHCDP Director, PhD, Director of Studies, CAS Course speaker, Psychiatric Hospital of the University of Basel, christian.cajochen@upk.ch
• Dr. Mirjam Münch, Lead Environmental Circadian Lighting, PhD, CAS Course speaker and Chair of the Programme Board, University of Basel, mirjam.muench@unibas.ch
• Dr. med. Corrado Garbazza, Lead Circadian Health Clinic, MD PhD, CAS Course Speaker and Member of the Programme Board, University of Basel, corrado.garbazza@unibas.ch
• Prof. Dr. Manuel Spitschan, Lead Circadian Visual Neuroscience, PhD, CAS Course Speaker and Member of the Programme Board, Technical University of Munich and Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, manuel.spitschan@tum.de
• Nadja Schaubhut, iHCDP Platform and CAS Course Coordinator, MSc, University of Basel, nadja.schaubhut@unibas.ch

Lecturers

The course content will be taught by lecturers from the University of Basel and other universities in Switzerland and abroad, as well as practitioners in the field.

Please note: The course is still in planning. Interested parties are welcome to contact the following e-mail address below, but binding registration is not yet possible. More details will follow as we progress in the planning process.

Contact

Integrative Human Circadian Daylight Platform
Centre for Chronobiology
University Psychiatric Clinics (UPK)
Wilhelm Klein-Strasse 27
CH-4002 Basel, Switzerland

Nadja Schaubhut, MSc, Course Coordinator
nadja.schaubhut@unibas.ch, e-mail subject: CAS