Sleep and Hormone Clocks Behind Insulin Resistance in Adults
Official title: Sleep loss and circadian misalignment - mechanisms of Insulin Resistance
Funded at Lundquist Institute for Biomedical Innovation at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center · NIH-11384289 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Researchers will study how missing sleep and shifting sleep times affect insulin resistance in adults, aiming to understand why night workers are at higher risk for type 2 diabetes.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Lundquist Institute for Biomedical Innovation at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Torrance, United States) |
| Project start | August 15, 2025 |
| Project end | May 31, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $693,015 |
| NIH project number | 5R01HL177106-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11384289 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults with or at risk for adult-onset diabetes who experience sleep restriction or circadian misalignment, including night shift workers.
✕Less likely to help
Individuals without sleep disturbances or metabolic risk factors may have limited direct benefit from this research.
What this research studies
This project looks at how sleep loss and misaligned circadian rhythms interact to worsen insulin resistance in adults. By measuring cortisol rhythms and 24-hour metabolic markers, the team hopes to uncover how timing and amount of sleep influence diabetes risk. The study focuses on men and women and uses human measurements to link sleep patterns with metabolic changes that precede type 2 diabetes. Results could point to new timing-based strategies to prevent insulin resistance in people who work irregular hours or experience poor sleep. The research is conducted at Harbor-UCLA and will involve collecting data from adult participants over time.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: A better understanding of how sleep and circadian timing contribute to insulin resistance could lead to targeted interventions to prevent type 2 diabetes in at-risk adults.
How similar studies have gone: Previous findings show sleep loss combined with circadian misalignment markedly worsens insulin resistance, supporting the potential value of this approach.
Where this research is happening
-
Lundquist Institute for Biomedical Innovation at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center
Torrance, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Liu, Peter Yiwen — Lundquist Institute for Biomedical Innovation at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center
- Study coordinator: Liu, Peter Yiwen
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.