Irving Zucker

Research Bio

Research in the Biological Rhythms Laboratory focuses on how mammals orient in time, with emphasis on reproductive physiology and behavior, hibernation, daily torpor, body weight,and adipose tissue regulation in several rodent species. Long-term interests include the role of the suprachiasmatic nucleus of the hypothalamus as a circadian and circannual pacemaker and the function of the pineal hormone melatonin as the endocrine signal through which light influences seasonal rhythms.

Research Expertise and Interest

biological rhythms, seasonality, behavioral endocrinology, melatonin, suprachiasmatic nucleus, reproductive physiology, behavior, ultradian rhythms, sex differences

In the News

Featured in the Media

Please note: The views and opinions expressed in these articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or positions of UC Berkeley.
August 17, 2020

Women Are Being Overmedicated Because of Male-Dominated Drug Trials

Vice
Gavin Butler
Women are overmedicated and experience adverse drug pharmaceutical reactions almost twice as often as men because clinical trials are typically male-dominated, according to a new study. Scientists at UC Berkeley and the University of Chicago found that sex bias in clinical trials means the US Food and Drugs Administration is often approving drugs - and determining correct dosages - based predominantly upon their observed effects on men, without taking into account the possibility that others might react differently to the substance. Irving Zucker, lead study author and a professor emeritus of integrative biology at UC Berkeley, said in a statement that "when it comes to prescribing drugs, a one-size-fits-all approach, based on male-dominated clinical trials, is not working, and women are getting the short end of the stick." For more on this, see our press release at Berkeley News.
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Teaching

Courses taught during the three most recent terms
2026 Spring

  • Special Study for Graduate Students  [INTEGBI 296]  

  • Directed Field Studies  [INTEGBI 297]  

2025 Spring

  • Research Seminar  [INTEGBI 290]  

  • Special Study for Graduate Students  [INTEGBI 296]  

  • Directed Field Studies  [INTEGBI 297]  

  • Special Study in Integrative Biology  [INTEGBI 298]  

  • Graduate Research  [INTEGBI 299]