Projects per year
Personal profile
Areas of Expertise
Neurodegeneration, Brain Health, Dementia, Sleep, Pathological Ageing
Biography
Dr Lazar is an associate professor and principal investigator in the School of Health Sciences with a strong research interest in the significance of human sleep and circadian rhythmicity in brain health. With more than 20 years of experience in sleep research, Alpar has studied sleep and cognition in children and adults presenting normal and pathological development and ageing. Following his PhD studies at Semmelweis University, Budapest where he investigated the sleep physiological correlates of Asperger syndrome, he soon joined the Surrey Sleep Research Centre, UK where he studied the genetics of sleep-wake regulation and chronotype. His work has contributed to a better understanding of the impact of sleep-wake homeostasis and circadian rhythmicity on brain activity and cognition. As he gradually became interested in ageing and neurodegeneration Alpar joined the University of Cambridge where he investigated the role of early sleep disturbances in Huntington’s disease (HD), an autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disorder, and showed that sleep is one of the earliest homeostatic processes to go wrong in HD. Alpar joined UEA by the end of 2016 and spearheaded the launch of the Sleep and Brain Research Unit. He has been awarded a Wellcome trust Seed Award in Science to study the impact of genetic risk factors for developing Alzheimer’s disease on sleep-wake regulation and cognition. Alpar's research has been funded by the Wellcome trust, UKRI, and NIHR, and he leads on the Sleep and Brain Health Research programme at UEA.
Key Responsibilities
Head of Sleep and Brain Research Unit (SBRU)
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Education/Academic qualification
Doctor of Philosophy, Pyschology, Semmelweis University
Award Date: 30 Jun 2010
Keywords
- Neuroscience, Biological Psychiatry & Neuropsychiatry
- sleep
- dementia
- Psychology
- cognition
- Anatomy & Physiology
- circadian
- genetic variants
Media Expertise
- Neuroscience
- Sleep
- Healthy Ageing
- Dementia
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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Using auditory stimulation to investigate selectivity in sleep-associated memory processing
3/06/24 → 2/09/26
Project: Research
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The clinical, social and cost effectiveness of a decision support tool to optimise community-based tailored management of sleep (TIMES) for people living with dementia or mild cognitive impairment and sleep disturbance
Killett, A., Broomfield, N., Khondoker, M., Lazar, A., Loke, Y. & Shepstone, L.
National Institute for Health and Care Research
1/02/22 → 31/01/27
Project: Research
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A 14-year study of serum glial fibrillary acidic protein and total tau in premanifest Huntington's
Owen, N. E., Voysey, Z. J., Holbrook, J. A., Malpetti, M., Le Draoulec, C., Spindler, L. R. B., Goodman, A. O. G., Lazar, A. S. & Barker, R. A., 21 Apr 2025, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access -
Defining an ageing-related pathology, disease or syndrome: International Consensus Statement
Short, E., ICCARP, Calimport, S. & Bentley, B., Apr 2025, In: GeroScience. 47, 2, p. 1713–1720 8 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile -
Sleep abnormalities are associated with greater cognitive deficits and disease activity in Huntington’s disease: A 12-year polysomnographic study
Voysey, Z. J., Goodman, A. O. G., Rogers, L., Holbrook, J. A., Lazar, A. S. & Barker, R. A., 2025, In: Brain Communications. 7, 2, fcaf126.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access -
The Regulation of Human Sleep and Wakefulness: Sleep Homeostasis and Circadian Rhythmicity
Lazar, A. S. & Dijk, D-J., 2025, (Accepted/In press) The Oxford Handbook of Sleep and Sleep Disorders. Second Edition ed. Oxford University PressResearch output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter
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A 14-year longitudinal study of neurofilament light chain dynamics in premanifest and transitional Huntington’s disease
Voysey, Z. J., Owen, N. E., Holbrook, J. A., Malpetti, M., Le Draoulec, C., Spindler, L. R. B., Goodman, A. O. G., Lazar, A. S. & Barker, R. A., Dec 2024, In: Journal of Neurology. 271, 12, p. 7572–7582 11 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile1 Downloads (Pure)
Press/Media
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Can a night in a laboratory help me sleep better?
Marcus Harrington & Alpar Lazar
16/04/25
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Media Coverage or Contribution
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UEA's Sleep and Brain Research Unit featured on BBC Look East
Marcus Harrington, Alpar Lazar & Bindiya Shenoy
16/04/25
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Media Coverage or Contribution
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People sleep least in their early 30s to early 50s: Research (Jan 23)
Michael Hornberger & Alpar Lazar
1/01/23 → 3/01/23
8 items of Media coverage
Press/Media: Media Coverage or Contribution
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People sleep least in their early 30s to early 50s: Research (Dec 22)
Michael Hornberger & Alpar Lazar
22/12/22 → 31/12/22
66 items of Media coverage
Press/Media: Media Coverage or Contribution
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UEA launches new project for World Sleep Day
18/03/22
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: UEA Press Release