Dr. Aric A. Prather is the Pritzker Family Fund Endowed Chair of Health and Community and Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco, where he also serves as Director of the UCSF Center for Health and Community and the UCSF Behavioral Sleep Medicine Research Program.

Dr. Prather is a world-renowned sleep scientist whose research focuses on the impacts of insufficient and disrupted sleep on physical and mental health, with expertise on how sleep impacts the immune system and longevity, as well as interventions to enhance sleep quality. He is a licensed clinical psychologist who helps direct the UCSF Insomnia Clinic. Dr. Prather has published over 130 peer-reviewed scientific papers and is the author of The Sleep Prescription: 7 Days to Unlock Your Best Rest (Penguin Life), which distills the principles of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) for the public to make achievable, meaningful improvements in their sleep using scientifically backed strategies.

Dr. Prather is a popular, sought-after public speaker with deep experience working with audiences and companies to share the importance of sleep as it relates to wellness, mental and physical health, and performance. Exemplar speaking engagement events include presentations with Google, Apple, Equinox Hotels, Athletic Greens, The New York Times, and a series of biotech companies and wellness events.

He has also created sleep education and treatment programs in collaboration with brands, including Headspace “Finding Your Best Sleep”, Calm Health “Sleep Strategies to Win Restful Nights”, and “The Science Behind Sleep Series”, which is a partnership between Headspace and Hyatt Hotels.

Finally, Dr. Prather’s research and clinical expertise are routinely covered by media, including the New York Times, the Atlantic, the Washington Post, Science Magazine, Nature, CNN, MSNBC, and dozens of podcasts.

Dr. Prather received his PhD in Clinical and Biological & Health Psychology from the University of Pittsburgh and completed his Clinical Psychology Internship in Medical Psychology at Duke University Medical Center. He then went on to complete a postdoctoral fellowship through the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health & Society Scholars program housed jointly at UCSF and UC Berkeley School of Public Health.