Dale Edgar:  

The Short Version I recently retired as an Executive Scientist entrepreneur focusing on innovative medicines to treat sleep disorders and neurological diseases. I have one daughter who is pursuing her PhD in Molecular Pharmacology at UNC Chapel Hill. She has grown up to be an exceptional, kind, and caring young lady who I could not be more proud of.. I retired from Eli Lilly and Company in 2015 after serving many years as a research executive at Lilly's Research Centre in England, and at Lilly Corporate Center in the United States. I'm presently a Founding Partner and Chief Scientific Officer at Alairion, Inc., a new company that I co-founded in 2016, I also enjoy mentoring college students, post-docs, and new start-up entrepreneurs. I also proudly champion and mentor Women in Science, offer energetic Sleep Health Awareness lectures to groups and company wellness programs, and do a bit of philanthropy work. Life's Lessons I am reasonably content in my skin, but like most, I've made my share of mistakes too. Older and perhaps a bit wiser, I've come to appreciate how precious our time is, and how much I value friends and family who embrace the "Golden Rule." I very much enjoy travel and visiting new places. Living in England made many adventures possible throughout Europe and Asia; however, my favorite of all activities is feeling warm sand between my toes while watching a Caribbean sunset... or better yet, sunset whilst sailing. Taking time out to put things into perspective has helped me to remain an optimist. School No one I know would ever choose to relive High School, but Newark High School was a good experience overall. NHS science teacher Mrs. Bushke trained me well in physiology; her encouragement and belief in my potential helped shape my career path. I suppose it is fair to say that I was somewhat of a Nerd before it became wicked-cool to excel in science and technology. I served as high school photographer for the yearbook but was a bit shy with people I did not know. There were several young ladies at NHS who I thought were very special. I really should have told them. College I attended Ohlone College for a short time before getting serious about Biology at San Jose State University. I earned my Bachelors degree and Master's degree in Biology, the latter while a graduate research fellow at NASA Ames Research Center. Prof. Dan Holley helped me to realize my potential and gave me opportunities that transformed my life. I earned a PhD in Biology (physiology) from the University of California (Riverside & Davis campuses) studying under Prof. Charles Fuller. His faith in my abilities enabled me to probe scientific dogma and influence the field of sleep research. I was then recruited to Stanford University School of Medicine by Prof. William Dement (founder of the field of sleep disorders medicine) where I completed a NIH Post-doctoral fellowship funded by a National Research Service Award. I then established a successful independent research program and was recruited to join the Stanford Medical School faculty as Associate Professor in 1995. Workplace While a professor at Stanford I became recognized for scientific contributions in sleep and circadian physiology, including the identification of wakefulness-promoting mechanisms controlled by the suprachiasmatic nucleus and opponent processes that modulate physiological sleepiness. I especially enjoyed "inventing stuff" - a pioneering trait gained from my dear parents who sadly are now gone. Fortunately, they both lived to see me apply these new technologies to facilitate drug discovery, which allowed me to start-up a new biotechnology company called "Hypnion, Inc." I was a Co-Founder of the company...Expand for more