Dr. James Krueger Celebrates Over Fifty Years of Sleep Research Advances

Throughout his career, Krueger has authored over 400 manuscripts and 390 abstracts while presenting at more than 330 symposiums and seminars. He holds seven patents and has received numerous awards, including the Sleep Research Society’s Distinguished Scientist Award, the organization's highest honor for impactful contributions to sleep and circadian research.

His research explores the biochemical factors regulating sleep, the influence of microbes on sleep, and the overall role of sleep in health. Noteworthy achievements include identifying a sleep-promoting factor known as muramyl peptide, uncovering the roles of cytokines in sleep regulation, and showing how infections can significantly alter sleep patterns—an idea he developed over 2,400 years after Hippocrates first suggested it. He also documented the initiation of sleep within small neuronal/glial networks and has engaged in debates over the fundamental functions of sleep, proposing that it aids immune function and supports brain plasticity. Together with WSU mathematicians, Krueger developed mathematical models of sleep regulation, framing sleep as an emergent manifestation of the human holobiont condition, which refers to a collection of species living symbiotically.

Krueger remarked, "If my science is remembered 100 years from now, it’ll be for two things: that bacteria play a role in the physiological regulation of sleep, and that any collection of viable neurons and glia will oscillate between sleep-like and wake-like states."

He joined WSU in July 1997 as the chair and professor of the Integrative Physiology and Neuroscience program, becoming a Regents Professor in 2006. Upon his arrival, he was tasked with establishing a new neuroscience program despite a lack of additional financial resources. Working alongside dedicated faculty and staff, the program flourished.

By 2003, Krueger had formed an informal sleep research group at WSU-Pullman. His efforts contributed to a Congress appropriation of $4.5 million for the WSU-Spokane Sleep and Performance Research Center in 2004, where Dr. Greg Belenky was appointed director, followed by Dr. Hans Van Dongen in the current role.

In its initial five years, the SPRC faculty secured over $32 million in research grants, published 322 scientific papers, and trained 155 undergraduate students and 44 graduate students, alongside delivering 330 talks worldwide.

Krueger expressed his satisfaction with the program’s success, stating, "It was an administrative accomplishment and, more importantly, intellectually rewarding being part of that effort with so many outstanding WSU faculty, students, and staff."

Though devoted to his research and administrative duties, Krueger has a strong passion for teaching. He reflected, "If I had any regrets about my days in Pullman, it is that I didn’t teach as much as I wanted to." His commitment to research limited his classroom time, especially while managing several NIH RO1 grants over the years.

Before his tenure at WSU, Krueger earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin, a doctorate in physiology from the University of Pennsylvania, and an honorary degree from the University of Szeged. He completed postdoctoral work at Harvard Medical School and held positions at Rosalind Franklin University and the University of Tennessee Medical School.

Krueger has received several prestigious awards, including the Javits Award from the National Institutes of Health, the Taniguchi Fellowship in Japan, and the Eminent Faculty Award at WSU. He was inducted into the Washington State Academy of Sciences in 2012, with his scholarly works cited over 27,000 times.