G. Edgar Folk, Jr., Ph.D.

Professor Emeritus

Harvard University, 1947

Research Interests

We study the biological clock (also called the circadian rhythm) of humans and other mammals not only in the laboratory environment but also under field conditions in the hostile environment of the Arctic region. We also study cold adaptation, hibernation, and hypothermia, which we have investigated in ten species of Arctic mammals, including grizzly, black, and polar bears. Hibernators tolerate very low core temperatures without fatal cardiac dysrhythmias, while hypothermia in humans leads to profound cardiac dysfunction and fatal arrhythmias. Therefore, understanding the physiology of hibernation may be useful in the treatment of human disease. Recently we have studied the electrophysiologic changes the heart undergoes in hibernation and hypothermia, comparing hibernators and humans. Specifically, we compare heart rate (HR) and QT interval with core body temperature. Another interest is the History of Physiology.

Selected Publications

1. Folk, G.E., Jr., Riedesel, M. and Thrift, D. Principles of Integrative Environmental Physiology, 502 pp. Reprinted, University Press, Campbell, CA, 2000.

2. Folk GE, Thrift DL, Zimmerman MB, and Reimann PC. 2006. Mammalian activity–rest rhythms in Arctic continuous daylight. Bio Rhythm Res, 37(6): 455–469.

3. Folk GE. 2007. The International Society of Biometeorology: A Fifty-Year History. Presented at IBS meeting; published on IBS website: http://www.biometeorology.org: “About ISB: History”.

4. Folk GE, Dickson EW, Hunt JM, Nilles EJ, and Thrift DL. QT intervals compared in small and large hibernators and humans. Bio Rhythm Res. (In Press, Pub schedule: Vol. 39-05, Oct 2008) E-pub ahead of print http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a783993656~db=all~order=pubdate

5. Buresh CT, Folk GE, Dickson EW, and Thrift DL. The EKG of black bears (Ursus americanus) in hypothermia compared with humans. Presented at Experimental Biology 2008, San Diego, CA, April. [Manuscript in preparation: Comparing Hypothermia in the Human and the Black Bear (Ursus americanus).]