Elena Gracheva is a Professor of Cellular and Molecular Physiology and of Neuroscience at Yale University School of Medicine. Her research focuses on uncovering the cellular, molecular and physiological basis of mammalian hibernation. She employs a multidisciplinary approach that includes electrophysiology, molecular biology, imaging, behavioural paradigms, genomics, transcriptomics and bioinformatics. Working with non-standard animal models such as hibernating thirteen-lined ground squirrels and Syrian hamsters, she delves into various aspects related to temperature sensitivity, thermoregulation, fluid ionic balance, hunger and satiety control, and seasonal reproduction.