Grant & Award Recipients

Behavioral–social rhythms and cardiovascular disease risk in couples with type 2 diabetes

Individuals with type 2 diabetes are at elevated cardiovascular risk, and behavioral–social rhythms may play a role. This project will assess how daily rhythm regularity and relationship quality impact glucose regulation and cardiovascular health in couples coping with diabetes. Data will be collected over 20 days using actigraphy, ecological momentary assessment, and continuous glucose monitoring. Findings will inform future dyadic interventions targeting sleep and social rhythm disruptions to reduce cardiometabolic risk.

AI to Identify Treatment Heterogeneity in CV Health Among Patients with OSA (MATCH-OSA)

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) contributes to cardiovascular disease, yet CPAP effectiveness varies widely across patients. This project applies causal machine learning to randomized trial and real-world data to identify which patients benefit most from CPAP therapy. The aim is to develop predictive models for personalized treatment strategies that optimize cardiovascular outcomes, advancing precision medicine approaches in sleep-disordered breathing.

Enhancing Sleep Physiology with Noninvasive Brain Stimulation to Restore Cognition in Schizophrenia

Individuals with schizophrenia often experience disrupted sleep physiology linked to cognitive impairment. This project investigates whether high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS) during sleep can enhance slow-wave and spindle activity, and in turn, improve cognitive performance. Comparing effects in patients with schizophrenia and healthy controls, this study will explore the therapeutic potential of sleep-based brain stimulation.

Investigating the neuronal basis for increased arousal threshold during zebrafish sleep

Sleep is characterized by a reduced response to external stimuli, but the underlying brain mechanisms remain unclear. This project will use larval zebrafish and whole-brain imaging to monitor neuronal activity in response to sensory stimuli during sleep and wakefulness. The goal is to identify neural pathways that suppress arousal during sleep, advancing understanding of how sleep states are regulated and how the brain maintains sensory disconnection during rest.

Community-Engaged Transdiagnostic Sleep Intervention for School-Age Children with Autism

Children with autism spectrum disorder experience sleep disturbances at disproportionately high rates, affecting overall development and family well-being. This project will adapt and evaluate a behavioral sleep intervention through a community-engaged approach to improve feasibility and acceptability. The pilot study will assess whether the adapted intervention improves sleep and daytime functioning in children and reduces caregiver stress, laying the groundwork for larger-scale trials of parent-mediated sleep interventions.

This grant was made possible by Madeleine Grigg-Damberger, MD.

A mixed methods approach to understanding biopsychosocial consequences of REM sleep behavior disorder to inform a behavioral treatment

REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD) can severely impact psychosocial and sleep functioning in veterans and their partners, yet behavioral treatments are limited. This project uses a mixed methods approach—including actigraphy, self-report measures, and interviews—to characterize the biopsychosocial burden of RBD. Findings will inform the development of a targeted behavioral intervention to address biopsychosocial consequences associated with RBD.

The associations between indoor nitrogen dioxide (NO2) exposure and adverse pediatric sleep outcomes

Jing Wang is a PhD student in environmental epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. She also works in the Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Her research focuses on applying causal inference and advanced quantitative methods to investigate both the individual and joint effects of environmental exposures on sleep health, particularly the roles of air pollution, the built environment, and extreme weather events in relation to obstructive sleep apnea. She is passionate about translating epidemiological findings into actionable interventions to reduce sleep health disparities and improve population well-being.

Increased Aβ deposition following chronic sleep disruption correlates with altered gliosis and AQP4 in 5xFAD mice

Dr. Samantha Keil is a postdoctoral associate and translational neuroscientist investigating the role sleep health plays in neurodegenerative disease progression. Integrating her preclinical and clinical research, she aims to define how sleep regulates brain fluid clearance across neurodegenerative disease states, such as Alzheimer’s Disease. Her current work aims to establish the impact of chronically disrupted sleep/untreated obstructive sleep apnea on glymphatic function. In the future, Dr. Keil’s research program will utilize multimodal neuroimaging to evaluate the interplay of sleep and brain fluid clearance dynamics across disease modalities, bridging mechanistic insight with clinical translation to inform preventative and therapeutic strategies.

How many nights are enough? A pre-registered study examining the reliability of sleep intraindividual variability derived from 10,412 normal sleepers

Dr. Josh Leota is a research fellow in the School of Psychological Sciences at Monash University, specializing in sleep, circadian rhythms, and physical activity. His research combines wearable technology and large-scale cohort data to investigate how behavioral timing, such as when we sleep or exercise, affects health, performance, and recovery. His work aims to uncover modifiable, time-based behavioral patterns to inform personalized interventions and improve health outcomes at both individual and population levels.

A Machine Learning Approach for Targeted Obstructive Sleep Apnea Case-Finding in Outpatient Clinics

Zachary Oatley is a second-year medical student who became interested in sleep medicine after his own diagnosis of unrecognized obstructive sleep apnea. He founded Dream AI, a startup developing machine learning tools for early apnea detection, and personally developed the code behind its predictive algorithms. The project led to milestone funding, a utility patent, and a clinical validation study. Zach is also a committed student advocate who has led national efforts to modernize medical education.

Dr. Balthazar is a triple board-certified nurse practitioner with dual doctoral degrees. Her interdisciplinary research bridges clinical practice and science to study socioenvironmental and biobehavioral determinants of sleep and brain health, particularly Alzheimer’s disease risk and cognitive aging.

Dr. Bolstad is a clinical geropsychologist at the Birmingham/Atlanta GRECC. Her research focuses on developing and disseminating cognitive behavioral interventions for REM parasomnias, including CBT for nightmares and behavioral therapies for REM sleep behavior disorder.

Dr. Jones is investigating the link between sleep disturbance and suicidality, focusing on emotional regulation and its neural mechanisms. Her work aims to better understand how disrupted sleep patterns affect mental health and suicide risk.

Dr. Nowalk completed his clinical training in pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine at the University of Chicago, where he also earned a Master of Science in Public Health Sciences. His current research examines cardiometabolic outcomes of hypoglossal nerve stimulation for obstructive sleep apnea. He plans to submit a K23 application focused on therapeutic interventions for OSA.

With a background in epilepsy research, Dr. Tanner is now exploring the connections between sleep, Alzheimer’s disease, and health disparities. Her work uses wearable sleep metrics and advanced analytics to examine how sleep disturbances contribute to neurodegeneration in African American/Black populations.

Elizabeth (“Lilly”) Montesano Scheibe is a Harvard Medical School student (Class of 2026) pursuing child neurology and sleep medicine. Diagnosed with narcolepsy type 1 (NT1) in medical school, she brings personal insight to her research and advocacy. She is currently conducting research on NT1 and pregnancy, cardiovascular risks in NT1 treatment, and attention in pediatric NT1. Lilly has presented at multiple SLEEP conferences and is co-president of the HMS Student Alliance in Chronic Illness. She received Harvard’s Equity, Social Justice, and Advocacy Award for her work in disability representation in medicine.

NatalieDeana Badillo is a medical student at Weill Cornell Medicine and a TL1 Pre-Doctoral Trainee. With a background in biomedical engineering, she develops machine learning models to diagnose sleep disorders using polysomnography data. She also lectures on healthcare innovation and design through Weill Cornell’s BioVenture eLab. Her work has been published in JAMA Otolaryngology and Annals of Surgical Oncology. Natalie founded the NYC Filipinx Community Health Fair and holds leadership roles in CYFAM and AFSA, merging engineering, medicine, and cultural advocacy to improve healthcare access and equity.

As a future physician-scientist, Si Hao Tang is excited to continue exploring the science of sleep — both at the biomolecular level and in clinical contexts. Sleep affects nearly every aspect of human health, yet much remains unknown. He also want to continue to explore how sleep disorders disproportionately affect underserved communities. Factors like race, socioeconomic status, language barriers, and access to care all shape who receives a diagnosis, who gets treatment, and whose symptoms are overlooked. He hopes to contribute to research that not only advances our understanding of sleep physiology but also sheds light on these disparities.

Walter Jacob is a rising fourth-year medical student at the Icahn School of Medicine. He has decided to pursue a career as a sleep medicine physician-scientist, with the ultimate goal of working at a major academic center where he can combine clinical practice with translational research. He will be applying to research track neurology residency positions, with the aim of completing a sleep medicine fellowship afterward. For him, sleep medicine represents an exciting frontier at the intersection of neurology, cardiology, and general health. He believes sleep is far more than a passive state and that optimizing sleep could have far-reaching benefits for preventing and managing a wide range of chronic diseases.

Proteomic approach to understanding the mechanism of action for exercise as a non-pharmacological management method in RLS: A Pilot Study

This study will explore how different types of exercise influence restless legs syndrome (RLS) symptoms and uncover the biological pathways involved. Using blood samples from an ongoing clinical trial, the team will measure changes in thousands of proteins before and after a 12-week exercise program. By identifying proteomic biomarkers linked to symptom improvement or worsening, they aim to reveal how exercise affects RLS at a molecular level. Findings from this pilot study may inform more effective, personalized treatment strategies for people living with RLS.

Defective transferrin receptor regulation in the blood -brain barrier endothelial cells underlies brain iron insufficiency in RLS

This study will use a blood-brain barrier (BBB) cell culture model and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from individuals with RLS to investigate whether signals in the CSF disrupt the regulation of transferrin receptors, which are key proteins that transport iron into the brain. Despite normal blood iron levels, individuals with RLS often have reduced brain iron, which may be due to impaired iron uptake at the BBB. This project aims to identify how iron transport becomes dysregulated and to uncover molecular pathways that could be targeted to restore brain iron levels and relieve RLS symptoms.

Developing and Evaluating a Decision Aid on Treatment for Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea

This project aims to close knowledge gaps about obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) treatments and help patients and clinicians make better decisions about treatments together. In this project, we will refine and test a web-based decision aid tool, shaped by patient and expert input, and evaluate its effects in a randomized trial. We expect the tool to increase patient knowledge, satisfaction, and other OSA-related patient outcomes.

Accelerometer-Based ML Detection of REM Sleep Behavior Disorder: A Global Initiative

REM sleep behavior disorder (iRBD) is a strong early marker of Parkinson’s disease and related dementia, yet it is largely underdiagnosed. Using a large international dataset from nine research sites, this project will develop and validate AI models with wrist-worn accelerometers, creating a scalable, low-cost screening tool for earlier diagnosis, research, and targeted interventions worldwide.

Leveraging Pulse oximetry technology to assess the cardiovascular risk in obstructive sleep apnea

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is common and raises cardiovascular risk. Pulse oximetry–based sleep tests are increasingly used to assess OSA, but their value in predicting cardiovascular risk is unclear. This study will evaluate the accuracy and reproducibility of physiological data from these devices and test whether such data are associated with markers of cardiovascular disease.

Restorative Early Sleep Treatment After the Emergency Department (RESTED)

Sleep disturbance is an acute response to trauma that underlies the transition to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), suggesting that stabilizing sleep early after trauma exposure will help prevent PTSD and its downstream health costs. The overall objective for this proposal is to test the feasibility of delivering behavioral sleep interventions within the immediate aftermath of trauma in an urban Level 1 trauma center.

Going Beyond Hypoxic Burden: Multi-Organ Physiology Before and After Obstructive Sleep Apnea Events

What are the multi-organ dynamics before and after an apneic event? The comprehensive characterization of end-organ damage and triggers of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) detected by AI will promote precision diagnosis and treatment. The hypothesis is that people with post-OSA-event responses in certain organ system have a higher risk of diseases of that organ system, and the multi-organ pre-OSA-event triggers can be quantified at an individual level.

Implementation of a technology-assisted pathway for co-morbid insomnia and sleep apnea (COMISA)

Co-morbid insomnia and sleep apnea (COMISA) is a prevalent and debilitating sleep disorder. The recommended ‘first line’ treatment for insomnia, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for insomnia, (CBTi) is effective but largely inaccessible to people with COMISA. This randomized controlled trial aims to implement and test a software-assisted COMISA identification, screening and digital CBTi intervention in Sleep Clinic settings.

Dental Implant-Supported Oral Appliance Therapy for Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Edentulous Patients

This study investigates the efficacy of dental implant-supported oral appliance therapy for treating obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in edentulous patients. The research aims to address the lack of effective non-CPAP treatments for this population. Using a clinical trial design, the project will evaluate the appliance’s ability to improve airway patency and reduce apnea events.