Funded Projects

Pediatric Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Surgical Timing – A Hypothesis Translational Model

This project will be recapitulating pediatric obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) using a preclinical murine model to understand the neurocognitive sequelae of the disease. The project team is using a top-down approach involving neurobehavior, synaptic staining and quantification, and piezoelectric field placement to help drill down which area of the brain to focus on in understanding deficits in humans. By using a preclinical model, the team hopes to be able to provide better answers for OSA in children with neurocognitive disorders.

Sleep Apnea and Influence of Obesity across the Atrial Fibrillation Trajectory

Despite experimental and our epidemiologic data implicating sleep disordered breathing (SDB) as a clinically novel atrial fibrillation (AF) trigger, the interplay of SDB and obesity across the AF continuum remains a critical knowledge gap. The project proposes to identify SDB, obesity and metabolic determinants across AF subtypes by examining paroxysmal, persistent and longstanding persistent AF groups and matched controls with collection of innovative, state-of-the art cardiac imaging of visceral adiposity and proteomics profiles.

Sleep-related Attention Bias in Older Adults: Impact of Insomnia Symptoms and Sex

Increased attention to sleep-related stimuli, or “sleep-related attentional bias” is common in insomnia. However, sleep and sex-specific mechanisms underlying this phenomenon are poorly understood. In this study, the project team will compare visual vs. auditory related attentional bias, evaluate the contributions of self-reported, actigraphic and polysomnographic sleep to these biases, and examine differences between men and women. Findings may identify sex-specific targets for behavioral insomnia intervention such as cognitive behavioral therapy or stimulus desensitization.

A Closer Look at the Effect of Oral Appliance Therapy on Blood Pressure in Sleep Apnea

The proposed research investigates the effect of oral appliance therapy on blood pressure in OSA. Past studies on this topic show modest-to-no effect. The project team believes the source of this inconsistency is imprecise characterization of the physiological consequences of OSA, such as hypoxia or sympathetic surges. The proposed research applies two advanced metrics to identify OSA patients at risk for cardiovascular disease and investigate the effect of oral appliances on blood pressure in this group.

Discovery of Plasma Proteomic Biomarkers Relating to Insomnia and its Link to Subjective and Objective Measures of Insomnia
Sponsored by Eisai, Inc.

This project will use SOMAscan multiplex technology (SomaLogic Inc.) to profile 7,000 proteins in individuals with insomnia and age/gender-matched controls to identify novel insomnia biomarkers and develop multivariate constructs to predict insomnia phenotype based on proteomic profile. Our study will deepen the understanding of the underlying biological mechanisms of insomnia and will serve as a basis for a future multisite longitudinal study to validate biomarkers for insomnia.

Piloting an Adaptation of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia for Shift Workers (CBTI-Shift)

Insomnia is common among shift workers. However, the gold standard treatment (cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia, CBTI) has rarely been tested among shift workers and is not optimized for their unique schedules and challenges. This study will pilot test the feasibility and acceptability of CBTI-Shift, which adapts and personalizes CBTI for shift workers. The long-term objective of this research is to improve the sleep, health and wellbeing of shift workers using an evidence-based treatment of insomnia.

Adapting CBT-I for and with Adolescents

Insomnia is common in adolescents, yet most insomnia treatments have been developed for adults. We propose to adapt an efficacious adult treatment (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia; CBT-I) for adolescents. To develop this adapted protocol (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia in Teens; CBT-IT), we will conduct virtual groups with key stakeholders, including adolescents, parents and providers. We will then conduct a randomized controlled trial of CBT-IT to assess its efficacy in treating insomnia in adolescents.

A Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing Home-Based Intensive Sleep Retraining to Online CBT-I and The Combination for the Treatment of Chronic Insomnia Disorder

This randomized controlled trial will compare the efficacy of two remote therapeutics, namely THIM (administers Intensive Sleep Retraining) and SHUT-I (online CBT-I program), against a control condition for treating Chronic Insomnia Disorder. The study will also evaluate the combination of remote therapies (THIM followed by SHUT-I) to determine whether this novel approach leads to greater benefits than either treatment alone. The trial will inform clinical decision-making about choice of therapy and build a case for health insurance-funded remote therapy options for insomnia.

Impact of Treated and Untreated Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) on 30-day Hospital Readmission among Medicare Beneficiaries with Pre-existing Cardiovascular Disease

Despite treatment benefits, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) remains undertreated among older adults with comorbid cardiovascular disease (CVD). This project will determine the impact of untreated OSA and quantify the effect of treatment adherence on hospitalizations and 30-day readmissions among older-adult Medicare beneficiaries with pre-existing CVD. This award will provide the grantee with a mentored research and training experience that establishes her as emerging sleep researcher and advances her skills in analyzing large claims datasets.

Epigenetic Modification of PAX8 in Persons with Hypersomnia and Concurrent Medication Use

Standard measures that quantify hypersomnolence are limited by medication effects. This project will extend prior research connecting DNA methylation of the PAX8/PAX8-AS1 gene to excessive sleep duration, utilizing a real-world sample of medicated persons with hypersomnolence. This mentored project will support the career trajectory of a talented researcher whose overarching career goal is to discover epigenetic variations that reshape early diagnostic and clinical interventions for patients with sleep and neuropsychiatric disorders.

SLEEP-E: Sleep Education for Eating Disorder Treatment Providers

Although insomnia is common in eating disorders (EDs), many providers are not trained to treat these symptoms. The first phase of this project is to characterize ED treatment providers’ behavioral sleep medicine training and use of evidence-based treatments. The second phase is to develop and test a free web-based training for ED treatment providers on insomnia assessment and treatment. Following grant completion, our team will make the SLEEP-E training publicly available.

CHI PAP: CommunityHealth Initiative for Patient-Centered Apnea Protocols

Low-resource individuals are at increased risk for sleep disorders, including sleep disordered breathing, but have traditionally been excluded from standard-of-care evaluation and treatment due to lack of infrastructure for the provision of testing, CPAP devices, and supplies to uninsured populations. CHI-PAP entails a 4-phase care process model for bridging these types of gaps in sleep health among low-resource patients receiving care at CommunityHealth, a well-established free clinic on Chicago’s Near-West Side.

Dr. Blanc is a research assistant professor within the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, at the newly created Center for Translational Sleep and Circadian Sciences. She is an International Behavioral Scientist trained in France and Haiti in clinical psychology, developmental psychology, health psychology and psychopathology. She has an ethnographical skillset to understand unique stress responses among racial/ethnic/disenfranchised groups. She recently completed a 3-year NIH-funded postdoctoral fellowship in population health at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine, where she received extensive training and conducted hands-on research in sleep health and behavioral medicine under the supervision of Drs. Girardin Jean-Louis and Azizi Seixas. Her research focuses specifically on determinants of sleep health, mental health, cardiovascular health, and culturally tailored mind-body medicines among underserved and underrepresented communities. Dr. Blanc currently serves as the scientific director of the DORMIR study, which aims to provide multi-level evidence supporting epidemiological findings of greater rates of insufficient sleep (IS) among Latinx/Hispanics, which may explain their disproportionate burden of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) risk. It will also assess whether and why rural and urban differences in IS exist among Latinx/Hispanics and how that may lead to IS-related CVD outcomes. Dr. Blanc plans on applying for a NIH-funded career development award to learn to combine sleep health, circadian knowledge, and psychological resilience data for “real-world” interventions.

Dr. Emert graduated with her doctorate in clinical psychology in August 2020 from The University of Alabama under the mentorship of Dr. Kenneth Lichstein. She is currently a postdoctoral fellow at The University of Arizona under the mentorship of Dr. Daniel Taylor. Her broad research interests include behavioral sleep medicine and examining sleep as a function of physical and psychological well-being. Her recent work has focused on the concept of insomnia identity, the conviction that one has insomnia which occurs independently of one’s actual sleep, to better understand nuances associated with the incongruity between insomnia complaint, insomnia identity and quantitatively derived sleep status. Career-wise, she plans to continue research focused on advancing the development of behavioral sleep health-related interventions, including the evaluation, modification and dissemination of evidence-based, personalized, accessible interventions and increasing public awareness for these methodologies, especially within underserved populations.

Dr. Schütz is an Assistant Professor and physician-scientist at the University of Michigan. She is a board-certified sleep neurologist who completed her training in neurology and clinical neurophysiology at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, followed by a fellowship in sleep medicine at New York University. She also holds a Master’s Degree in Clinical Research Design and Statistical Analysis from the University of Michigan. Dr. Schütz currently serves as principal investigator and co-investigator on several industry-sponsored projects. Her research focuses on cardiovascular consequences of sleep apnea. Specifically, her research goal is to examine the impact of obstructive sleep apnea and its treatment on cardiac pathology in individuals with heart failure.

My interest in medicine started during my undergraduate college experience at St. Olaf College where I studied Chemistry. During the summer after my junior year, I was selected to work as a research assistant for the Mayo Clinic Sleep Behavior and Neurophysiology Research Laboratory with my mentor, Dr. Erik St. Louis. Our research involved studying the clinical presentation and prognosis of patients with rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder. This research opened my eyes to the exciting opportunities within neurology and sleep medicine. After several years of clinical research, I matriculated at the Medical College of Wisconsin, Central Wisconsin campus where I am currently in my final year. Volunteer work and community outreach has been a crucial part of my medical education, which led me to work with our local hospital as a volunteer in the palliative care unit and serve as the medical student representative of the Marathon County Medical Society within the Wisconsin Medical Society. Throughout medical school I have strengthened my interest in neurology and sleep medicine, which has ultimately led me to pursue a neurology residency position in 2022. I am excited for the next steps in my career and thankful for everyone who has helped me get to this point.