Grant & Award Recipients

Prenatal Kynurenic Acid Elevation: Sleep and Behavior Dynamics of Mother and Offspring

Poor sleep quality during critical periods such as pregnancy and childhood may be especially detrimental to health outcomes. Maternal sleep disturbances are linked to pregnancy and postpartum complications that adversely impact offspring when the brain is undergoing critical periods of plasticity. The project goals are to develop an automated sleep disruption protocol in pregnant rats and examine how elevated tryptophan metabolism via the kynurenine pathway during the prenatal period impacts prenatal dynamics.

Novel Adaptive Cognitive Training in Autistic Adults with Co-Occurring Insomnia

This study aims to address challenges faced by autistic adults in terms of cognition and adaptive functioning, exacerbated by the high prevalence of insomnia (~80%) among this population. Through a mixed-methods approach, we will iteratively optimize an adaptive cognitive training program for autistic adults with insomnia (COGMUSE-AUT; Stage-1). We will then pilot test (Stage-2)
COGMUSE-AUT in a sample (n=15) of autistic adults with co-occurring insomnia, assessing its impact on cognition, sleep, and daytime functioning outcomes.

Understanding the Transactional Dynamics between Predictors and
Consequences of Sleep Disturbances with Ecologically-Valid Assessment

With such high rates of mental health and sleep problems amongst college students, addressing these inter-related problems is essential. Despite extensive research on the effects of deficient sleep, we know relatively little about students’ sleep neurophysiology, especially within challenging real-world contexts (i.e., dormitories). Advancements in the assessment of sleep neurophysiology (e.g., Dreem headbands) will allow for more ecologically-valid assessments of students’ sleep and will further our understanding of the interplay between sleep and mental health.

The Effects of Shift Work on Development of Cardiometabolic Heart Failure

Disrupted circadian clock, such as seen in shift-workers, plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of cardiometabolic heart failure (HF). Cardiometabolic HF follows sex-specific differences, with higher prevalence in women. This proposal will uncover the sex-specific underlying mechanisms that govern the cardiometabolic-circadian crosstalk and examine novel nutritional stimulation approaches that will modulate expression of genes that control both circadian regulation and cardiometabolic response during cardiometabolic syndrome, toward developing innovative therapeutic approachs to treat cardiometabolic HF.

Multi-Omic Profiling in Restless Legs Syndrome

There is a critical need for a standardized measure to accurately diagnose restless legs syndrome (RLS). The mechanisms that cause RLS are not well understood, hindering the development of targeted treatment methods. The proposed project will leverage large datasets to correlate proteomic and metabolomic data and identify key biomarkers of RLS. The result of the proposed project permits the examination of mechanisms responsible for RLS and will provide a clinically available and objective measure to better diagnose RLS.

Investigating Sleep-Wake Fragmentation and its Moderators in the Hispanic Community: Implications for Diabetes Management

In the United States, Hispanics have a heightened risk of developing type 2 diabetes compared to non-Hispanic individuals, with inadequate sleep associated with this elevated risk. This research focuses on uncovering factors leading to sleep disruption as it relates to diabetes in the Hispanic Community Health Study. Using cutting-edge machine learning and analyses, the project aims to inform targeted interventions that improve sleep health, overall well-being, and contribute to diabetes prevention within the Hispanic community.

Physiology Guided AI/ML Approach for Redefining Severity of OSA

This project proposes to combine the measures of sleep apnea burden (ventilatory, hypoxic, arousal, and autonomic) using machine learning approaches to test whether a stronger association of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) with adverse health outcomes is detected. A data-driven combination of fully automated ventilatory/hypoxic/arousal/autonomic burdens can be used to guide clinical decision making to better manage and treat apnea outcomes is a key gap that our project aims to address.

Elucidating Sleep Apnea-Specific Hypoxic and Autonomic Stress in Atrial Fibrillation Development

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common, serious arrhythmia. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) increases AF risk, evidenced by epidemiologic studies, but the mechanism remains unclear. We hypothesize intermittent hypoxia and autonomic stress specific to OSA convey AF risk. Therefore, this polysomnography signal processing and data science study will compute the sleep apnea-specific hypoxic burden and heart rate response and examine associations with AF retrospectively in a large clinic-based registry to deepen understanding of these underlying relationships.

Links of Objective and Self-Reported Sleep with Adipokines in Older Adults

Sleep disturbance and metabolic dysfunction are common in older adults, yet the underlying mechanism linking these two conditions is unclear. This study will utilize data from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA) to examine the associations of self-report and objective sleep indices with changes in adipokine levels in older adults. We hypothesize that indices of sleep disturbance are associated with lower leptin and adiponectin levels, contributing to systemic metabolic dysfunction in older adults.

Swallowing in OSA & PAP Intolerance (SLP-PAP)

While continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is the standard treatment for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), more than half of patients struggle with it. The Swallowing in OSA & PAP intolerance (SLP-PAP) study will look for swallowing differences between people with CPAP intolerance and those who do well with the therapy. The goal is to develop novel rehabilitative strategies that will allow people who are intolerant of CPAP to be able to use it successfully.

A Bedtime Story Book

Bedtime books that are specifically aimed towards the most vulnerable children do not exist. We will develop a bedtime book utilizing culturally-relevant sleep health messages and illustrations targeting disadvantaged/minority families with school-aged children in order to help address sleep health disparities. The book’s development will incorporate feedback from stakeholders including caregivers. The book will be distributed by healthcare providers in community health settings during well child visits to reinforce the relationship between sleep health and general health.

Providing Sleep Education to Predominantly Black/African American Congregations

Our goal is to determine whether a tailored sleep education program delivered to congregants of predominantly African American churches improved their sleep and increased their knowledge regarding when and how to follow-up with healthcare providers. Results from this project will be used as preliminary data for grant applications to further disseminate this program. This funding also supports one of my career goals to reduce sleep health disparities within African American communities.

Addressing Chronic Insomnia in Underserved Populations: The Role of Tele-CBT-i

The primary goal of this project is to assess the feasibility of delivering free tele-CBT-i at Community Health to address the prevalent insomnia and sleep health among low-income, uninsured, and underinsured adults in Chicago. We are partnering with Dr. Lullaby, a digital platform featuring a team of behavioral sleep trained, licensed clinicians who provide CBT-i and other evidence-based Behavioral Sleep Medicine protocols in 36 states.

Impact of Scoring Criteria on the Diagnosis of SDB in Women: Is there a Gender Disparity

This project aims to determine whether using the AASM-recommended rule for hypopnea scoring, rather than the acceptable criteria, will enhance detection of sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) in women, and hence will reduce gender disparities in diagnoses. This is a critically significant issue that must be addressed with urgency given the known delay in the diagnosis of this condition in women. The AASM Foundation funding is critical for this understudied question. We anticipate that our findings will inform future definitive studies and provide a foundation for discussions with providers, healthcare systems, and payers to ensure that SDB is optimally diagnosed and treated in women.

A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial Comparing the Efficacy and Tolerance of Solriamfetol in Patients Affected with Idiopathic Hypersomnia

[co-funded by Hypersomnia Foundation]

Through this project, we aim to harness the potential of high-dose solriamfetol, a medication already approved for narcolepsy, to address unmet medical needs in Idiopathic Hypersomnia (IH). Evaluating its efficacy using various markers, we seek to advance IH treatment insights and patient well-being. The support of AASM Foundation and Hypersomnia Foundation enables our team to amplify our research impact as well as fostering our growth by encouraging innovation in the field of sleep research.

Imaging the Brainstem and Hypothalamic Activity Underlying Sleepiness-Induced Attentional Deficits in Humans

[co-funded by Wake up Narcolepsy]

Broad scientific consensus has called for new biomarkers for hypersomnolence disorders, which are essential to improve their diagnosis and treatment. We aim to image activity in the brain circuits responsible for sleep-wake regulation and understand how it is linked to cognitive symptoms. This project uses a noninvasive imaging tool, enabling translation to human patients. The AASM Foundation and Wake Up Narcolepsy funding is enabling us to translate our novel MRI-based tools to understand the neural basis of hypersomnolence disorders.

A Formalized Patient-to-Patient Peer Support Program to Promote CPAP Adherence in Women

This project seeks to learn if a formalized patient-to-patient peer support intervention personalized for women with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) will significantly help them to successfully begin and adhere to continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment. The AASM Foundation grant represents the next step in my research to understand and improve the treatment of women with OSA. This study will inform an NIH R01 trial to compare peer support to other modalities that promote CPAP adherence.

Developing Evidence-Based Thresholds for Long-Term Positive Airway Pressure (PAP) Coverage

I hope to better understand what symptoms improve in a diverse OSA population treated with CPAP and what dose is necessary to see improvements. Using this data, I will be able to test whether more liberal CPAP coverage policies will reduce disparities in OSA care. This funding support from the AASM Foundation will provide me the opportunity to shift my scientific focus and gain experience in research focused on reducing disparities in OSA care.

The Value of Different Scoring Criteria for Sleep-Disordered Breathing: An Outcomes-Based Approach

For decades, it has been debated as to what is the most appropriate definition of hypopneas for diagnosing SBD. The overall goal of this project is to provide an evidence-based approach for defining hypopneas to guide case identification of those with sleep-disordered breathing. The AASM Foundation grant will facilitate my ability to excite regional and national investigators to collaborate in the building of the evidence that can better guide our field.

Utility of Inpatient Assessment for Sleep-Disordered Breathing: A Retrospective Study of Health Administrative Data

Dr. Kendzerska’s research is aimed at conducting a retrospective population-based study using provincial health administrative data to quantify the utility of inpatient sleep studies in Ontario. The provincial health plan reimburses both technical and clinical interpretation fees for outpatient PSG; however, it does not reimburse the in-laboratory polysomnography (PSG) technical fee to the hospital for admitted patients. Individuals with undiagnosed obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and multimorbidity are at high risk of hospital admission. Despite the clinical importance of sleep-disordered breathing (SDB), most patients (~90%) with SDB remain undiagnosed. Among admitted patients, this diagnostic gap is even more pronounced due to the presence of symptoms and clinical findings overlapping with exacerbations of other medical conditions. These contributions are significant because, as the inpatient population is likely sicker in five years, it is anticipated this study will identify the potential for cost savings and find a subgroup of individuals who may benefit the most from an inpatient PSG.

Save Standard Time was founded by Mr. Jay Pea, and the organization advocates for permanently restoring Standard Time and ending Daylight Saving Time (DST). Permanent Standard Time allows us to sleep later for health, mood, safety, and education. Last year the AASM Foundation approved a grant request from Save Standard Time to produce a series of popular videos on social media that explain the effects of DST.

Mr. Pea was honored to receive the award stating, “Thank you for this great honor! All of us at Save Standard Time, from our board members to our volunteers and supporters, are thrilled to learn our organization was awarded the AASM Foundation’s Sleep Champion Award.”

Dr. Christian Agudelo is a sleep neurologist and clinical instructor at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. He received a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering from Duke University. At the University of Pittsburgh, he obtained a medical degree and completed NIMH R25 and T32 fellowships, studying psychophysiology in Parkinson’s Disease and neuroimaging in late-life cognitive disorders, respectively. He completed residency and fellowship training in neurology and sleep medicine at the University of Miami. His research leverages longitudinal observational studies to (1) identify features of sleep physiology associated with cognitive decline and (2) identify sleep-related neuroimaging markers of preclinical cognitive decline. He is currently funded by a NIA Diversity Supplement to his mentor’s (Dr. Alberto Ramos’) R01. As a SOAR fellow, he will submit a NIA K23 application. Ultimately, he seeks to translate observational findings into clinical trials that optimize sleep to mitigate preclinical cognitive decline and pathology.

Dr. Nancy Stewart is a graduate of Kansas City University. She did her clinical training in Internal Medicine in Chicago at Advocate Lutheran General. She then completed the MERITS Medical Education Fellowship, Hospital Scholars Fellowship, and a master’s in public health studies at The University of Chicago. Following this she completed clinical training in Pulmonary/Critical Care and Sleep Medicine at Creighton University and University of Nebraska. She started her career as a junior investigator and an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Kansas City Medical Center. Her research centers around improving sleep health in patients with lung disease and sleep health in healthcare workers. She has received through the CHEST Foundation and plans to submit an NIH K23 application during SOAR focused on improving sleep health in patients with lung disease.

Dr. Ahmed’s project is planning a 2-week single-arm open-label feasibility study with a sleep extension intervention combined with sleep hygiene training to improve sleep efficiency (SE) in 24 patients with symptomatic heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). The specific aim is to demonstrate the feasibility of a gradual sleep extension strategy combined with sleep hygiene training aimed at increasing SE in patients with HFpEF on guideline-directed medical therapy. In addition, he will also want to identify the effects of a sleep extension strategy combined with sleep hygiene training on quality of life (QoL), functional capacity, and biomarkers. He will determine the effect size of their intervention on QoL measured with the heart failure-validated Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ). Besides we will investigate potential changes in functional capacity and biomarkers with prognostic implications in HFpEF between baseline and 2 weeks. The expected goal is to demonstrate that SE can be modified in patients with HFpEF. Moreover, he expects that improvements in SE are associated with favorable changes in QoL, functional capacity, and inflammation. The study will also help to obtain preliminary feasibility data to conduct future larger randomized controlled trials utilizing sleep modulation as a therapeutic approach for patients with HFpEF.

The goal of Dr. Giles’ project is to describe and evaluate the impact of sleep health on bariatric surgery outcomes in adolescents. She intends to make a database from variables collected in provider notes and questionnaires collected in their Bariatric Surgery Clinic. Variables to be looked at include sleep duration, sleep disruption, presence or absence of consistent sleep and wake times, presence of insomnia, PAP adherence, specifically in relation to BMI/weight outcomes following bariatric surgery. This study will help establish how to best manage and counsel adolescent patients undergoing MBS on their sleep habits and health, with the goal of maintaining weight loss following surgery in mind.

Valerie Swisher states that the contrast avoidance model posits that the perceived intensity of a shift from one emotion to another (i.e., an emotional contrast) is determined by the emotions that precede it, and that some individuals attempt to avoid sharp increases in negative emotions by maintaining heightened states of negative arousal throughout the day. This maintenance of negative affective states to avoid experiencing an emotional contrast, termed contrast avoidance (CA), has been widely supported in empirical work, with particular utility in explaining how perseverative cognitions (PCs; i.e., worry and rumination) are reinforced and maintained. In the present study, 50 undergraduates will wear actigraphy and complete daily ecological momentary assessment prompts measuring PCs and CA for one week. She predicts that sleep disturbance will be associated with greater PCs and CA throughout the day and uniquely predict PCs and CA (beyond their associations with one another), suggesting that sleep should be prioritized in conceptual models for PCs and CA. As CA and PCs have negative physical and mental health implications, identifying sleep as a relevant predictor of CA may inform interventions and positively impact populations with affective and sleep disturbances.

Andrew Tubbs is an MD/PhD student at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson. He studies how disrupted sleep and circadian rhythms increase risk for suicide and what interventions can reduce risk. Tubbs plans to complete residency training in psychiatry with subsequent fellowships in child/adolescent psychiatry and sleep medicine. He aspires to leverage sleep and circadian interventions to help patients get on the path to recovery.

Elaine Cheung is a medical student at California Northstate University College of Medicine. Her interest in medicine with a public health focus started during her undergraduate career, where she majored in neuroscience and was able to conduct research on sleep-wake cycles among gambling disorder patients in residential treatment programs. In medical school, she has continued her research interests to inform clinical medicine and improve community health. Cheung plans to apply for an internal medicine residency position and aims to expand knowledge on sleep hygiene for diverse patient populations.