AASM Foundation and Wake Up Narcolepsy Announce 2026 Strategic Research Grant Recipient

The AASM Foundation and Wake Up Narcolepsy are pleased to announce the 2026 recipient of a Strategic Research Grant dedicated to advancing the understanding, diagnosis, and treatment of narcolepsy. Since 2023, the two organizations have collaborated to provide nearly $300,000 in support of high-impact narcolepsy research, furthering Wake Up Narcolepsy’s mission of driving narcolepsy awareness, education, and research while supporting the AASM Foundation’s strategic goal of advancing science to improve sleep care. Through this continued partnership, the AASM Foundation and Wake Up Narcolepsy are expanding the reach and impact of their shared commitment to helping people living with narcolepsy.

Congratulations to our 2026 Strategic Research Grant recipient!

Galina Limorenko, PhD

University of Lausanne, Switzerland
Immune-Epigenetic Reboot to Restore Hypothalamic Neuronal Function

Narcolepsy Type 1 (NT1) causes disabling sleepiness due to hypocretin loss, potentially due to reversible epigenetic silencing. The project will establish a NT1-patient human-induced pluripotent stem cell-derived hypothalamic neuronal platform to profile immune-induced molecular changes via multilayered -omics. This “disease-in-a-dish” model acts as a foundation for central nervous system-focused epigenetic drug discovery, facilitating the validation of pharmacologic interventions to restore hypothalamic function.

When asked about the impact of this project, Dr. Limorenko shared, “I aim to uncover the mechanisms of hypocretin loss and identify epigenetic targets to restore neuronal function. AASM Foundation and Wake Up Narcolepsy funding is vital to my career, providing the resources and support to launch this translational program and advance my path to independence as a sleep researcher with a disability, while fostering essential collaborations and outreach networks within the patient community and society at large.”

This project builds on a growing portfolio of research supported through the AASM Foundation and Wake Up Narcolepsy’s collaboration, reflecting a shared commitment to advancing innovative and patient-centered narcolepsy research. Past recipients of Strategic Research Grant funding through this collaboration include:

Aaron Schokman, Bsc, Mphil, PhD

The University of Sydney
Co-production and Psychometric Validation of a Patient Reported Outcome Measure of the impact narcolepsy has on the daily life of adult persons living with narcolepsy type 1 and 2