Addressing Therapeutic Challenges In Sleep Disorders
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$851,980.00
Summary
The aim of this fellowship is to improve the health and well-being of Australians by reducing the burden of sleep and disorders that disrupt the body clock such as shift work. My program will involve different fields of research combining their efforts together to understand more about sleep apnea and insomnia, the two most common sleep disorders. By this strategy, better treatment for sleep disorders will be found with particular impact on our aging population
Researching Effective Sleep Treatments (Project REST): A Partner-Assisted Intervention To Improve Adherence In Cognitive Behavioural Therapy For Insomnia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,130,307.00
Summary
Insomnia is highly prevalent and predicts many other mental and physical problems. While very good behavioural treatments exist for insomnia, not everyone is able to comply with the difficult behaviour changes required to improve. Bed partners often influence sleep behaviours, and thus, can play a helpful role in the treatment of insomnia, if they are taught how. We will test the first intervention ever developed integrating the partner into insomnia treatment as a means of improving outcomes.
Sleep Health And Sleep Problems In Early Childhood: What Role Does Childcare Play?
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$314,644.00
Summary
Sleep is significant for young children’s health and development and impacts on family functioning. Increasingly childcare is part of the young child’s sleep environment. This study focuses on the role of childcare in supporting sleep health and identifying sleep, and associated behavioural problems, in the early years of life. The study responds to the policy, practice and legislative demand for evidence to guide appropriate provision for sleep and rest in the childcare context.
Mothers' Sleep In The Postpartum Period: Effects On Safety-sensitive Tasks
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$71,252.00
Summary
Mothers' elevated sleepiness levels in the postpartum period and their exposure to safety-sensitive tasks is a significant issue that requires investigation. Research suggests that elevated sleepiness levels are associated with reduced cognitive and motor performance, which are vital when performing tasks with safety implications. This study will determine whether mothers' risk of injury, due to sleepiness, can be significantly reduced via improved knowledge and an evidence based intervention.
DOES TREATMENT REVERSE THE NEUROCOGNITIVE AND CARDIOVASCULAR SEQUELAE OF SLEEP DISORDERED BREATHING IN CHILDREN?
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$519,826.00
Summary
Studies in children have shown that disruption to normal sleep patterns resulting from sleep disordered breathing (SDB) has severe consequences for both the cardiovascular system and neurocognition. To date there have been no studies in children to investigate whether treatment of SDB with adenotonsillectomy, which has been shown to reduce sleep fragmentation and neurocognition, also reduces blood pressure.
It’s The Amount That Counts: The Impact Of Seven Days Of Sleep Restriction On Predictors Of Type 2 Diabetes.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$743,269.00
Summary
The aim of this project is to examine the relationship between sleep duration (5, 6, 7, 8, or 9h per day for one week) and glucose metabolism. This will allow us to quantify the amount of harm that different levels of sleep loss cause to the physiological systems that protect people from developing serious health disorders. In particular, the results of the project will be invaluable in the design of effective behavioural interventions for the prevention and/or treatment of type 2 diabetes.
Testing And Delivering Early Interventions For Young People With Depression
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$883,375.00
Summary
This research is focused on testing new strategies to identify and treat severe forms of anxiety, depression and emerging bipolar disorder in teenagers and young adults. It works with ongoing data from over 4,000 young people seen at the Brain & Mind Research Institute and new youth services and other national data sets. It proposes that disturbances of the body clock underpin some major mood disorders and evaluates new behavioural and medical strategies designed that target the clock.
Central Excitatory Pathways Of The Autonomic Nervous System
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$323,164.00
Summary
The central pathways of autonomic regulation are well known, but the functions of specific pathways in physiological settings remains an elusive goal. We will evaluate the role of two physiologically important autonomic pathways for sleep apnea and the circadian control of the body by genetically deleting the transmitter, glutamate, in transgenic mice. A greater understanding of these pathways is critical in unraveling autonomic nervous system function in health and disease.
Acute And Chronic Effects Of Alcohol On Sleep And Sleep Related Brain Functioning In Adolescents
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$302,123.00
Summary
Excessive alcohol consumption is associated with increased risk of physical injury and risky sexual behaviour, particularly in adolescence and young adulthood. Little is known about alcohols impact on brain activity during sleep in this age group. This project investigates whether brain synchronisation during sleep is an early marker of alcohol related brain damage in late adolescence and if acute intoxication disrupts sleep related memory processes during this critical developmental period
The Impact Of Circadian Disturbances On Sleep Quality, Cognition And Psychiatric Symptoms In Neurodegenerative Disease
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$496,340.00
Summary
There is an increasing awareness that neurodegenerative diseases are associated with disturbances in sleep. Our group have recognised that patterns of sleep disturbance in these patients are also related to problems with memory and mood. The proposed study will be the first of its kind to explore whether disruptions in the circadian system represent a common mechanism underlying these comorbid disease features. Understanding this pathology will hopefully lead to the development of new therapies.