Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Brown Medical School; Director, E.P. Bradley Hospital Sleep and Chronobiology Research Lab

Sleep research has been very good to me! From a small-town childhood, I landed at Gettysburg College, where I studied psychology, played field hockey and tennis, and made many life-long friends. I then moved west and was a research assistant at the Stanford Sleep Lab before attending graduate school there from 1976 to 1979, receiving a Ph.D. in neuro- and biobehavioral sciences, specializing in sleep research. I worked with Dr. William C. Dement and many other wonderful scientists and students at Stanford before moving to RI to start my own research group in 1985. At Bradley Hospital and Brown University, I have been privileged to do research supported by the NIMH, NINR, NHLBI, NASA, the Grass Foundation, and NIAAA. I have also had the great pleasure of working with a terrific group of scientists, students, research participants, and their families. My science has also allowed me to travel all over the US and Canada, many European countries, Israel, Jordan, and Australia. Do science and see the world, I say! Whenever weather permits, I enjoy playing tennis and goofing around with golf!

Researcher
Assistant Professor, Departments of Internal Medicine and Psychiatry & Human Behavior

I grew up in Rhode Island and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a B.A. in Psychology. After college, I spent three years as a research assistant here at the Bradley Sleep Laboratory. In 1994, I moved to Chicago, IL, to enroll in the MD/PhD program at Rush University. There, I worked with Dr. Charmane Eastman studying melatonin and shift work. I graduated in 2002 and stayed at Rush to complete my residency in Internal Medicine and Psychiatry. I have now come full circle: in July, 2007, I moved back to Rhode Island where I practice sleep medicine and am busy getting my research career underway. My main research interests are in sleep and mood regulation. I am also interested in women's health. Outside of the lab, I enjoy spending time with my husband and our two little boys as well as my extended family.

Research Associate, E.P. Bradley Hospital Sleep and Chronobiology Research Lab

I grew up in a typical maritime village in Nova Scotia, and then moved to the city of Halifax to study psychology and neuroscience at Dalhousie University. After my undergraduate degree, I moved to the United States and attended Boston College, where I completed graduate degrees in the fields of neuroscience and cognitive science. Along the way, research methods and statistics became one of my specializations. After teaching for two years as a Visiting Assistant Professor at Boston College, I moved to Rhode Island and joined the Sleep Lab in September of 2008. My core interests involve how we integrate information from different sensory systems to form our perceptual experience; how perturbations within the individual and their environment can impact information processing; and ultimately how we can reduce the impact of these perturbations on the individual. Outside of the lab, I enjoy ultimate Frisbee and quality time with friends and family. In the words of Garrison Keillor, “Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.”

Research Associate, E.P. Bradley Hospital Sleep and Chronobiology Research Lab

I grew up in Rhode Island and graduated from the University of Rhode Island in 2002 with a B.A. in Psychology. As an undergraduate student I started working at the E.P. Bradley Sleep and Chronobiology Laboratory and completed the Dement Fellowship in Sleep and Chronobiology in 2001. The Dement Fellowship piqued my interest in sleep and circadian biology and I enrolled in graduate school at Brown University to continue learning in this area. I graduated from Brown University in 2007 with a Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology. After completing graduate school, I moved to Boston to complete a postdoctoral fellowship in Sleep, Circadian, and Respiratory Neurobiology at Harvard Medical School and the Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Now I am back at the E.P. Bradley Sleep Lab as a Research Associate and continue to study sleep and circadian rhythms.

Research Fellow, Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Brown University; EP Bradley Sleep and Chronobiology Research Lab.

I grew up on the other side of the Pond, in Brittany, France, which is not so different from Rhode Island: ocean, seafood, beaches. I then moved to Paris and studied medicine at the University of Versailles - Saint Quentin en Yvelines. I received my Medical Degree with a specialization in Psychiatry as well as a board in Sleep Medicine in 2008. In parallel to Med School and Residency in Psychiatry, I have been collaborating with Pr. Damien Leger at the Sleep and Wakefulness Center (Hotel-Dieu Hospital, Paris) since 1998. I was a research assistant involved in studies on shift work, jetlag and chronic insomnia. I had the great opportunity to work with wonderful Pr. Christian Guilleminault and his team at Stanford Sleep Lab. I spent a summer there learning Sleep Medicine and taking part to research studies on sleep restriction. More recently, thanks to the Stanford France Exchange Program, I worked with Pr. Rachel Manber on CBT Insomnia Workshops. In Paris, I practiced Psychiatry and Sleep Medicine at the European Sleep Center. Currently, I am a postdoc research fellow at Bradley Sleep Lab and my fields of interest are ADHD and sleep apnea. I enjoy spending my weekends hiking, biking, as well as visiting places as Boston, Cape Cod and Newport.

Administrative Secretary, E.P. Bradley Hospital Sleep and Chronobiology Research Lab

I have been fortunate enough to be the lab secretary since 1998. It's rewarding to know that my administrative support is helping such a dedicated group of scientists. When I'm not moving around a tall stack of papers on my desk, I live happily with my family in a quiet neighborhood in a sleepy (naturally) suburb.

Sleep Research Assistant, E.P. Bradley Hospital Sleep and Chronobiology Research Lab

I graduated from Wesleyan University in May 2002 with a BA in Psychology. I joined the Bradley Sleep Lab in September 2002 as a Research Assistant after working at the Wesleyan Sleep and Depression Lab during my last two years at Wesleyan. I plan on attending graduate school in the near future to obtain my Ph.D. in Psychology. I enjoy basketball, live music, and card games. I also try to golf occasionally.

Sleep Research Technologist, E.P. Bradley Hospital Sleep and Chronobiology Research Lab

I started out at the Sleep Lab as a Dement Fellow in 2006 and rolled over to full-time staff after finishing up my Bachelor of Science degree at McGill University in Montreal. I majored in Psychology with a minor in Neuroscience, though most of my coursework was Biology/Neuroscience based. Currently I head up the technical team here at the lab. In my spare time I like to dabble in jazz trumpet and play around with computers. I'm also a huge political junkie. You can catch me soaking up copious amounts of NPR and West Wing episodes whenever I get the chance. I plan to go to grad school and earn my Ph.D. studying sleep and memory.

Medical Technologist, E.P. Bradley Hospital Sleep and Chronobiology Research Lab

I am a graduate of the University of Rhode Island and for the past fifteen years I have worked in both clinical and research laboratories. I joined the Sleep Lab in November 2004. I am responsible for assaying saliva samples for melatonin and cortisol. I'm enjoying learning about the process of what goes on before and after the samples are collected. In my spare time I like to ski, bike ride and play board games with my husband and our two sons.

Sleep Research Assistant, E.P. Bradley Hospital Sleep and Chronobiology Research Lab

I graduated from the University of Rhode Island in May 2009 with a B.S. in Biological Sciences and began working as a research assistant at the Bradley Sleep Lab shortly after graduation. While attending URI, I played club ultimate frisbee and worked as a resident assistant. I also spent time volunteering at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and worked as a tech in both a marine biology lab and a microbiology lab. In the future, I plan to pursue a career in medicine and attend the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine. In my spare time, I like to go running, read, and spend time with my family and friends.

Sleep Research Technologist, E.P. Bradley Hospital Sleep and Chronobiology Research Lab

I spent the first 20 years of my life in Connecticut until my father’s job brought us to Kalamazoo, Michigan (yes, it does exist). I graduated from Western Michigan University in April 2009 with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology. During my last semester there I designed a practicum, which allowed me to intern at a clinical sleep lab. There I worked both day and night shifts learning everything from applying electrodes to diagnostic criteria and treatment for certain sleep disorders. While I was doing my internship I found out about a research opportunity here at the Bradley Sleep Lab. I applied and started working as part of the technical staff in May 2009. It’s great to be back on the east coast. When I’m not in the lab you can find me listening to techno, playing my guitar, taking trips to Connecticut to spend quality time with friends, and hanging out with friends in Providence. I eventually would like to pursue working in a clinical sleep lab as an RPSGT and possibly go on to graduate school to study sleep and cognition.

Sleep Research Assistant, E.P. Bradley Hospital Sleep and Chronobiology Research Lab

I graduated from Vassar College in May of 2009 with a B.A. in Neuroscience and Behavior. Throughout college, I worked in the Office of Health Education organizing programs to target various health-related issues that affect college communities. I also volunteered as an EMT on our college EMS squad. The summer after graduation, I completed the William C. Dement Fellowship in Sleep and Chronobiology at the E.P. Bradley Sleep Lab. My sparked fascination with sleep research brought me back to the Sleep Lab in the fall as a research assistant. My academic pursuits stem from my interests in neurophysiology and neuroendocrinology and I am pursuing a future career in medicine. When I’m not in the sleep lab, I enjoy creative writing, running outdoors to brainstorm intriguing story plots, and getting my 8.4 hours of sleep each night.

Sleep Research Technologist, E.P. Bradley Hospital Sleep and Chronobiology Research Lab

I graduated from Rhode Island College in May 2002 with my B.A. in Psychology, and a minor in Communications. I am very interested in the sleep research that is being done at the lab, and I’m excited to be part of the team. When I’m not at work my time is best spent with my two best boys: my husband, and my little boy, Max.
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Affiliated Faculty
Adjunct Assistant Professor (Research), Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Brown Medical School; Affiliated Faculty, E.P. Bradley Hospital Sleep and Chronobiology Research Lab

I was raised in Colorado but came to the east coast as soon as I had a choice. I have an A.B. as a political science major (Vassar College), an M.A. in Developmental Psychology (Teachers College, Columbia Univ.) and a Ph.D. in Biobehavioral Sciences (Univ. of CT). My dissertation research involved many long, long hours recording everything mothers and babies did, both together and apart. I chose to analyze the infant sleep/wake data for my dissertation because it seemed so much less complex than the mother-infant interaction data. I have learned a bit since then about complexity. I have recently taken a position with Cephalon, Inc. as a Medical Science Liaison so my primary work is no longer research, although I visit many of the top research scientists in New England as part of my job. Photography takes up most of my free time.

Affiliated Faculty
Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Brown Medical School; Medical Advisor, E.P. Bradley Hospital Sleep and Chronobiology Research Lab

Dr. Judith Owens is an internationally-recognized authority on pediatric sleep and the author of over 100 original research and review articles in peer-review journals, chapters, and books on the topic. Her particular research interests are in the neurobehavioral and health consequences of sleep problems in children, pharmacologic treatment of pediatric sleep disorders, sleep health education, and cultural and psychosocial issues impacting on sleep. As a recipient of a 5-year NIH grant in sleep education, the Sleep Academic Award, she has developed educational materials for the Brown Medical School, as well as the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM). Dr. Owens received the AASM 2006 Excellence in Education Award, and recently completed a 4 year term as the Chair of the AASM Section on Childhood Sleep Disorders and Development. Dr. Owens is the Director of the Pediatric Sleep Disorders Clinic at Hasbro Children’s Hospital and the Learning, Attention, and Behavior Program at Rhode Island Hospital. She received her undergraduate and medical degrees from Brown and a Master’s in Maternal and Child Health from the University of Minnesota. She completed pediatric residency training at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and fellowships in Behavioral Pediatrics at Minneapolis Children’s Medical Center and in Child Psychiatry at Brown University. She is board certified in Developmental/Behavioral Pediatrics and Sleep Medicine, and is an Associate Professor Pediatrics at the Brown Medical School. In addition to her training and current position, her favorite thing is being mother of Evan and Grace.