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Program of Research
Research projects in the lab focus on examining sleep patterns, circadian rhythms, and related processes and outcomes in children, adolescents, and adults. Sleep patterns in humans depend upon the complex interplay of distinct extrinsic and intrinsic factors. Research in our laboratory reflects a longstanding interest in the fundamental organization of sleeping and waking patterns in humans. Our group currently has a broad program of research, including (1) DASH, a study with Rhode Island Hospital (RIH) colleagues on sleep-health disparities in urban children with asthma; (2) Sleep & Learn, a project examining impact of sleep restriction on learning and brain function in children (led by Dr. Saletin); (3) ARTS, a project looking at whether children with a family history of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and risk genotype show a sleep or circadian rhythm phenotype (led by Drs. Carskadon and Saletin); (4) CPS, a project to validate new wearable technology for assessing sleep and circadian phase and implementing lighting to alter circadian phase (led by Dr. Carskadon); (5) PROUD, a project led by Dr. Carskadon in partnership with RIH (Drs. Rich, Park, and Ramsey) and the VA (Dr. McGeary) and in collaboration with a lab at the University of Pittsburg, a lab at Johns Hopkins University, a lab at the University of Alabama, and a lab at Harvard University that focuses on determining how sleep and circadian rhythms affect people who are receiving medical treatment for Opioid Use Disorder. The program’s major projects enable us to examine these issues with experimental paradigms involving manipulating sleep and with studies that evaluate sleep/wake and circadian processes at fundamental mechanistic levels. back to top 
Sleep and Chronobiology Research Lab
The E.P. Bradley Hospital Sleep and Chronobiology Research Lab was established in 1985 and remains part of E.P. Bradley Hospital, a Lifespan Partner affiliated with the Alpert Medical School of Brown University. The laboratory building, located on the campus of Butler Hospital at 300 Duncan Drive on Providence’s East Side, is a free-standing facility containing a 4-bedroom laboratory, offices, testing areas, storage space, and kitchen facilities and an annex with classroom and additional research space. The laboratory director and director of the COBRE Center is Mary Carskadon, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Alpert Medical School of Brown University. Other academic leaders in the laboratory and Center include assistant professor Jared Saletin, Ph.D. and associate professor Dave Barker, Ph.D.; assistant professor Darlynn Rojo-Wissar, Ph.D., and postdoctoral fellow, Gina Mason, Ph.D. Faculty affiliated with Bradley Hospital's COBRE Center for Sleep and Circadian Rhythms in Child and Adolescent Mental Health led by Dr. Carskadon include Jennifer Freeman, Ph.D., Jennifer Wolff, Ph.D., John McGeary, Ph.D. and Christopher Houck, Ph.D. Additional affiliated faculty of the COBRE Center include: Thomas F. Anders, M.D., Larry K. Brown, M.D., Daphne Koinis Mitchell, Ph.D., Sharon I. Rounds, M.D., Henry T. Sachs, M.D., Katherine M. Sharkey, M.D., Ph.D., Anthony Spirito, Ph.D., and Diane Lipscombe, Ph.D. We also routinely work with faculty from Brown University, Alpert Medical School of Brown University and/or other universities including: Rachel Herz, Ph.D., Boston College; Leila Tarokh, Ph.D., Bern University; and Chantelle Hart, Ph.D., Temple University. Core members of the research team at the lab include: data coordinator, Caroline Gredvig-Ardito; COBRE Center Research Administrative Coordinator, Cristal L. Medeiros, and research assistants and laboratory techs, Sidney Kirchhof, Sinead Moyles, Cosette Coston, Katie Skordinski, Jayne Clark, and Sophia Nicogossian. Recent and Relevant References
Carskadon, M.A., Chappell, K.R., Barker, D.H., Hart, A.C., Dwyer, K., Gredvig-Ardito, C., and McGeary, J.E. A pilot prospective study of sleep patterns and DNA methylation-characterized epigenetic aging in young adults. BMC Research Notes 12:583, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13104-019-4633-1 PMID: 31526398 Link here! Tarokh, L., Short, M., Crowley, S.J., Fontanellaz-Castiglione, C., and Carskadon, M.A. Sleep and circadian rhythms in adolescence. Curr. Sleep Med. Reports, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40675-019- 00155-w Link here! Booth, S.A., Scott, K., Carskadon, M.A., Young, R., and Short, M.A. Sleep duration and mood in adolescents: An experimental study. Sleep, 44 (5):1-8, 2020. Link here! Meltzer, L.J., Saletin, J.M., Honaker, S.M., Owens, J.A., Seixas, A., Wong, P., Wolfson, A.R., Wahlstron, K.L., and Carskadon, M.A. COVID-19 instructional approaches (in-person, online, hybrid), school start times, and sleep in over 5000 US adolescents. Sleep 269(1):, 2021. doi: 10.1093/sleep/zsab180. PMID: 34401922 Link here! Ziporyn, T.D., Owens, J.A., Wahlstrom, K.L., Wolfson, A.R., Troxel, W.M., Saletin, J.M., Rubens, S.L., Pelayo, R., Payne, P.A., Hale, L., Keller, I., and Carskadon, M.A. Adolescent sleep health and school start times: Setting the research agenda for California and beyond. A research summit summary. Sleep Health 8(1):11-22, 2022. doi: 10.1016/j.sleh.2021.10.008. PMID: 34991996 Link here! Saletin, J.M.*, Koopman-Verhoeff, M.E.*, Han, G., Barker, D.H., Carskadon, M.A., Rhode Island Consortium for Autism Research and Treatment (RI-CART), Anders, T.F., Sheinkopf, S.J. Sleep problems and autism impairments in a large community sample of children and adolescents. * these authors contributed equally. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev. 2022 Dec 14. doi: 10.1007/s10578-022-01470-0. Online ahead of print. PMID: 36515855 Link here! Klerman, E.B., Brager. A., Carskadon, M.A., Depner, C.M., Foster, R., Goel, N., Harrington, M., Holloway, P., Knauert, M.P., LeBourgeois, M.K., Lipton, J., Merrow, M., Montagnese, S., Ning, M., Ray, D., Scheer, F.A.J.L., Shea, S.A., Skene, D.J., Spies, C., Staels, B., St-Onge, M-P., Tiedt, S., Zee, P.C., and Burgess, H.J. Keeping an eye on circadian time in clinical research and medicine. Clin Translat Med 2022; Dec;12(12):e1131. doi: 10.1002/ctm2.1131.PMID: 36567263 Link here! Reynolds, A., Spaeth, A., Hale, L., Williamson, A., LeBourgeois, M., Wong, S., Hartstein, L., Levenson, J., Kwon, M., Hart, C., Greer, A., Richardson, C., Gradisar, M., Clementi, M., Simon, S., Reuter-Yuill, L., Picchietti, D., Wild, S., Tarokh, L., Sexton-Radek, K., Puzino, K., Calhoun, S., Johnson, D., Lewin, D., and Carskadon, M. Pediatric sleep: Current knowledge, gaps, and opportunities for the future. Sleep. 2023 Mar 6:zsad060. doi: 10.1093/sleep/zsad060. Online ahead of print. PMID: 36881684 Link here! Miller, M.B., Cofresi, R.U., McCarthy, D.M, and Carskadon, M.A. Sleep and circadian influences on blood alcohol concentration: A translational perspective. Sleep, in press. Link here! Wong, P., Wolfson, A.R., Honaker, S.M., Owens, J.A., Wahlstrom, K.L., Saletin, J.M., Seixas, A., Meltzer, L.J., and Carskadon, M.A. Adolescent social jetlag, sleep opportunity, and mental health in the context of varied educational approaches: Findings from a large nationwide study during COVID-19. Sleep Health , in press. Link here! Heller, H.C., Herzog, E., Brager, A., Poe, G., Guthrie, R., Allada, R., Scheer, F., Carskadon, M., de la Iglesia, H., Montero, A., Wright, K., Mourrain, P., Walker, M., Goel, N., Hogenesch, J., Van Gelder, R., Kriegsfeld, L., Mah, C., Colwell, C., Zeitzer, J., Grandner, M., Jackson, C., Prichard, R., Kay, S., and Paul, K. Reducing the negative effects of travel on health and performance of student-athletes through sleep and circadian strategies. J Biol Rhythms, in press. Link here! back to top 
Commitment full time 27 May 2024 through 20 August 2024
back to top Application
Complete the application form and submit it by February 19, 2024. Have 2 letters of recommendation (preferably from professors) e-mailed directly to Dr. Carskadon and Cristal Medeiros (see addresses on the application form) by the same deadline. A member of the admissions committee will interview the short list of candidates via Zoom or in person. back to top 
Eligibility
Undergraduate students with strong interest in behavioral sciences research and who demonstrate enthusiasm for, commitment to, and availability for the full program are encouraged to apply. We also encourage seniors or recent graduates to apply with potential for full-time Research Assistant positions in Sleep Lab or COBRE center projects after the summer. Previous courses or lab work in sleep or circadian rhythms are helpful but not required. During the apprenticeship, fellows will be required to reside in or very near Providence. US citizenship or appropriate visa status is required. Members of underrepresented minorities and individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds are encouraged to apply. Due to restrictions on funding sources, we are only able to accept US citizens, noncitizen nationals of the United States or those who have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the US. back to top 
What Research Apprentices Learn: Formal Training Program
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What Summer Research Fellows Do
Our lab is involved with several projects that research apprentices may work on throughout the summer. As noted above, the primary research projects in the summer of 2024 include: including (1) DASH, a study on sleep-health disparities in urban children with asthma; (2) Sleep & Learn, a project examining impact of sleep restriction on learning and brain function in children; (3) ARTS, a project looking at sleep and circadian rhythms in children with a family history of Alzheimer’s Disease; (4) CPS, a project to validate new wearable technology; (5) PROUD, a project that focuses on how sleep and circadian rhythms affect people who are receiving medical treatment for Opioid Use Disorder. Several of these projects include assessments that necessitate apprentice involvement around the clock (i.e., day AND night). Research apprentices carry out multiple facets of data collection (electrode application, working one-on-one with research participants for forms/tests administration), data reduction, data entry, and error checking. During the in-lab research phases of the program, apprentices are assigned to teams and work 4 to 6 days each week—not always Monday through Friday, often Saturday and Sunday—in research protocols that often involve working unusual schedules. Applicants must be able and willing to work on various types of schedules for all or part of the program. [Sleep planning assistance (e.g., earplugs, eye masks, and light boxes) is provided to help you adapt to work schedules; sample schedules are available on request.] When possible, we attempt to assign apprentices to hours that correspond to their circadian phase preferences, as well as make an effort to keep schedules somewhat consistent. back to top 
Benefits
back to top Retreat Programs
The summer's end retreat includes assorted activities and events. Central to the retreat, however, is the program of presentations by summer interns. These presentations are unfailingly awesome and highlight the breadth of sleep research and the apprentices' interests. Another major component of the retreat comes from our visiting investigators, often young investigators with a mix of seasoned scientists for good measure. Donors who support the program are welcome to join us for this exciting event. Check out the 2023 Program! 2001 Retreat Program 2002 Retreat Program 2003 Retreat Program 2004 Retreat Program 2005 Retreat Program 2006 Retreat Program 2008 Retreat Program 2009 Retreat Program 2010 Retreat Program 2011 Retreat Program 2012 Retreat Program 2013 Retreat Program 2014 Retreat Program 2015 Retreat Program 2016 Retreat Program 2017 Retreat Program 2018 Retreat Program 2019 Retreat Program 2021 Retreat Program 2022 Retreat Program 2023 Retreat Program |
