APPLICATION DEADLINE EXTENDED TO MARCH 1, 2010!

 

Download application form by clicking above!

Research projects in the lab focus on examining sleep patterns, circadian rhythms, and related processes in adolescents and young 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 that focuses on the development and regulation of sleep and circadian rhythms in children, adolescents, and young adults. 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.

Summer studies bring adolescents and young adults into the laboratory for extended periods to undertake careful and lengthy assessments of sleep and circadian rhythm control mechanisms. Using such paradigms as forced desynchrony, we measure phase, period, and amplitude of circadian rhythms as well as the strength of the sleep/wake homeostatic process. All these parameters are assessed in relation to developmental stage and sometimes to examine alcohol’s effects. Research participants are recruited to “Sleep for Science,” and the participants become collaborators in the research endeavor.

back to top

The E.P. Bradley Hospital Sleep and Chronobiology Research Lab was established in 1985 and remains part of Bradley Hospital, a Lifespan Partner affiliated with Brown University. The laboratory building, located at 300 Duncan Drive on the campus of Butler Hospital 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 an assay lab, graduate student offices, a classroom, and additional research space. The laboratory director is Mary A. Carskadon, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Alpert Medical School of Brown University. Other academic leaders in the laboratory are Katherine Sharkey, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor; Tamara Bond, Ph.D., Leila Tarokh, Ph.D., and Eliza Van Reen, Ph.D., lecturers; Kay Orzech, Ph.D., Brandy Roane, Ph.D., postdoctoral fellows. Other affiliated faculty and fellows include Judith Owens, M.D., Monique LeBourgeois, Ph.D., John McGeary, Ph.D., Rachel Herz, Ph.D., and Ron Seifer, Ph.D., of the Brown University and/or Alpert Medical School of Brown University, and Kathleen Perri, M.A., of Valencia Community College; Kristen Stone, Ph.D., Willoughby Britton, Ph.D., Erin O'Brien, Ph.D., postdoctoral fellows.

Jenni, O.J., Achermann, P., and Carskadon, M.A. Homeostatic sleep regulation in adolescents. Sleep 28 (11): 446-1454, 2005.

Crowley, S., Acebo, C., Fallone, G., and Carskadon, M.A. Estimating dim light melatonin onset (DLMO) phase in adolescents using summer or school-year sleep/wake schedules. Sleep 29(12):1632-1641, 2006.

Van Reen, E., Jenni, O.G., and Carskadon, M.A. Effects of alcohol on sleep and the sleep electroencephalogram in healthy young women. Alcohol. Clin. Exp. Res. 30(6):974-981, 2006.

Rupp, T.L., Acebo, C., and Carskadon, M.A. Late-night alcohol suppresses salivary melatonin in young adults. Chronobiol. Int. 24(3):463-470, 2007.

Jenni, O.G. and Carskadon, M.A. Sleep behavior and sleep regulation from infancy through adolescence: normative aspects. In Jenni, O.G. and Carskadon, M.A. (Guest Eds.) Sleep Medicine Clinics: Sleep in Children and Adolescents. Philadelphia. W.B. Saunders (Elsevier), Philadephia, pp. 321-329, 2007.

Hagenauer, M.H., Perryman, J.I., Lee, T.M., Carskadon, M.A. Adolescent changes in the homeostatic and circadian regulation of sleep. Dev. Neurosci. 31:276-284, 2009.

Kurth, S., Jenni, O.G., Riedner, B.A., Tononi, G., Carskadon, M.A., and Huber, R. Characteristics of sleep slow-waves in children and adolescents. Sleep, in press.

Tarokh, L. and Carskadon, M.A. Developmental changes in the human sleep EEG during early adolescence. Sleep, in press.

back to top

The E.P. Bradley Hospital, Brown University affiliated Sleep Research Laboratory in Providence, RI, announces research apprentices for the summer of 2010 for NIH–sponsored research: the William C. Dement Summer Sleep and Chronobiology Research Apprenticeship.

2010 Dement Fellows
Paul Zhu (Senior Dement Fellow), Brown University
Zachary Bornstein, Brown University
Tiffany Chan, Pomona College
Katie Esterline, Truman State University
Sharon Keren, University of South Carolina
Kendra Krietsch, University of Arizona
Katherine Marczyk, University of North Texas
Carmen Moedano, Brown University
Michelle Morales, Brown University
Allyson Schumacher, Brown University
Christopher Stare, University of Notre Dame
Brandon Terrizzi, University of Arizona
Jacob Tower, Brown University

First, fill out the application form (link at the top of this page) and submit it by 22 February 2010. Have 2 letters of recommendation (from professors) sent or emailed directly to Dr. Carskadon by the same deadline. Candidates are subsequently interviewed by telephone or in person (if from a local university or college). The application form can be downloaded by clicking on "application form" at the top of this page.

Students who are admitted to the apprenticeship through this process are also eligible to enroll in CLPS1060 through the Brown University Office of Summer and Continuing Education. Tuition and fees are NOT covered by the Sleep Lab. You will not receive a Brown transcript credit for the experience unless you opt to enroll in this course and pay the university fees.

back to top

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. Previous courses or lab work in sleep or circadian rhythms are helpful but not required. Students from local institutions, especially Brown University, are encouraged to maintain participation in sleep lab activities beyond the summer by working on sleep studies during the school year. Apprentices must reside in or near Providence for the summer. [Graduate students may be accepted under special circumstances. Students may apply for a repeat summer experience as a Senior Research Apprentice (usually no more than 3), with a slightly higher stipend.] Successful applicants are required to apply for student membership in the Sleep Research Society.

back to top

• Introduction to normal human sleep and circadian rhythms
• Central nervous system and neurophysiological basis of electroencephalography (EEG)
• Polysomnographic recording techniques, including EEG, EMG, EOG, EKG, nasal pressure, pulse oximetry, and respiratory plethysmography electrode hookup
• Operation of monitoring equipment
• Multiple Sleep Latency Test procedures, performance testing, identification of sleep stages
• Basic lab procedures, including working with human study participants and how to work well with youthful participants
• Ethical conduct of research
• Experimental hypotheses, rationale, and methods for laboratory’s summer research projects
• Preparation for attending a scientific meeting and skills for getting the most out of the meeting
• Presentation skills, including effective creation and delivery of PowerPoint slide presentation and facets of effective scientific presentations

back to top

TThe major research project during the summer assesses the circadian rhythms and sleep homeostatic process in children and adolescents. This project includes lengthy in-lab sessions that involve assessments on non-24-hour days, thus necessitating staff involvement at times that circle the clock.

Research Apprentices carry out multiple facets of data collection (electrode application, one–to-one work with research participants, forms and tests administration), data reduction, and data entry. During the research phases of the program, apprentices are assigned to teams and work 5 or 6 days each week—not always Monday through Friday, often Saturday and Sunday—in research protocols that involve working unusual schedules. Although we attempt to assign teams to hours that correspond to team members’ circadian phase preferences, applicants must be able and willing to work on any of the following types of schedules for all or part of the program: “Owl” shifts may begin as early as 2 pm or as late as 9:45 pm and end as early as 10:30 pm or as late as 5:45 am; “lark” shifts may begin as early as 3:00 am or as late as noon and may end as early as 8:45 am or as late as 5:15 pm; “neither” shifts may begin as early as 6:45 am or as late a 3:45 pm and end as early as 11:00 am or as late as 10:15 pm. [Sleep planning assistance is provided to help your adaptation to work schedules; sample schedules are available on request.]

back to top

• $3300* for the summer, housing is not included. (Assistance in locating housing is provided.)
• Paid registration for the annual scientific meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS).
• Paid travel to and lodgings at the APSS meeting (San Antonio, TX).
• Paid meals and lodgings at the Research Apprenticeship Summer Retreat (August 23-25).

*Stipends are subject to taxes and fees; they are not tax deductible; SSI fees are charged.

back to top

The 2010 summer research project is funded by NIMH: MH076969, "Intrinsic Circadian Period: Development, Delayed Phase, and Genetic Associations.”

back to top