Sleep for Science
Tom F. Anders Seminar Series
Tom F. Anders Seminar Series, formerly known as the Providence Sleep Research Interest Group (PSRIG), was formed in 1990 and provides an opportunity for scientists and clinicians to interact on a monthly basis for the scholarly exchange of ideas and information pertaining to the area of sleep and circadian rhythms. Historically, individuals from the surrounding areas of Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and sometimes other parts of the country, participated in these monthly meetings.

This year the series will be held virtually and we are thrilled to present a diverse lineup of speakers from various institutions both nationally and internationally, and to open this series to a wider audience. We hope to maintain an atmosphere that is informal, intimate, and sleep-sophisticated.

TFASS seminars will be held via Zoom at 12pm on the 3rd Tuesday of each month during the academic year. Invited speakers represent diverse backgrounds and approaches in their study of sleep and chronobiological issues, including basic and clinical research.

ZOOM INFORMATION
Click here to Register for the Tom F. Anders Seminar Series.

Add to calendar:

If you would like to be added to the TFASS mailing list, please email Gina Mason at gina_mason@brown.edu.

Dates for the 2024-2025 academic year are listed below and will continue to be updated regarding speakers and presentation topics.

Missed a Session?
Click below on the link to view previous TFASS videos.

TFASS 2022-2023
Dr. Candice Alfano | How Poor Sleep Undermines the Socio-Emotional Competence of Youth: Filling in the Gaps
Dr. Dylan Jackson & Dr. Alexander Testa | Police Contact & Sleep Patterns During Adolescence & Adulthood
Salome Kurth, PhD | Infant's Sleep Neurophys. Beyond the Brain: Interactions c Bedtimes, Behavior, & the Gut Microbiome c
Patricia A. Goodhines, PhD | Cannabis and Alcohol Use for Sleep Aid in College Students
Mark Blumberg, PhD | Development Needs Sleep and Sleep Needs Development
Joshua Gooley, PhD | Early School Start Times are Bad for Sleep, Attendance, and Grades
Marcos Frank, PhD | Ontogenesis of Sleep Function and Regulation
Ariel Neikrug, PhD | Characterizing Behavioral Activity Rhythms - Going Beyond Sleep & Wake
Selena Nguyễn-Rodriguez, PhD, MPH | Influences on Sleep in Latinx Children
Jessica Levenson, PhD | Advances in Developing, Testing, and Implementing Sleep Promotion Programs for Adolescents
Marie-Rachelle Narcisse, PhD | Racial/Ethnic Differences in the Association between Adherence to Sleep Guidelines and Obesity among Adolescents in the United States: An Application of Time-Varying Effect Modeling
Melissa Horger, PhD | Sleep and motor learning: Perspectives from leveraging innovative tools to promote more robust data collection
Anthony Reffi, PhD | Identifying Sleep-Related Risk Factors for PTSD and Their Underlying Mechanisms
Rebecca Gomez, PhD | The effects of sleep on learning and memory in very young children
Peter Achermann, PhD | A historical perspective on some concepts in sleep research
Michelle Garrison, PhD, MPH | Late Night Media Use and Sleep: Harm Reduction Approaches in the Context of Developing Self-Regulation From Childhood to Emerging Adulthood
Liat Tikotzky, PhD | Sleep in Infancy and the Family System

TFASS 2023-2024
Mona El-Sheikh, PhD | Sleep and Development in Youth: Sociocultural Considerations
Brandon L. Roberts, PhD | How maternal circadian disruption impacts sleep and PFC function in adult offspring
AJ Schwichtenberg, PhD | The Roles of Sleep in Autism Spectrum Disorder
Stephen P. Becker, PhD | Sleep in Adolescents with ADHD: Recent Advances and New Directions
Jessica Hamilton, PhD | Leveraging technology to understand sleep and social media use in adolescent suicide prevention
Megan Petrov, PhD | In Pursuit of Childhood Obesity Prevention: Early Pathways through Sleep, Feeding, and the Gut Microbiome
Valerie Crabtree, PhD | Sleep Disruption in Youth with Chronic Illness
Melissa Nevarez-Brewster | Sleep in Pregnancy: A Unique and Understudied Prenatal Process with Intergenerational Consequences **non-CME event**
Douglas Teti, PhD | Prenatal Trauma History in Parents and Parent-Infant Sleep in the Early Postpartum



September 17, 2024

Dean Beebe, PhD., ABPP
Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
Director of the Neuropsychology Program at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital
Topic: Sleepy, surly, spacey, sedentary, sugared-up, scary on the road, somatic/sore, and a bit less smart: one investigator’s journey toward understanding the importance of adolescent sleep.
Adolescents notoriously sleep less than is recommended on school nights and have a reputation for wide swings in sleep timing. This talk summarizes the major findings to date from a research program on the impact of those sleep patterns, balancing experimental methods with real-world conditions and outcomes. Amongst other things, attendees will learn whether the title refers sleep deprived adolescents, the investigator, or both. In addition to published findings confirming the benefits of longer sleep for adolescents, this talk will present tantalizing preliminary evidence that those benefits may be impacted by when adolescents sleep.
Missed this TFASS? Click here to watch Dr. Beebe's presentation!

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October 15, 2024

Bengi Baran, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Iowa
Topic: Sleep and Psychopathology in Youth
It is widely accepted that sleep disruption accompanies most major psychiatric disorders. Despite this connection, it still remains a challenge to elucidate the causal role sleep plays in the emergence or exacerbation of psychopathology symptoms. In this presentation, I will introduce some new research initiatives and discuss emerging findings that examine (1) thalamocortical circuit disruption in early-course psychosis, (2) the effects of NREM sleep oscillations on anxiety and negative affect, and (3) social media use and sleep health in youth.
Missed this TFASS? Click here to watch Dr. Baran's presentation!

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November 19, 2024

Kelton Minor
Data Scientist, Columbia University Data Science Institute
Topic: Sleep in a Warming World: An Anthropogenic Experiment
Humankind flourished during a period characterized by a relatively stable climate. In recent centuries human industrial activities have radically transformed the Earth system and demonstrably altered the climate, with accelerated global warming already apparent and expected to grow as a function of society's emissions decisions. While sleep health is formative for human development, functioning, and well-being throughout our lives, the putative influence of human-induced environmental changes on sleep remains poorly understood. Notably, nighttime temperatures are climbing faster than daytime temperatures in most populated regions due to global warming. For the global majority, human exposure to nighttime heat is further exacerbated by urbanization and the resultant urban heat island effect. While laboratory studies have historically shown that extreme temperatures can disrupt sleep, the real-world consequences of rising nighttime temperatures on sleep health remain underexplored. In his Thomas F. Anders seminar, Dr. Minor will shed light on recent ecological evidence from the first global study of the effects of nighttime warming on human sleep, the findings from a new systematic review of the literature, and a forthcoming global climate and sleep indicator. Cumulatively, this body of evidence indicates a clear link between higher nighttime temperatures and diminished sleep quality and quantity around the world. Research using new quasi-experimental designs further highlights that this relationship is causal in nature. The adverse effects of heat on sleep appear more pronounced during peak heat periods, among vulnerable groups, and in the hottest climates. Moreover, the current evidence points to a limited capacity for human adaptation to these warmer conditions over short to medium time horizons, highlighting the risk that climate change and urban heat islands pose to our sleep and, consequently, to broader aspects of human health, learning and well-being separately shown to suffer during hot weather. Dr. Minor will also emphasize critical gaps in research and call for increased collaborations between sleep researchers, climate scientists, and the climate impacts research community. Such transdisciplinary work is urgently needed to assess and address this "anthropogenic experiment" at a scale commensurate with its global footprint, aiming to safeguard the sleep of both current and future generations.


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December 17, 2024

Ariel Williamson, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, The Ballmer Institute for Children's Behavioral Health
Topic: Initial Outcomes of a Family-Centered and Health Equity-Informed Behavioral Sleep Intervention


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January 21, 2025

Lauren Asarnow, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco
Topic: To Be Announced


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February 18, 2025

Sarah K. England, Ph.D.
Alan A. and Edith L. Wolff Professor of Medicine, Director, Center for Reproductive Health Sciences, Washington University School of Medicine
Topic: To Be Announced


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March 18, 2025

Vernon Grant, Ph.D.
Assistant Research Professor, Center for American Indian and Rural Health Equity, Montana State University
Topic: To Be Announced


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April 15, 2025

Kate Simon, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Pediatrics, University of California, Irvine
Topic: To Be Announced


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May 20, 2025

Anastacia Y. Kudinova, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Brown University and Bradley Hospital
Topic: To Be Announced


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