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Dear Colleagues, As we close out 2011 and move into 2012, I would like to take this opportunity to wish you and your families a joyful holiday season and a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year. The New Year’s holiday is often a time to reflect on past successes and look forward to the opportunities and challenges that await us in the coming year. As the result of your strong commitment to sleep and circadian rhythm research, the SRS has many successes to reflect on and many great opportunities in 2012.
In early November, the Department of Health and Human Services in conjunction with the National Institutes of Health released a new NIH Sleep Disorders Research Plan. The plan was the culmination of over a year of work by the National Center on Sleep Disorders Research (NCSDR), the Sleep Disorders Research Advisory Board (SDRAB), and numerous volunteers from the SRS who provided valuable input on various aspects of the new plan, which can be read by clicking here.
In the months since my last President’s message, the SRS Government Relations Committee has been very active. Through visits to Congressional Offices by Dr. Walsh, Chair of the SRS Government Relations Committee, and follow-up work by the SRS lobbyist Dale Dirks of the Health and Medicine Council, the SRS was successful in working with members of Congress to include language related to sleep research in the committee report for the Appropriations Bill that funds the NIH. This language stresses the importance of the new NIH Sleep Research Plan and the role sleep disorders and circadian disturbances have on public health and safety. The Congressional language encourages the NIH to increase collaboration among each Institute and Center (IC) to enhance sleep research throughout the NIH.
In October, 14 members of the SRS and I visited 12 Institutes and Centers (NICHD, NCCAM, NIA, NCI, NIDDK, NIAAA, NIDA, NINR, NINDS, NIM H, NIM HD, and NHLBI ). During the meetings the SRS members relayed the importance of sleep and circadian research to the mission of each IC, while looking for ways to increase their collaboration with scientists in our field. Additionally, the members of the SRS asked that the representatives from each IC review the new NIH Sleep Research Plan to determine how the plan related to the mission of the IC. I would like to thank Sonia Ancoli-Israel, Ruth Benca, Daniel Buysse, Charles Czeisler, David Dinges, David Kupfer, Emmanuel Mignot, Janet Mullington, Allan Pack, Clifford Saper, Fred Turek, Terri Weaver, James Walsh and Ken Wright for taking time out of their busy schedules to visit the NIH on behalf of the SRS.
On December 2 the SRS launched a complete overhaul of the society’s website, which was the culmination of work that began early in the year. The Membership and Communications Committee provided valuable input on various novel features of the new website, including the novel Laboratory Directory, which is meant to foster collaboration in the field and provide information on training opportunities. There are several new features on the website:
I encourage you to take advantage of the enhanced website and also provide new entries on the Dissertation Library and Laboratory Directory. Committee Volunteers Needed The SRS is currently accepting applications from members for positions on all five SRS standing committees, which do the vast majority of the work within the SRS . For more information on the committees, including an online volunteer interest form, use the following link: www.sleepresearchsociety.org/Committees.aspx.
The SRS will host a course April 11-12, 2012, in Bethesda, Maryland, focusing on The Development of New Wake-Enhancing Drugs. Top experts from across the United States will be presenting at the course as well as top officials from the Food and Drug Administration. This course will be of interest to a broad audience including academic, clinical and industry professionals. For more information on the course, click on the following link: www.sleepresearchsociety.org/event.aspx?id=381
I am pleased to announce that the SRS has made a contribution of $50,000 to the SRS Foundation to support the J. Christian Gillin, MD, Junior Faculty Research Grant Program and the Elliot D. Weitzman, MD, Research Grant Program. The funds donated by the SRS are proceeds from three “Basic Science of Sleep for the Sleep Specialist”half-day courses the SRS hosted in conjunction with the American Academy of Sleep Medicine’s (AASM ) Board Review Course.
As many of you know, the SRS partners with the AASM to present the annual SLEEP meeting, and as mentioned above the SRS partnered with the AASM to provide a basic sleep course for clinicians taking the ABMS exam to become a board-certified sleep specialist. Although the SLEEP meeting is the most visible joint endeavor between the SRS and AASM , throughout the past year the two organizations have worked together on a number of other initiatives. Taskforce on Sleep T32s – The SRS and AASM have formed a joint Task Force with the goal of doubling the number of T32 training programs in sleep over the next five years. This initiative will help to build the pipeline of individuals in our field for years to come. White Paper on Sleep and Health – The two organizations are currently drafting a paper on the impact of sleep on public health. The purpose of this paper is to be a reference for officials, researchers and clinicians on the need for healthy sleep and the impact that disturbed sleep has on the health of individuals. Academic Sleep Centers – The SRS and AASM will be collaborating on a white paper related to developing Academic Sleep Centers in the United States. Input on NIH Initiatives – The SRS and AASM continue to jointly provide input on various initiatives at NIH. The most recent example of this is comments submitted in response to an RFI on new NIH Common Fund initiatives. In the past the SRS and AASM have also provided input on various HHS healthpromotion programs to ensure that sleep was included. Future Collaborations – The SRS will continue to work with the AASM both on scientific and educational endeavors. In the coming years we hope to work with the AASM to develop new courses of interest to individuals in our organizations and also help develop interest in sleep and circadian rhythms research among members of other medical specialties.
It is hard to believe that we are quickly gearing up for SLEEP 2012 as the abstract submission deadline has passed and the preliminary program will be out in a matter of weeks. SLEEP 2012 will be held June 9-13 at the John B. Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention Center in Boston. There are several changes to the meeting in 2012 that should be noted. The meeting will feature several new session formats that will cater to the diverse interests of professionals in our field, and the poster sessions will be unopposed so that attendees and poster presenters will not have to miss a scientific session to view or present posters. The APSS received 1,350 abstracts, which is a record for abstract submissions to the meeting. Additionally, the number of sessions submitted this year far surpassed submissions in the previous two years. The number of sessions and abstracts submitted are often an indicator of interest in the meeting. If the trend holds true, SLEEP 2012 promises to be one of the best meetings yet. On behalf of the board of directors, I extend a heartfelt thank you to all of our members who volunteered and contributed so much to the organization over the past year, as well as our national office staff, and I look forward to continued success in 2012.
Sincerely, Phyllis C. Zee, MD, PhD SRS President