Bethesda, MD
Description
To apply recent advances in sleep/circadian sciences to approaches leading to the development of biomarkers for studies of sleep/circadian function, point of care diagnosis of related sleep disorders, and assessing the risk of associated diseases of the heart, lung, blood, and aging.
The impact of advances in sleep and circadian sciences over the last 20 years on medicine, health, and public safety has been limited in part by the availability of objective chemistries capable of quantifying sleep and circadian function in point-of-care settings. The proposed workshop was designed to bring together thought-leaders in biomarker development and experts in sleep chemistry to identify barriers and opportunities informing the future development of biomarkers and point-of-care diagnostic tools. For the purpose of this workshop, “biomarkers” included quantifiable molecules and chemical properties of easily accessible biological samples (e.g. blood, urine, saliva). An ultimate goal is the development of robust and practical approaches for point-of-contact implementation in population-based research and as a medical screening/diagnostic tool.