NEWS & EVENTS

Sleep Disorders Research Advisory Board (SDRAB) Meeting Minutes – December 7 and 8, 2017

December 7 - 8 , 2017
NIH

Description

The Sleep Disorders Research Advisory Board (SDRAB) convened on December 7 - 8, 2017. SDRAB is a Federal Advisory Committee established by the NIH Revitalization Act of 1993.

Recap

BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT

Dr. Patrick Strollo, Chair
Dr. Ravi Allada
Dr. Mona El-Sheikh
Dr. Clete Kushida
Dr. Ketema Paul
Ms. Susan Plawsky
Dr. Naresh Punjabi
Ms. Nancy Rothstein
Ms. Linda Secretan
Dr. Virend Somers
Dr. Kenneth Wright

Ex OFFICIO MEMBERS PRESENT

Dr. Michael Twery, NHLBI, Executive Secretary

Ad HOC MEMBERS PRESENT

Dr. Eve Van Cauter
Dr. Judette Louis
Dr. Wendy Troxel
Dr. Gabriel Haddad

FEDERAL EMPLOYEES

Dr. Rory Austin, NHTSA
Dr. Allison Brager, US Army, DOD
Dr. Marishka Brown, NHLBI, NIH
Dr. Claire Caruso, NIOSH
Dr. Barbara Disckind, OWH, HHS
Mr. Peyvand Ghofrani, NHLBI, NIH
Dr. Hal Gordon, NIDA, NIH
Dr. Michelle Hamlet, NINR, NIH
Dr. Janet He, NINDS, NIH
Dr. Nancy Jones, NIMHD, NIH
Mr. Max Kieba, PHMSA, DOT
Dr. Aaron Laposky, NHLBI, NIH
Ms. Robin Mackar, NHLBI, NIH
Dr. Mack Mackiewicz, NIA, NIH
Dr. Thomas Nesthus, FAA
Dr. Chris Steele, US Navy, DOD
Dr. Aleksandra Vicentic, NIMH, NIH
Dr. Anne Wheaton, CDC, HHS
Dr. Dan Xi, NCI, NIH

MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC

Mr. Jonathan Heald American Academy of Sleep Medicine
Dr. Peter Mansbach, Circadian Sleep Disorders Network
Dr. Daniel Lewin, Children’s National Health System
Dr. Janet Mullington, Sleep Research Society
Dr. Allan Pack, Sleep Research Society
National Sleep Foundation

INTRODUCTION, Dr. Michael Twery

  • The meeting was called into session at 1:00 pm, [FR Doc. 2017-24572].
  • The Sleep Disorders Research Advisory Board (SDRAB) is a Federal Advisory
  • Committee established by the NIH Revitalization Act of 1993 (42 USC Sec. 285b-7).
  • The Board was informed of their status as special government employees and that conflict of interest guidelines require that members recuse themselves from any discussions presenting the potential appearance of a covered conflict.

WELCOMING REMARKS, Dr. James Kiley, Division of Lung Diseases, NHLBI

  • Responsibilities and role of the Board in advising NIH programs was presented.
  • The path through which the Board feedback is considered by program staff, other advisory committees, and leadership was highlighted.

OPENING COMMENTS, Dr. Patrick Strollo, Chair

  • The mandate and function of the board as described by the committee Charter was presented and discussed in the context of the agenda for this meeting.

NCSDR DIRECTOR’s REPORT, Dr. Michael Twery

  • Summary overview of Federal advisory committees and where this Board fits into the advisory process was presented along with a summary of duties under its charter.
  • Summary of sleep and circadian research activities and trends NIH-wide was presented.
  • Major accomplishments stemming from the 2011 Research Plan were highlighted. Analysis of the NIH grant portfolio revealed an overall increase in sleep and circadian research activities in several NIH components.

PROGRAMMATIC PRESENTATIONS AND SUMMARY ANALYSES, Drs. Marishka Brown and Aaron Laposky, NCSDR, NHLBI

  • Summary presentations of research programs, initiatives, and workshops conducted by NIH in support of the 2011 research plan were made. Plan-generated activities were itemized and discussed for goal areas 1 – 5.
  • The analysis of programmatic gaps and opportunities was followed by discussion of how to best integrate needed research into the next revision of the sleep plan.

PUBLIC AND STAKEHOLDER COMMENTS AND DISCUSSION, DAY 1

  • Public comments included how/if the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine awarded for the discovery of mechanisms controlling the circadian system would impact current and future research directions across NIH.
  • Circadian Sleep Disorders Network (CSDN) announced progress on their patient registry.
  • The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) discussed strategies to address barriers and hurdles in developing the research workforce needed to advance sleep and circadian research.
  • Sleep Research Society and AASM representatives discussed a recent American Heart Association (AHA) publication questioning whether there is evidence that sleep was necessary to achieve optimal brain health.

UPDATES FROM TRANS-NIH INSTITUTES AND CENTERS, AND FEDERAL PARTNERS

  • National Institute on Aging (NIA): opportunities available to explore the short and long-term consequences of disrupted sleep and circadian clock with regards to Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias of aging.
  • Walter Reed Army Institute of Research: discussed the mission of the military as it relates to sleep research including the role of efficient sleep on performance and vigilance.
  • Military Operational Medicine Research Program: programmatic management of science for the military was described, including the role of basic and clinical research collaborations with academia and other governmental agencies to address the many challenges of the military (e.g. suicidality, fatigue) and the role of sleep on performance and long-term health.
  • National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH): supports basic neuroscience and clinical sleep and circadian science across a variety of areas including mechanisms, affective regulation, social cognition, origins of pathology, syndromes, cognitive dysfunctions, biomarkers to enable therapeutic development, neurocircuits, temporal dynamics, age and gender differences, and translational research and targets for therapeutic development.
  • National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS): current support for sleep and circadian science across basic, disease, translational, clinical research, and training support grants.
  • National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR):, current sleep and circadian grant support related to patient outcomes.
  • National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD), interests of the institute is across the population spectrum and the role of sleep deficiencies in disparities research.
  • Office of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH):, partnering with NCSDR and the HHS Office on Women’s Health (OWH) for the upcoming Women and Sleep conference in October of 2018 by sponsoring a poster session and panel of.
  • Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD): currently partnering with NHLBI to support an ongoing pregnancy and sleep research program that is both epidemiological and interventional. NICHD supports sleep science via rehabilitation research.
  • National Cancer Institute (NCI): activities including a recent workshop that incorporated circadian clock research in health and disease and the development of a potential concept focusing on circadian rhythm/clock atlas in health and disease.

SLEEP RESEARCH PLAN REVISION

  • An overview of goals in prior sleep research plans was presented along with a summary of how these plans impacted NIH programs.
  • A key point of discussion was recognition that sleep and circadian functions are fundamental organizing principles of physiological systems, and that abnormalities in sleep and circadian biology are associated with mechanisms of pathobiology and disease
  • The Board identified promotion of sleep and circadian scientific advances with high translational value to strengthen health-care, well-being, and safety as an enduring strategic goal for NIH sleep and circadian research programs.

DISCUSSION OF POTENTIAL FUTURE DIRECTIONS, NCSDR/NIH AND SDRAB

Potential future programmatic directions were presented for feedback.

  • Proposed Concept: Enabling Sleep and Circadian Biomarker Development (Phase I)- transNIH.
  • Proposed Concept: Sleep Apnea and Mild Cognitive Impairment in Hypertensives- transNIH.
  • Proposed NHLBI participation: Sleep and Immune System/Cancer Risk- transNIH.
  • Proposed NHLBI participation: Sleep and Stress Research Team Development- transNIH
  • Proposed NHLBI participation: Sleep and Environmental Exposures- transNIH.
  • Proposed NHLBI participation: Sleep and Alzheimer’s Disease (basic research)- transNIH.
  • Proposed NHLBI participation: Sleep and Pain (mechanistic research)- transNIH.

FUTURE PUBLIC CONFERENCES

  • Sleep and Women’s Health. A trans-NIH partnership led by NHLBI-OWH-ORWH will showcase a decade of advances linking sleep to the health of women, October 17 -18, 2018.
  • Future Concept: A public Conference and trans-NIH partnership has been proposed to showcase a growing array of NIH funded advances linking sleep to children’s health and neurodevelopment.

PUBLIC AND STAKEHOLDER COMMENTS AND DISCUSSION, DAY 2

  • Patient statements described the challenges associated with multiple sleep disorders, the utility of forming patient groups and registries for the study of sleep disorders, and the urgent need for advances addressing medical care and public health and safety. These discussions highlighted the need for innovative sleep apnea treatments beyond CPAP (e.g. pharmacotherapies), and the need for biomarkers to assess sleepiness impacting safety/performance and sleep-related risks to health.

FUTURE SDRAB MEETINGS

In-person SDRAB meetings will continue with two meetings each year. Virtual meetings may be scheduled - as needed. Meeting announcements are formally announced by publication in the Federal Register.