News and Events

Dr. Boulos and Dr. Kendzerska have developed and launched (in 2020) a web-calculator for normal polysomnography parameters in healthy adults based on the published systematic review in the Lancet Respiratory Medicine. Click here to access the calculator!

Click here to learn more and to register.

Click here to register.  

Join thousands of Canadians in a research study on the impact of COVID-19 on our daily lives. 

Join the pan-canadian study at www.cohesionstudy.ca

Share your experience and enter the chance of winning a $100 gift card!

Canada’s first 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for Adults were just released! 

Learn about recommendations for physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep at csepguidelines.ca

The objective of this international survey is to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sleep and circadian rhythms in adults.  It aims to recruit several thousand adults (minimum of 1000 per participating country), aged 18 years and older, from different countries around the world. Participation in this study is voluntary and is anonymous. If you are interested in participating in this research study, please click here. 

CSCN is a proud partner of The Great Canadian Virtual Sleepwalk (June 10-18 2020).

You can walk or run 5km in your own neighborhood on one of these days at any time to help us raise money for sleep research and sleep medicine! Register now 

COVID-19: Read the Letter to the members! 

We are looking for the research priorities of clinicians who care for people living with Obstructive Sleep Apnea. We want to give you a louder voice in research. If you are a clinician caring for patients with obstructive sleep apnea, we would appreciate if you could take a few minutes to complete the survey and/or send it to clinicians you know. Thank you! https://na1se.voxco.com/SE/90/SleepApneaProvider/

The PERFORM center (Montreal) invites you to a colloquium entitled Health Consequences of Circadian and Sleep Disruption presented on February 12 by Dr. Kenneth Wright. Click here for details.

The University of Saskatchewan, working with the Respiratory Research Center and the Saskatchewan Centre for Patient-Oriented Research, has engaged James Lind Alliance (UK) to establish priorities in Patient-Oriented Research. We are pleased to announce they have chosen OSA as the first project at Dr. Robert Skomro’s site. This is the first such initiative in Canada. Dr. Skomro would like to reach out to sites that have Patient-Oriented Research Centers to see if there would be opportunities for collaboration.  If you would like to have more information on this initiative, please go to http://www.jla.nihr.ac.uk/priority-setting-partnerships/obstructive-sleep-apnea/ or contact Dr. Robert Skomro at r.skomro@usask.ca

The Center for Studies in Behavioral Neurobiology and the PERFORM Centre are pleased to invite you to their mini symposium on Sleep, Brain Plasticity and Cognition on Friday, September 27, 2019 (09:00 - 12:00). Click here for the official announcement.

Congratulations to the following trainees who have earned a 2019 CSCN Travel Award!

They presented their work at the 4th Conference of the Canadian Society for Chronobiology: Anastasiya Slyepchenko, Nicole Gervais, Jennifer Ritonja, Marie-Pier Brochu, Mahtab Moshirpour, Choden Shrestha, Cristine Reitz, Petros Kechagioglou, Christian Petersen.

CSCN Sleep Medicine Fellowships 2018:

Dr. Aditi Shah (University of British Columbia) is the recipient of a two-year CSCN Sleep Medicine Fellowship. Congratulations!

Project: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder (COPD), Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) and the COPD/OSA overlap syndrome, assessing a potential mechanism (systemic inflammation) by which the COPD/OSA overlap syndrome may contribute to long term adverse outcomes. She will also analyze data from the Western Australia Sleep Health Study Cohort and from the prospective Canadian Cohort of Obstructive Lung Disease Study.

Dr. Jody Platt (University of Calgary) is the recipient of a one-year CSCN Sleep Medicine Fellowship. Congratulations!

Project: Does polysomnogram in patients with tracheostomy predict severity of obstructive sleep apnea after decannulation?

Three CSCN Project 3 scholarships were awarded:

Jihoon Lim: doctoral student on Project: Sleep Disorders and Progression of Cognitive Impairment in an Aging Population (CLSA cohort)

Supervisors: Christina Wolfson (McGill University), Nadia Gosselin (Université de Montréal) and Ron Postuma (McGill University)

Dylan Smith: postdoctoral student on Project: The effect of sleep quality on cognitive decline across the lifespan (Cambridge Brain Sciences cohort)                        

Supervisors: Stuart Fogel (University of Ottawa), Adrien Owen (Western University) and Julie Carrier (Université de Montréal)

Nathan Cross: postdoctoral student on Project: Insomnia disorder in older adults and cognitive function: analysis of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging                          

Supervisors: Thanh Dang-Vu (Concordia University) and Nadia Gosselin (Université de Montréal)

The Canadian Sleep Society is inviting you to the 2018 CSS Education Meeting in Quebec City on November 2-3 and to the 2018 Great Canadian Sleepwalk. More info in the Clinical Psychologist Flyer, the Dentist Flyer, the Technologist Flyer and the Sleepwalk Flyer.

There is a call for papers for a special issue on Sleep and Circadian Aspects of Opioid Use Disorder and Drug Overdose. Click here for details.  

The Better Nights, Better Days - Obstructive Sleep Apnea (BDBN-OSA) team is looking for participants (children with treated OSA but residual symptoms of insomnia). Click here for details. 

Wake Up Narcolepsy has partnered with AWAKE sleep apnea. To know more about AWAKE sleep apnea and partnership opportunities, click here.

Here are the recipients of the 2018 CSCN Outstanding Science Awards ($15,000 each):

At the doctoral level: Catherine Duclos co-supervised by Nadia Gosselin and Marie Dumont (Université de Montréal)

Project: Assessment of sleep and circadian rhythms in patients having suffered a moderate to severe traumatic brain injury and their association to the recovery of consciousness and cognitive function.

At the postdoctoral level: Elizaveta Solomonova supervised during her PhD by Tore Nielsen (Université de Montréal) now (recently) supervised by Phyllis Zelkowitz (McGill University)

Projects:  1-Sleep in context of pregnancy and postpartum: a longitudinal study. 2-Sleep and dreams in meditation practitioners. 3-Co-editing a book on conscious experiences in sleep.

Here are the recipients of the 2018 CSCN Multi-site Mentoring Program awards:

Russell Luke supervised by John Peever (University of Toronto) to also train with Edward Fon at McGill University.

Project: To show that synucleinopathic-mediated degeneration of REM sleep circuitry in mice can lead to RBD symptoms and the subsequent development of the classic cognitive and motor symptoms associated with Parkinson’s disease.

Veronica Guadagni supervised by Marc Poulin (University of Calgary) to also train with Magdy Younes and Cerebra Health in Manitoba.

Project: Understanding the effects of a six-month aerobic exercise intervention on sleep quality in older healthy adults who completed the Brain in Motion study, and particularly individuals at genetic risk for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.

Jonathan Dubé co-supervised by Julie Carrier and Jean-Marc Lina (Université de Montréal) to also train with Igor Timofeev at Université Laval.

Projects: Age-related changes in sleep: 1) cortical connectivity during NREM sleep oscillations using MEG in human subjects and 2) hippocampo-cortical connectivity in mice (collaboration with Igor Timofeev).

Arpita Parmar supervised by Indra Narang (University of Toronto) to also train with Nadia Gosselin at the Centre for Advanced Research in Sleep Medicine in Montreal (Université de Montréal).

Project:  Studying the clinical outcomes (including mental health and neurocognition) in different pediatric populations: with obstructive sleep apnea, with narcolepsy and typically developing populations (using neuroimaging among other methods).

Here are the recipients of the 2018 CSCN travel awards to attend and present at the Gordon Research Conference (Galveston, Texas: March 18-23):

Maryam El Gewely supervised by Simon Warby (Université de Montréal): Is MEIS1 associated with increased risk for chronic insomnia disorder?

Jimmy Fraigne supervised by John Peever (University of Toronto): A dopamine circuit couples arousal and motor behavior.

HanHee Lee supervised by John Peever (University of Toronto):  Role for GABA neurons in the sublaterodorsal tegmentum nucleus in modulating REM sleep.

Sara Pintwala supervised by John Peever (University of Toronto): Characterizing three novel orexin cell lines: implications for central nervous system cell transplants and narcolepsy.

Zoltan Torontali supervised by John Peever (University of Toronto): Cataplexy exploits the REM sleep circuit to generate pathological periods of muscle paralysis.

Maria Neus Ballester Roig supervised by Valérie Mongrain (Université de Montréal): Direct transcriptional regulation of EphA4 (and ligands) by clock proteins.

The Sleep Research Lab of the University of Ottawa is seeking to fill a postdoctoral position. Click here for details.

Call for papers for a special issue of Sleep Medicine on pediatric sleep research in Canada! Please click here for details.

Dr. Michael Braganza (University of Calgary) is the recipient of the CSCN Sleep  Medicine Fellowship. Congratulations!

Project: Predicting failure of CPAP in patients with suspected hypoventilation: a retrospective analysis of factors that predict failure of CPAP and need for non-invasive positive pressure ventilation.

The University of Michigan is hosting a new “Teach-Out” entitled Sleep Deprivation: Habits, Solutions, and Strategies, which begins Monday, Oct. 23. This free, online learning experience is open to participants from around the world. Click here to learn more and enroll in the Sleep Deprivation Teach-Out.

Sleep research consultants wanted: click here for details.

Sleep psychologist wanted: click here for details.

A post-doc position (sleep and cell biology) is available at Washington State University, click here for details.

CADTH Event: Treating Obstructive Sleep Apnea - Recommendations and Real-World Application. Click herefor details.

A post-doc position (sleep and cognition) is available at Concordia University, click here for details.

First CSCN publication (Project 4- Aim 1: protocol design) ! For the pdf, click here. 

Here are the CSCN travel award recipients for the Canadian Society for Chronobiology meeting 2017:

• Kyles Stokes: University of Windsor, Windsor, ON

• Anastasiya Slyepchenko: McMaster University, Hamilton, ON

• Laura Kervezee: McGill University, Montreal, QC

• Nathaniel Bernardon: University of Windsor, Windsor, ON

• Anna Koshy:  McGill University, Montreal, QC

• Fernando Gonzales: McGill University, Montreal, QC

• Chloe Nobis: McGill University, Montreal, QC

• Emma O’Callaghan: Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC

• Malika Nunes: University of Windsor, Windsor, ON

• Choden Shrestha: University of Toronto, Toronto, ON

• Clément Bourguignon: McGill University, Montreal, QC

• Jhenkruthi Vijayashankara: University of Calgary, Calgary, AB

Here are the CSS travel award recipients for the Canadian Sleep Society meeting 2017:

• Sara Pintwala (Toronto; John Peever): Activation of glutamate cells in the subcoeruleus nucleus triggers cataplexy-like attacks in wild-type mice.

• Cloé Blanchette-Carrière (Montreal; Tore Nielsen):  Effects of transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) on the nap dreams of frequent lucid dreamers, frequent nightmare sufferers and controls

Here are the CSCN travel award recipients for the Canadian Sleep Society meeting  2017:

• Thomas Lehoux (Montréal; Julie Carrier): NonREM sleep EEG slow waves in children with autism.

• Jimmy Fraigne (Toronto; John Peever): A dedicated brainstem circuit controls REM sleep.

• Cheryl Laratta (Edmonton; John Fleetham): The impact of air pollution on obstructive sleep apnea and systemic inflammation.

• Thaïna Rosinvil (Montreal; Julie Carrier): Waking EEG Connectivity Changes Differently in Young and Elderly Adults after a Total Night of Sleep Loss.

• Maude Bouchard (Montreal; Julie Carrier): Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation (TACS) as a tool to entrain spindles during sleep in older individuals.

• Summer Haddad (Toronto; Robyn Strembler): Maternal depression and sleep quality in early postpartum: Do maternal sleep-related cognitions and nighttime behaviours mediate the relationship?

• Gabrielle Rigney (Halifax; Penny Corkum): Relative Success of Digital, Media, and Traditional Recruitment Methods for Better Nights, Better Days.

• Christophe Moderie (Montreal; Marie Dumont): Association between suppression of melatonin production before bedtime and circadian phase in individuals complaining of delayed sleep.

• Emma O'Callaghan (Montreal; Valérie Mongrain): GSK3β responds to sleep loss and is involved in sleep regulation

• Justin Bouvier (Montreal; Julie Carrier): Reduced slow-wave density in aging: lower amplitude or inability to generate slow-wave?

• Pierre-Olivier Gaudreault (Montreal; Julie Carrier): Association between the length of the white matter fiber bundles underlying the thalamo-cortical loop and sleep spindles – a preliminary study.

• Jasmeen Saini (Edmonton; Sylvia Pagliardini): Occurrence and Effect of Abdominal Muscle Recruitment during Sleep in Neonatal and Juvenile Rats.

• Kim Tan-MacNeill (Halifax; Penny Corkum): Barriers and Facilitators to Accessing and Providing Treatment for Insomnia in Children with Neurodevelopmental Disorders: Parent and Health Care Professional Perspectives.

• Kevin Grace (Toronto; Richard Horner): Obstructive sleep apnea pharmacotherapy: mapping potential drug targets in the circuitry controlling upper airway motor input.

• Samuel Laventure (Montreal; Julien Doyon): Changes in several frequency bands time-locked to sleep spindles associated to increase in motor sequence consolidation.

• Sarah Selvadurai (Toronto; Indra Narang): Evaluating the Effects of General Anesthesia on Sleep in Children Undergoing Elective Surgery.

• Alexandre Lafrenière (Montreal; Julie Carrier): Study of REM sleep coherence in cognitively healthy elderly.

• Javad Karimi (Lethbridge; Majid Mohajerani): Spatial Distribution of Hippocampo-Cortical Interaction during Sharp-Wave Ripples.

• Dylan Smith (Montreal; Thanh Dang-Vu): The Relationship between Sleep Misperception and Spindle Architecture in Primary Insomnia.

• Maryam El Gewely (Montreal; Simon Warby): Genetic risk factors of insomnia.

The Huffington Post is looking for a dedicated sleep reporter to cover the impact of sleep on health and disease. For more info, see link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/huffington-post-sleep-reporter-job-opening_us_56b0ba3fe4b0655877f7126a 

CSCN announces the winners of the Outstanding Science Awards ($15,000 each):

At the doctoral level: Andrée-Ann Baril supervised by Nadia Gosselin (Université de Montréal)

Project: Structural and functional cerebral changes in obstructive sleep apnea.

At the postdoctoral level: Soufiane Boucetta supervised by Jacques Montplaisir (Université de Montréal)

Project: Characterization of the spectrum of clinical manifestations in sleepwalking and identification of the genetic risk factors involved.

CSCN announces the winners of the Multi-site Mentoring Program awards ($2000 each):

Tamara Speth supervised by Penny Corkum (Dalhousie University)

• Project: Sleep characteristics and effects of sleep restriction on children with ADHD: spectral analysis of sleep EEG and study of non-REM sleep phasic events.

Sukhpreet Tamana supervised by Piush Mandhane (University of Alberta)

Project: Sleep and neurodeveloppement in atypically developing infants within the first 5 years of life.

Jonathan Charest supervised by Célyne Bastien (Université Laval)

Project: Effects of transcranial direct current stimulation on sleep quality and athletic performance in students-athletes.

Emma O’Callaghan supervised by Valérie Mongrain (Université de Montréal)

Project: Mechanisms underlying the role of Neuroligin-1 in the recovery aspect of sleep.

Jonathan Dubé supervised by Julie Carrier (Université de Montréal)

Project: Aging and cerebral activity during sleep: age-related alterations in hippocampocortical interactions and their consequences.

The Canadian Society for Chronobiology (CSC) will be holding its third conference at York University (Toronto) on May 19-21, 2017. Consult their site for more details: http://www.chronobiocanada.com

The World Sleep Day is March 17, 2017 with the slogan "Sleep Soundly, Nurture Life". For more details, consult the site: http://worldsleepday.org/

New fellowships available! See Fellowships and Awards under the Training tab.

Third meeting of the CSCN Stakeholder Alliance on December 16, 2016 by teleconference.

Second meeting of the CSCN International Scientific Advisory Committee on December 8, 2016 by teleconference.

A faculty position (Neuroscience) is available at Guelph University, see document for details: www.cscnweb.ca/admin/cms/images/large/neuroscience_position_uguelph_.pdf

The Canadian Sleep Society (CSS) invites you to register to the 8th Conference of the CSS in Calgary (April 28-30, 2017): http://www.eiseverywhere.com/ehome/index.php?eventid=194920& and presents the New Frontiers Satellite Symposium (April 28; see flyer for details). https://www.cscnweb.ca/admin/cms/images/large/css-srs_flyer_-_november_2016.pdf

The Great Canadian Sleepwalk took place on August 20, 2016. The photo shows the Montreal group among which is the CSCN scientific director, Julie Carrier (with pillow), and the CSCN coordinator, Dominique Petit (with koala).

Second meeting of the CSCN Stakeholder Alliance on June 13, 2016 (16h30-17h30) in Denver.

First meeting of the CSCN International Scientific Advisory Committee on June 12, 2016 (17h00-19h00) in Denver.

Five trainees were granted travel awards to attend and present their work at the 2016 Gordon Research Conference held on March 13-18 in Texas.

• Jimmy Fraigne (University of Toronto)
• Kari Lustig (Brock University)
• Emma O’Callaghan (Université de Montréal)
• Gabrielle Thibault-Messier (University of Toronto)
• Hanieh Toossi (McGill University)