Strategic Research Grant: REM Sleep Behavior Disorder Research

The Strategic Research Grant from the AASM Foundation aims to enhance patient-centered diagnosis and treatment for sleep disorders. With a focus on critical research gaps in clinical practice guidelines, it supports high-impact projects that promote effective dissemination of evidence-based practices. Applicants are encouraged to address health equity and propose innovative solutions in sleep medicine, particularly in areas such as OSA management, treatment adherence, and personalized care strategies.

The AASM Foundation is committed to improving patient-centered diagnosis and care for all people with sleep disorders. To ensure that there is a continued advancement in effective diagnosis and care of people with sleep disorders, the AASM Foundation provides research funding through the Strategic Research Grant. This grant is investigator-initiated and supports high-impact research projects aimed at addressing gaps in knowledge that impact the ability to provide optimal, patient-centered, cost-effective diagnosis and care for people with sleep disorders.
Research Focus
AASM Clinical Practice Guidelines: Research Gaps & Dissemination and Implementation
The following recently published practice guidelines are listed as examples of topics that are considered responsive:
Treatment of central disorders of hypersomnolence: an American Academy of Sleep Medicine clinical practice guideline and accompanying Treatment of central disorders of hypersomnolence: an American Academy of Sleep Medicine systematic review, meta-analysis, and GRADE assessmentThis topic is co-sponsored by the Hypersomnia Foundation, Wake Up Narcolepsy and the AASM FoundationTreatment of restless legs syndrome and periodic limb movement disorder: an American Academy of Sleep Medicine clinical practice guideline and accompanying Treatment of restless legs syndrome and periodic limb movement disorder: an American Academy of Sleep Medicine systematic review, meta-analysis, and GRADE assessment (January 2025)
Considering health equity is important for all research focus areas. We encourage applicants to consider factors that increase sleep healthcare equity, such as access to services, social factors, and using an appropriately inclusive study population.
AASM Strategic Plan Goals
Open to projects that directly advance the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) Strategic Plan Goals: Sleep Medicine Awareness, Practice Success, and Technology Implementation.
Projects that use, study, or expand AASM sleep education resources, AASM Sleep is Good Medicine campaign, AASM quality measures, #sleeptechnology, AASM guidance documents, or results from AASM Foundation-funded projects will be given priority.
Proposals that fit into one of the goals are considered responsive. The bulleted lists under each goal are listed as examples.
Obstuructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) Research Gaps
Open to projects that address known research gaps in the diagnosis and/or management of OSA. There have been several publications that have noted the limitations, challenges, and gaps in research with diagnosing and treating OSA, examples of which include the 2022 Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Technology Assessment on positive airway pressure therapy and the 2021 journal SLEEP publication on apnea-hypopnea index. Projects that address these gaps must advance the fields of sleep medicine and population sleep health. Only applications that address known research gaps in the diagnosis and/or treatment of OSA will be considered responsive.
Priority will be given to projects that propose following outcomes for 6 months or longer. Examples of research topics of interest are provided below.
Identifying patient-important outcomes and understanding how they are impacted with treatment (e.g., sleepiness, quality of life).Exploring novel ways to characterize OSA (e.g., new/alternative measures, new framework combining multiple measures). Building knowledge about personalized OSA care through endotyping, phenotyping, and biomarkers (e.g., identifying patients at most risk of clinically important OSA outcomes).Understanding patient preferences and satisfaction with different OSA treatment options.Understanding the short-term and long-term impact on outcomes of newer treatments for OSA (e.g. devices, medications, lifestyle changes, surgery).Understanding OSA treatment adherence (e.g., barrier to adherence, how adherence relates to outcomes, strategies to address barriers, predictors of adherence to treatment).Comparative effectiveness research, especially in special populations (e.g., pediatrics, women, older adults, people with comorbidities), of: Alternate metrics for diagnosis or characterization of OSA severity Interventions and delivery methods to treat OSA.Interventions (e.g., technology, behavioral, psychological, pharmacologic) to improve OSA treatment adherence.
Considering health equity is important for all research focus areas. We encourage applicants to consider factors that increase sleep healthcare equity, such as access to services, social factors, and using an appropriately inclusive study population.

Eligibility

The following individuals are eligible to apply:Sleep scientists with a master’s level degree (MA, MS, MSN, MPH, or equivalent) or higher (MD, DO, DDS, DMD, DNP, DNSc, PharmD, PhD, or equivalent) are eligible to apply.International applicants, who meet all the eligibility criteria and whose sponsoring organization can accept the payment of grant funds in U.S. dollars, are eligible to apply.

Ineligibility

The following individuals are not eligible to apply:Individuals who have a financial conflict of interest or have the potential to incur significant financial benefit from the proposed work and beyond the work itself are not eligible to apply.
Current AASM and AASM Foundation Board of Directors members are not eligible to apply and cannot be listed as a PI, co-PI, key personnel, mentor (paid or unpaid) or paid consultant for one year after their term ends.Individuals and organizations located in, or operating from, countries subject to U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctions are not eligible to receive AASM Foundation funding.