Strategic Research Grant: Sleep Health Disparities Research

Strategic Research Grant: Sleep Health Disparities Research

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: American Academy Of Sleep Medicine Foundation
Amount: US $50,000 - US $250,000
Last Updated: August 03, 2025

Summary

The Strategic Research Grant for Sleep Health Disparities Research, offered by the AASM Foundation, aims to address significant gaps in knowledge related to sleep disorders among disadvantaged populations in the U.S. This initiative focuses on enhancing screening, diagnosis, and treatment effectiveness, while promoting innovative interventions tailored to culturally diverse groups. The grant supports impactful research that seeks to mitigate sleep health disparities, ultimately improving health outcomes for racial/ethnic minorities, socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals, and other underserved communities.

Overview

Strategic Research Grant 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. Sleep Health Disparities Research This AASM Foundation research grant is supported by AASM Foundation general funds. This is a focused request for applications (RFA) open to sleep health disparities research projects among disadvantaged populations in the United States: racial/ethnic minorities, socioeconomically disadvantaged populations, underserved rural populations, and sexual and gender minority populations. It is known that sleep disturbances and deficiencies contribute to poor health and are linked to multiple chronic health problems, mental wellbeing, safety, and work productivity. Additionally, sleep disturbances deficiencies, and disorders affect disadvantaged populations, which lead to disproportionate sleep health disparities in the United States (US) among Blacks/African Americans, Hispanics/Latinos, American Indians/Alaska Natives, Asians, Native Hawaiians, and Other Pacific Islanders, socioeconomically disadvantaged populations, underserved rural populations, and sexual and gender minority populations. In an effort to dismantle, reduce or eliminate sleep health disparities in the US and equitably provide optimal, patient-centered, cost-effective diagnosis and care for disadvantaged populations with sleep disorders, the AASM Foundation will support sleep health disparities sleep research through the Strategic Research Grant focused on these research domains: Screening, Diagnosis and Treatment of Sleep Disorders:There is a need to increase access and effectiveness of sleep disorder screening and sleep healthcare services among disadvantaged groups across the lifespan, including pediatric populations. Research topics that fall under screening, diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders include, but are not limited to:Developing approaches to promote screening of poor sleep and sleep disorders among disadvantaged populations in various settings. Projects that expand access to sleep disorder diagnosis for underrepresented communities. Projects that increase access to treatment and improve outcomes of sleep disorders among disadvantaged patients.Development and Evaluation of Interventions:There is a need to develop and evaluate innovative, multi-level (patient, provider, health system) interventions that are relevant, culturally acceptable, sustainable, and scalable to targeted disadvantaged groups across the lifespan, including pediatric populations. Research topics that fall under interventions to address sleep health disparities include, but are not limited to:Preventive sleep medicine interventions that target disadvantaged populations early in the life course. Interventions designed to improve sleep health awareness in disadvantaged populations. Adapt and develop evidence-based, culturally appropriate interventions across the life course for disadvantaged populations. Evaluate existing sleep health and sleep disorders interventions and their economic impact, benefits/harms and/or the values and preferences of these interventions for disadvantaged populations. Terms Period of Performance: Category I: 1-3 yearsCategory II: 1-2 yearsCategory III: Up to 1 yearAmount of Grant: Category I: Up to $250,000Category II: Up to $100,000Category III: Up to $50,000 The funds can be used for research expenses such as salary support (commensurate with current stipends or salaries), supplies, participant costs and institutional overhead. There are no restrictions on the distribution of expenses, however, indirect costs are capped at 8%. The grant is executed as a contract between the AASM Foundation and the grantee’s institution.

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. Proposals must use US populations.The following individuals are eligible to apply:Sleep scientists with a master’s level degree or higher are eligible to apply. Individuals may apply for multiple AASM Foundation grants, however, the same proposal (i.e., projects with budgetary and scientific overlap) may not be submitted for multiple requests for applications in a given cycle. Additionally, if an individual submits more than one application in a given Career Development Grant cycle, the AASM Foundation will only approve funding one grant should multiple proposals submitted by the applicant receive a competitive score. Individuals who are the Principal Investigator on an open AASM Foundation research grant at the time of the application deadline are eligible to apply if they can demonstrate that there is no budgetary or scientific overlap between their open grant and the new project they are applying for funding. If there is budgetary and/or scientific overlap between projects, the applicant must indicate their plan to close their open grant in the event their new application is selected for funding (e.g., relinquish the current grant or complete the current grant to start the new grant). International individuals who meet all the eligibility criteria are eligible to apply; however, payment of grant funds must be accepted by the institution in US dollars.

Ineligibility

Proposals that use populations outside of the US will not be considered.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. Individuals who are seeking funding from AASM Foundation research grants to support ongoing projects that are currently funded by another granting body or supplement ongoing work (e.g., enrolling addiitonal subjects into an ongoing trial) 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.