GET [Balti]MORE SLEEP

Julia Durmer is a rising senior majoring in Human Health and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. She was awarded a Summer 2018 Conference Grant which she used to attend the SLEEP Conference.

Between June 2^nd and June 6^th I was in Baltimore, Maryland, attending and presenting research at the 2018 Associated Professional Sleep Societies’ (APSS) annual meeting, which is referred to as SLEEP. SLEEP is an annual scientific and clinical conference for sleep medicine physicians and sleep and circadian researchers, featuring lectures and an exhibit hall. During my time in Baltimore, I had the pleasure of presenting my research two times, once in a poster exposition and a second time when I was invited to take part in a symposium on the topic of sleep duration’s impact on cardiovascular and metabolic health. I gave a talk on my study, entitled “The Association Between Sleep Duration and Excess Heart Age Among U.S. Adults.” What made this meeting extra special was that I got to attend SLEEP with my father, a long-time sleep researcher and clinician. 

This experience has helped me network with other passionate researchers, and I have made many new friends. Now that I have had the chance to get my name out there, people have been approaching me to learn more about who I am as a researcher and as an Emory student. I have had several prominent figures in the sleep research field give me advice on the next steps in my career and offer themselves as personal mentors. I have received feedback on my research, and subsequently have many new ideas for how this paper can spur new studies. I learned so much. I had dinner and lunch with members of the Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) Foundation, and also attended their two-hour symposium on RLS. I learned about diversity in sleep research, how to make the most of existing data sets, and much more information regarding the field of sleep. The only challenge I experienced at the meeting was that sometimes sitting in lectures all day long can get boring and exhausting. Thankfully, I wore very comfortable shoes and tried my best to get good sleep.

What I found surprising at the conference was the unyielding encouragement and excitement I encountered throughout my time there. Members of the sleep research community have a unique fire within them that I find contagious. I hypothesize that the sleep research community remains excited about their work because sleep has been getting more interest from the public over recent years, which translates to more opportunities for funding, generating new, ever-more exciting publications. I was also surprised by how much attention my research received during and following the conference. I had three phone interviews from different media outlets (Washington Times, Market Watch) while in Baltimore, and since then have come across more than 30 articles about my research from all over the world. All-in-all, this experience was one that will shape my career and influence future schooling plans. I plan to stay in contact with the people I met while at the conference, and they are very eager to help me in any way they can. The sleep research community is much like a giant family, rooting each other on and doing their best to encourage new minds to continue and better their field.

Visit the Undergraduate Research Programs website to learn more about applying for Conference Grants.