NAPS Consortium Site Spotlight: Washington University

Oct 31

Written By Kaleidoscope Management Group

Washington University School of Medicine has 1,700 faculty physicians who are also the medical staff of Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children’s hospitals. The School of Medicine is a leader in medical research, teaching and patient care, consistently ranking among the top medical schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report.

Washington University is represented by Principal NAPS Investigator Dr. Yo-El Ju. Washington University's Neurology Department's Faculty has a robust emphasis on sleep research, including its Center on Biological Rhythms and Sleep (COBRAS). As Dr. David Holtzman—Barbara Burton and Reuben M. Morris III Distinguished Professor, scientific director of the Hope Center for Neurological Disorders, and associate director of the Charles F. and Joanne Knight Alzheimer Disease Research Center (ADRC)—describes it: “We probably have more people working on the intersection between sleep and neurodegenerative disease than any other research institution."

Read more about Washington University's neurology team.

Our Team

Yo-El Ju, MD

Co-Principal Investigator

My patients inspired me to start NAPS. I am a neurologist and sleep medicine physician, and my patients with RBD ask if there is any treatment available to decrease their risk of developing dementia or Parkinson disease.

I was inspired to organize an effort to band together with colleagues at several North American institutions to come up with an answer to this question. This effort grew into the NAPS Consortium. Our collective goal is to be able to tell our patients with RBD that there is an effective treatment to prevent dementia or Parkinson disease.

Albert (Gus) Davis, MD, PhD

Sub-Investigator & Biomarker Core Co-Leader

I think the most interesting and important thing about NAPS is how so many disciplines have come together to address a shared mission. The collaboration between clinical neurologists with expertise in sleep and movement disorders, neuropsychologists, radiologists, geneticists, basic scientists, and statisticians is truly remarkable and represents a powerful approach to address a complex disorder.

The NAPS consortium offers a unique opportunity to learn from individuals with RBD in order to better understand risk factors for the development and progression of Parkinson disease and related disorders. This understanding will be critical in the future to measure the effectiveness of novel treatments designed to slow and stop disease progression.

Kristina Hedtkamp

Polysomnographic Technologist

We have an amazing NAPS team – they are caring, dedicated and motivated about the research we are doing – I could not ask for a better team.

I love meeting the participants. They all have a unique story regarding how they are affected by RBD and their hopes for how this research will help others even if it does not help them. They give me the motivation and the drive to work as hard as I can on NAPS research. To know this research could someday lead to better treatment or even a cure for RBD, Parkinson’s or related disorders makes my heart happy.

Jennifer McLeland, PhD

Deputy Director

NAPS combines my interest in sleep medicine and clinical research. I am passionate about NAPS because of our shared mission and our NAPS community. Since NAPS is a longitudinal study, I’ve had the amazing opportunity to get to know our participants and their families during annual assessments. I look forward to seeing each of our participants and they continue to motivate me.

Our NAPS team is highly collaborative, hardworking, supportive, and fun. I feel incredibly lucky for the opportunity to provide support to our NAPS research teams and play a small part in helping with this research.

Leah Taylor

Research Program Coordinator

The impact NAPS will have in the future to help people with neurological diseases boggles my mind. I believe NAPS will play a role in finding a cure for diseases like Parkinson’s. Our team is made up of a group of people with an unbelievable amount of talent, experience, knowledge, curiosity, compassion, and dedication.

Maggie Zangrilli

Lead Research Coordinator

As a sleep patient myself, I look forward to any progression in areas where sleep disorders may be indicators of future diagnoses and anything that can be done to stop these progressions. The more that I learned about the NAPS project, the more I wanted to be a part of it. Working longitudinally with such an amazing cohort of participants really made me excited about getting to know participants on such a level.

Ellen Fischbach

Project Manager

I have been working in clinical research for over 25 years providing project management, regulatory compliance, and budgetary oversight. The NAPS Consortium also provides me with a real sense of purpose, as I get to work on a study that follows individuals with RBD who may be at an increased risk of Parkinson’s disease, dementia with Lewy bodies, and multiple system atrophy.

2022 at a Glance

2022 brought many opportunities for Washington University to represent NAPS at various events and conferences.

International REM Sleep Behavior Study Group Meeting | Ravenna, Italy (March 2022)

*In honor of World Sleep Day, RBD study group member Dr. Luca Ratti, based in Venice, hosted a sleep/dreams performance art event at the* *@cortedellarte* *gallery. Artist* *@nathalierodach* *recorded guests’ dream stories and plans to make an audio art piece in the near future.*
*Pictured: (1) Dr. Yo-El Ju & Dr. Luca Ratti, (2) the dream study, and (3) artist Nathalie Rodach*

SLEEP 2022 | Charlotte, NC (June 2022)

NAPS Co-Investigator, Dr. Yo-El Ju, gave an invited lecture on "Sleep and Neurodegeneration," alongside other clinical researchers and physicians dedicated to studying sleep and the brain at SLEEP 2022. RBD was a large part of her discussion and the research she shared ignited audience interest in the NAPS Consortium.

*Pictured L-R: Jon Elliott (OHSU), Yo-El Ju (@washu), Carlos Schenck (@umntwincities), and Joyce Lee-Iannotti (@banner_health*).

Outlook Magazine Feature (Summer 2022)

In 2009, @washu was the first to reveal the intricate link between fragmented sleep and dementia in a landmark study. The Summer issue of Outlook Magazine discusses this ground-breaking research and the importance of deep sleep to keep our brains intact. The Center on Biological Rhythms and Sleep (COBRAS, @WashUCobras) brings together scientists at WashU to advance research in how sleep affects neurodegeneration and other aspects of human health.

European Sleep Research Society Congress | Athens, Greece (September 2022)

*NAPS principal investigator, Dr. Yo-El Ju;* *@washu*, presented initial results from the first 361 participants enrolled in the NAPS Consortium at the European Sleep Research Society Congress in Athens, Greece. RBD and the link between sleep and neurodegenerative disease in general was heavily featured during the meeting, including a lecture by NAPS co-investigator, Dr. Miranda Lim; *@ohsunews, and a presentation of brain scan data from individuals with RBD by fellow NAPS principal investigator, Dr. Brad Boeve;* *@mayoclinic*.

⠀ Our team is committed to further the NAPS study's mission to support clinical care, advance discovery, promote education, and engage our community in order to improve the quality of life and care of individuals living with RBD. Learn more about our promise. ⠀

Kaleidoscope Management Group