The Sleep Research Network (SRN) is committed to creating a network that will allow sleep researchers to work together more efficiently and effectively. While other clinical areas, such as asthma and heart failure, have benefited from large multi-site clinical research networks, the creation and maintenance of such networks can be especially difficult without a central organizing effort. As NIH funding continues to become increasingly competitive and selective, the SRN hopes to help researchers maximize the likelihood of their application funding rates.
To support this network creation, the SRN is targeting several core topics:
- One area of focus for the SRN is to contact candidate sites and learn about their Electronic Health Record (EHR) capabilities. The SRN is exploring how EHR data can be leveraged to create a network. For example, can a site’s EHR be queried to identify potentially eligible patients for a specific research study? By answering these questions, the SRN hopes to facilitate the creation of an efficient network that will enable researchers to access a wider pool of potential participants for their studies.
- The SRN has also engaged with actively funded research networks to explore how sleep research studies can be included in their portfolio. By partnering with these networks, the SRN can provide investigators with resources and infrastructure that will ease their development of research studies. For example, the Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery (RECOVER) network for COVID-19 research could be used to conduct studies on the impact of COVID-19 on sleep. This will help to further our understanding of the interaction between sleep and COVID-19 and could potentially lead to the development of new treatments or interventions.
- In addition, the SRN Task Force can assist by providing letters of support and aid in identifying and networking with sites when setting up multi-site studies. This will help to ensure that researchers have access to the resources and infrastructure they need to conduct their studies effectively. With the SRN, researchers will have access to a well-defined infrastructure created by researchers for researchers.
In conclusion, the SRN is committed to creating a network that will allow sleep researchers to work together more efficiently and effectively. By focusing on data harmonization, EHR capabilities, and partnerships with other research networks, the SRN hopes to facilitate the creation of an efficient network that will enable researchers to access a wide pool of potential participants for their studies. With the assistance of the SRN Task Force, researchers will have access to the resources and infrastructure they need to conduct their studies effectively, which will help to further our understanding of sleep and its impact on health.
If you are interested in learning more about the SRN, please visit the SRN page on the Sleep Research Society (SRS) website to explore becoming more involved with the SRS and SRN. You can apply for membership with the SRS to gain access to training, education, advocacy, networking, and more. To learn more about the SRN specifically, please contact Melissa McKinzie at coordinator@srsnet.org.
