This week we received the good news that Dr. Marishka Brown has been appointed Director of the National Center on Sleep Disorder Research (NCSDR). She succeeds Dr. Michael Twery who held this position and supported our work for the past 15 years. Dr. Brown joined the NCSDR in 2016 and took on a diverse portfolio of research on sleep medicine and sleep disorders. She initiated new research programs on relationships between sleep and circadian abnormalities and many health problems such as heart and lung diseases, immune system disorders, child development, cognitive disorders, and even the microbiome. A more recent focus of her attention has been health disparities and women’s health.
Dr. Brown received her PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Maryland and did postdoctoral work in the Center for Sleep and Circadian Neurobiology at the University of Pennsylvania. She began her career at the NIH as a AAAS Science and Technology Policy fellow in the Office of the Director. We in the SRS are fortunate and pleased that she found her way to the NCSDR. Welcome Dr. Brown, we look forward to working with you to advance knowledge of sleep and circadian rhythms and their roles in health and disease.
Dr. Brown sends our membership the following message:
Dear SRS members,
As the new Director of NCSDR, I look forward to working with the SRS, and all of our stakeholders. The work we do together moves the science forward with innovative discoveries. The basic understanding of sleep and circadian biology is foundational to the recognition that sleep and circadian biology are integral to optimal health, and provides exciting new avenues for disease risk management.
Marishka
