research
research environment
The University of Toronto and its affiliated institutions have world recognized faculty engaged in research and education the neurobiology of sleep, motor control and central nervous system mechanisms of sedation, consciousness, learning and memory, cognition and circadian rhythms of behavior, alertness and fatigue, as well as in the physiology and pathophysiology of sleep disordered breathing, the cardiovascular consequences of sleep apnea, and interventions to improve sleep across the lifespan. The Program includes researchers and educators from the fields of anaesthesiology, biology, cardiology, cell and systems biology, critical care, dentistry, education, endocrinology, neurology, neuroscience, nursing, obstetrics and gynaecology, oncology, paediatrics, physiology, psychiatry, psychology and respirology.
The Program is fully open to trainees working with any researcher (new, emerging or established) who will incorporate aspects of sleep-wake states and/or biological rhythms into their research programs, so bringing new science, technologies, researchers and trainees into these fields.
environment
existing research groupings:
There is a strong culture and commitment to research, education and clinical activity in the areas covered by this Team Research and Training Program:
Brain Research and Integrated Neurophysiology Platform, Department of Physiology
Cardio-Respiratory Platform, Department of Physiology
Endocrine and Diabetes Platform, Department of Physiology
Reproduction and Development Platform, Department of Physiology
Physiology Group, Department of Cell and Systems BiologyProgram in Neurosciences and Mental Health, Hospital for Sick Children
Paediatric Sleep Program, Hospital for Sick Children
Neuroscience Program; University of Toronto
Center for Biological Timing and Cognition
Centre for Sleep Medicine and Circadian Biology
Centre for the Study of Pain, University of Toronto and affiliated institutions and faculties
points of contact for different research areas:
Any researcher who would like to include details of their research profile on this webpage please contact, sleep.rhythms@utoronto.ca with your files
Richard L. Horner, PhD is the Program Director of the Team Research and Training Program. Dr. Horner is the Canada Research Chair in Sleep and Respiratory Neurobiology, and is Leader of the Program in Sleep and Control of Breathing in the Division of Respirology at the University of Toronto. Dr. Horner also serves as Co-Research Director in the Division of Respirology, and sits on the Research and Innovations Committee of the Department of Physiology and the Research Committee of the Department of Medicine, and the Program Committee of the Centre for Sleep Medicine and Circadian Biology. Dr. Horner has extensive experience and publications in the area of sleep and control of breathing using in-vivo animal models and human investigation, and has extensive teaching experience in the area, including an award-winning course in Sleep and Chronobiology.
Beverley Orser, MD, PhD, is the Canada Research Chair in Anesthesia, and Director of Research in the Department of Anesthesia at Sunnybrook Health Science Centre. Dr. Orser has broad research and clinical expertise in the molecular, cellular and circuitry changes that occur in the brain during general anaesthesia and sedation, as well understanding the amnesic properties of sedative drugs. Dr. Orser’s clinical research focuses on ways to translate basic neuroscience findings into increased medication safety and improved patient care. This knowledge translation involves co-founding the Institute for Safe Medication Practices Canada (http://www.ismp-canada.org/), receiving a Recognition Award from the Institute of Safe Medication Practices of the United States, and publishing accessible articles such as in Scientific American on awareness during anesthesia. With Drs. Horner and Peever, Dr. Orser forms the Executive Group of the Team Research and Training Program.
John Peever, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Departments of Cell and Systems Biology, and Physiology. Dr. Peever holds a CIHR New Investigator Award, an Early Researcher Award and a Ministry of Research and Innovation New Researcher Award. Dr. Peever researches the neurobiology of sleep, motor control and breathing, using in-vitro and >in-vivo animal models with funding from the CIHR and National Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC). Dr. Peever sits on the Program Committee of the Centre for Sleep Medicine and Circadian Biology, and also the Program in Neuroscience at the University of Toronto, and is a member of the Faculty of 1000 Biology.
Denise Belsham, PhD, is the Canada Research Chair in Neuroendocrinology, and a full Professor in the Departments of Physiology, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, and Medicine at the University of Toronto. Dr. Belsham also serves as Graduate Coordinator in the Department of Physiology, and Chairs the Graduate Academic Committee. Dr. Belsham is a member of the Academic Board of the University of Toronto Governing Council. Dr. Belsham’s research focuses on the molecular mechanisms underlying the hypothalamic control of behaviour, including the regulation of circadian clock genes, and the control of orexigenic and other neuropeptide-containing neurons involved in feeding, reproduction and arousal state regulation.
T. Douglas Bradley, MD, is Director of the Centre for Sleep Medicine and Circadian Biology at the University of Toronto, the Cardio-Pulmonary Sleep Disorders Research Centre at the Toronto General Hospital of the University Health Network, and the Sleep Research Laboratory at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute. Dr. Bradley is a full Professor of Medicine, and with Dr. Horner also serves as Co-Research Director in the Division of Respirology, and is a member of the Research Committee of the Department of Medicine. Dr. Bradley’s clinical and research work focuses on the relationship between sleep apnea and cardiovascular diseases, with a particular focus on the pathophysiology and treatment of sleep apnea in patients with heart failure. He has published over 140 papers and book chapters on sleep apnea and related topics.
Robert Casper MD, is a Senior Scientist at the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute at the Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, and is the Camille Dan Family Research Chair in Translational Cell Biology. Dr. Casper is also Medical Director for the Toronto Centre for Advanced Reproductive Technology. Dr. Casper leads research on fertility, endometriosis and stem cells, and also studies the regulation of melatonin. After studying the impact of light wavelengths on melatonin in animal and human subjects, Dr. Casper has developed special glasses for use by night shift workers - the glasses block out the blue range of light and prevent disruptions in biological rhythms. The device ameliorates the depleted melatonin levels experienced during night-time shift work, potentially reducing the risk of cancer, as well as depression and diabetes in shift workers.
John Floras, MD, DPhil, is the Canada Research Chair in Integrative Cardiovascular Biology, Research Director at the University Health Network and Mount Sinai Hospital Division of Cardiology, and Career Investigator of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario. Dr. Floras’s research focuses on human cardiovascular regulation in health and disease, and he has extensive publications in fields central to this Team Research and Training Program. For example, Dr. Floras researches the cardiovascular implications of sleep-related breathing disorders and their treatment, the mechanisms by which night-time home haemodialysis lowers blood pressure, and identification of the cortical sites of sympathetic nervous system activation assessed by functional magnetic resonance imaging.
Paul Frankland, PhD, is the Canada Research Chair in Cognitive Neurobiology, is a Senior Scientist in the Neurosciences and Mental Health Program at the Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute in Toronto, and is an Associate Professor of Physiology. Dr. Frankland’s work focuses on understanding how brains encode, store and maintain memories, especially the memory reorganization processes involving dialogue between the hippocampus and cortex. Overall his laboratory specializes in mouse models and molecular-genetic approaches to cognitive function and dysfunction, with current research also examining the impact of early life experiences on brain development and cognition, including consideration of the role of sleep and biological timing disruptions on these processes.
Sheena Josselyn, PhD, is the Canada Research Chair in Molecular and Cellular Cognition, is a Senior Scientist in the Neurosciences and Mental Health Program at the Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute in Toronto, and is an Associate Professor of Physiology where she also sits on the Graduate Academic Committee. Dr. Josselyn’s research identifies the molecular, cellular and circuit processes that underlie learning and memory using multidisciplinary approaches including genetically-modified mice models, biochemistry, pharmacology and behavioral studies. The aims are to examine the neural substrates of memory and to apply these findings to study potential treatments for people with learning and memory disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease patients who have significant sleep and biological rhythm disturbances.
Joel Levine, PhD, is the Canada Research Chair in Neurogenetics, and Assistant Professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Toronto, Mississauga. Dr. Levine’s research focuses on the genetic basis of social interactions in Drosophila melanogaster, particularly the role of biological clocks within the brain and other tissues in the anticipation and coordination of social interactions. Dr. Levine also studies the interaction of the biological clock with other important aspects of social interaction including pheromones as a means of communication and identification tags for sex and species, a finding that links social organization to speciation and evolution. Dr. Levine has major publications in these areas (Nature, Nature Neuroscience, Current Biology) and his research significantly strengthens the Research and Training Program in the field of neurogenetics and behavior.
Martin Ralph, PhD, is Director of the Centre for Biological Timing and Cognition, University of Toronto, and a full Professor in the Departments of Psychology, and Cell and Systems Biology. The Centre for Biological Timing and Cognition is a unique top-level core facility in Canada with world-class infrastructure for research focussed on the central themes of this Team Research and Training Program. Dr. Ralph’s research focuses on neurobiology and circadian rhythms, including the effects of disrupted biological timing on cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, and clock gene expression in cardiac muscle.
Barry Sessle, MDS, PhD, is the Canada Research Chair in Craniofacial Pain and Sensorimotor Function, a Professor of Dentistry, Physiology and Medicine, and is former Dean of the Faculty of Dentistry at the University of Toronto. Dr Sessle’s research focuses on electromyographic and neurophysiological aspects of orofacial sensory and motor functions including sleep and pain. He has received multiple honours and awards for this work which has been continuously supported by both the Canadian Medical Research Council/CIHR (since 1971) and the NIH (since 1974), with over 270 publications. Recent research contributions to sleep and pain have also been accompanied by knowledge translation via contributions to major books such as the new edition of Principles and Practice of Sleep Medicine and Sleep and Pain.
Robyn Stremler, RN, PhD, is an Assistant Professor at the Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing at the University of Toronto, and an Adjunct Scientist and Research Associate at the Hospital for Sick Children. Dr. Stremler holds a CIHR New Investigator Award, and has received additional recognition for her achievements in academics (Rising Star - Academic, Distinguished Alumni Award, Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, 2008), research (Grace E. Simpson Reeves Award for Excellence in Nursing Research, Hospital for Sick Children, 2008; Dorothy M. Pringle Award for Excellence in Nursing Research, 2008) and teaching (Faculty of Nursing, 2004). Dr.Stremler’s research focuses on sleep disturbance and fatigue in expectant and new families, and improved sleep for hospitalized children and their parents.
Richard Stephenson, PhD, whose research focuses on the function of sleep and the bioenergetic aspects of sleep deprivation and restriction.
Evelyn Lambe, PhD, Canada Research Chair in Developmental Cortical Physiology, whose research focuses on developmental changes in thalamo-cortical circuitry.
Brian Murray, MD, Director of Clinical Neurophysiology at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, whose research encompasses neurological aspects of sleep medicine.
Colin Shapiro, MB, PhD, Senior Scientist at the Toronto Western Hospital Research Institute with interests in sleep disorders and psychiatry.
Indra Narang, MD, Director of the Sleep Medicine Program at the Hospital for Sick Children, who researches sleep-disordered breathing in infants before and after medications.
Georg Bjarnason MD, senior scientist in clinical integrative biology at the Odette Cancer Research Program of Sunnybrook Hospital Research Institute in Toronto, with research focussing on the clinical applications of chronobiology and chronopharmacology in oncology.
facilities
The research infrastructure and faculty committed to this Team Research and Training Program are all located within the city of Toronto and its surrounding areas..
The Team Research and Training Program will bring new science, technologies, researchers and trainees into the field via true collaborative projects involving two (or more) laboratories. The trainees will act as the interface and “glue” between laboratories, and they will focus on projects related to one or more of the core aims of the Program, i.e., sleep-wake states and behavior, cognition, learning and memory, consciousness, mechanisms of sedation and biological rhythms in health and disease.
Individual Research Laboratories: Many of the researchers hold Canada Research Chairs. The CRC funds also attract funds from Canada Foundation for Innovation and Ontario Research Fund which has bestowed each laboratory with state-of-the-art equipment and facilities for use by the trainees and the collaborative teams in this Program.
Centre for Biological Timing and Cognition:The $26,000,000 Centre for Biological Timing and Cognition offers outstanding state-of-the-art infrastructure for research spanning molecular mechanisms in model systems to cognitive human investigation, and is fully available for trainees and investigators in the Program. This infrastructure importantly supplements any individual investigators laboratory, and offers new directions and new capacity for research. The Centre is located at the heart of the main downtown campus of the University of Toronto and close to the affiliated teaching hospitals and research institutes. A brochure for the Centre for Biological Timing and Cognition is available. Available core facilities and techniques include:
Human Cognition and Perception Core: Equipped with computerized behavioural testing suites, capacity for high density (128 channel) electroencephalography and event-related potential recordings, remote eye-tracking devices and a top of the line realistic driving simulator. For details and pictures see: http://human.cbtc.utoronto.ca/index.php
Animal Behavioural Testing Core: Acoustic startle systems (8 stations), place preference testing (2 stations), elevated plus maze, eight arm radial maze, open field activity system (4 stations), shuttle avoidance system with shock (8 stations), self-administration and self-stimulation systems (4 stations each), and intracranial self stimulation testing areas for studies of reward (6 stations).
Long-Term Animal Monitoring and Recording Systems: Infrastructure includes systems for monitoring 96 subjects at a time, for core body temperature, heart rate, gross motor activity, running wheel turns, drinking/licking frequency and feeding behavior. A total of 480 channels are available for activity monitoring and 40 stainless steel isolation units are available for independent control of the light-dark cycle for long-term circadian studies.
Dedicated Surgical Suites: Infrastructure includes several digital stereotaxic rigs and anesthesia stations, both portable and stationary, for acute and chronic surgeries.
Microdialysis Platforms: Eight stand-alone portable microdialysis stations from Bioanalytical Systems Inc, including facilities for automated drug infusions.
Live Cell Imaging and Electrophysiology Core: Equipped with facilities for confocal imaging, a mix of upright and inverted microscopes for live cell imaging, micromanipulators for patch clamp recordings and in-vitro brain slice electrophysiology, and laser capture micro-dissection. In-vivo electrochemistry via chronoamperometry and voltametry is also available.
Molecular Core: Equipped with a mass spectrometer, facilities for gene expression analysis, protein fractionation and characterization, and high performance liquid chromatography. The Molecular Core is also equipped with a microplate reader, spectrophotometer, centrifuges, an electroporator, thermal cyclers and a bioinformatics platform.
Histology Core: Equipped with a motorized cryostat, motorized microtome, modular tissue embedding station, vibrating blade microtome and programmable slide stainer and coverslipper.
Other Core Laboratory Equipment: Multi-gas incubators, refrigerated orbital shaker, general refrigeration, -80oC freezers, -20 oC freezers, glassware washers and sterilizers.
Pathogen-Free Animal Colony: The dedicated in-house animal facility includes automated watering and HEPA-filtered water systems, housing for 864 mouse cages and 324 rat cages, cage and rack washers, sterilizers and six animal change stations. 3