OSA in obese teens and preteens: Neurobahavioral effects

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The candidate, Dean W. Beebe, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. This K23 application will establish his independent research career in patient-oriented research into the nature, etiology and reversibility of the neurobehavioral effects of pediatric sleep disorders. This will be accomplished through a five-year training program and related research project. The training program has four specific objectives. First, the candidate will build a working knowledge of the biological processes that underlie normal and abnormal sleep in children and adolescents, with a particular focus on the mechanisms by which sleep pathology might cause neurobehavioral symptoms. This will provide an essential background in the physiology and pathophysiology of sleep, coupled with broad exposure to the diagnosis, measurement, and treatment of pediatric sleep disorders. Second, the candidate will enhance his training in longitudinal and epidemiological research design and analysis, with a particular focus on neurobehavioral outcome research. This will provide the skills needed to competently design and execute independent research in this area. Third, the candidate will improve his scientific writing and grant proposal skills. Finally, he will enhance his knowledge of the ethical conduct of clinical research. This training will take place under the guidance of faculty from a leading pediatric department and nearby medical school. The primary sponsor is an established researcher in the neurobehavioral effects of pediatric illness who has a history of successful career mentorship. Co-sponsors represent subspecialty divisions that are directly relevant to the research and career development plan. The proposed research plan focuses on an understudied population that is at high risk for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA): obese teens and preteens. This plan has been designed with two overarching goals: (1) to enhance scientific understanding of the presence, nature, and reversibility of neurobehavioral symptoms of OSA within this population, and (2) to expand the field's understanding of the effects of sleep pathology, broadly defined, on pediatric neurobehavioral functioning. Capitalizing on the unique combination of resources available to the candidate, this project will provide exceptional training in research linking the biological processes of sleep pathology with their neurobehavioral manifestations, while also generating much needed scientific data on a population that is rapidly growing and is at significant risk for both sleep disorders and poor neurobehavioral outcome.