Reut Gruber, PhD, is a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at McGill University, as well as the Director of the Attention, Behaviour and Sleep Laboratory at the Douglas Research Centre, and Psychologist at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute.
She joined the Azrieli Centre for Autism Research (ACAR) in 2022.
What are your research goals?
I am interested in better understanding the interplay between sleep and neurodevelopmental conditions, and use this understanding to develop interventions to help improve the sleep and daytime functioning of individuals with neurodevelopmental conditions.
ACAR recently announced the recipients of 2022 McGill-ZNZ Neuroscience Partnership Grant, of which you are a recipient.
Can you tell us more about your collaboration with Reto Huber, PhD, ZNZ?
Although the association between sleep and cognitive functioning in typically developing youth is well documented, there is little information regarding the association between sleep and cognitive functioning in autistic youth.
Together, our aim is to collect data supporting the concept that daytime cognitive functioning in autistic youth correlates with modifiable sleep EEG measures.
The proposed approach will integrate accrued knowledge, experience and expertise regarding sleep interventions (lab and school-based) for pediatric populations, and in studying sleep – cognition relationships in typically-developing and autistic adolescents. This requires our complementary expertise and therefore is not possible without a joint effort and continuing collaboration between the partner laboratories.
Our continued joint collaborative work is expected to open new, previously unattainable horizons in our ability to optimize cognitive functioning of autistic youth through sleep interventions.
Why did you choose to become a part of ACAR?
I hope to be part of the excellent network of people that contribute to clinical care, research and education.
Biography
Reut Gruber, PhD, is a Full Professor within the Department of Psychiatry at McGill University, as well as Director of the Attention, Behavior and Sleep Lab at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute/McGill University.
She is a certified Diplomate of the American Academy of Cognitive Therapy (ACT), a licensed psychologist and an expert in pediatric sleep. She is a clinical scientist, educator, and practitioner and has assumed a variety of leadership roles in professional organizations and societies at both national and international levels.
Her research program aims to 1) improve the understanding of the interplay between sleep, cognition and mental health in children and adolescents; and, 2) translate the knowledge gained from her research to into evidence-based interventions that use sleep improvement as a means to promote youth mental and cognitive health.
Awards and Recognitions
Gruber has obtained multiple career awards and grants from provincial and federal funding agencies in Canada.
In recognition of her contributions she was awarded multiple awards including the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) Award for Distinguished Contributions to Public or Community Service in Canada; Woman of Distinction Award (Public Services) by the Women's Y Foundation.
2022 Senior Researcher Award, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Annual Meeting, USA
2020 Health Promoting Schools Champion Award, Health Promoting Physical Health Education Canada Riverside School Board and Lester B School Board wins the award in recognition of the excellence and innovation of our school-based sleep health promotion programs
2019 Woman of Distinction Award (Public Services), Women's Y Foundation, Montreal, QC, Canada
2018 Honorable Mention winner, World Sleep Society, Vancouver, BC, Canada
2018 Senior Researcher Award, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Annual Meeting, USA
2016 Senior Researcher Award, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Annual Meeting, USA
2012 Canadian Psychological Association Award for Distinguished Contributions to Public or Community Service, Canada
2003-2005 Research Award, Montreal Children's Hospital Research, Montreal, QC, Canada
2003 Postdoctoral Fellowship, Group de Recherche sur l'Inadaption Psychosociale chez l'Enfant (GRIP), University of Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada
2000-2002 Research Training Award, National Institute of Health (NIH), Bethesda, USA
Research Areas
Sleep; Cognition; Circadian; Mental Health; Academic Performance; Development; Children; Adolescents
List of Selected Publications
Gruber, R., Somerville, G , Panaitescu Saha S. (In Press) Sleep Duration, But Not Insomnia Symptoms, Is Associated With Poor Executive Functions In Adolescents. Sleep Medicine Gruber, R., Scholes, S, Bertone, A., McKinney A., Orlowski, J., Wise M, (2022). Sleep and Daytime Behavior in Individuals with Christianson Syndrome Sleep Medicine, 89 (1), 55-59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleep.2021.11.007
Gruber, R., Gauthier-Gagne G, Voutou+, D.S., Somerville, G, Saha S. (2021) Pre-Pandemic Sleep Behavior And Adolescents’ Stress During Covid-19: A Prospective Longitudinal Study. Child and adolescent psychiatry and mental health, 15(1), 43. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13034-021-00399-x.
Gruber, R., Saha, S., Somerville, G., Boursier, J., & Wise, M. S. (2020). The impact of COVID-19 related school shutdown on sleep in adolescents: a natural experiment. Sleep medicine, 76, 33–35. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleep.2020.09.015
*Scholes, S., *Santisteban, J. A., *Zhang, Y., Bertone, A., & Gruber, R. (2020). Modulation of Slow-Wave Sleep: Implications for Psychiatry. Current psychiatry reports, 22(10), 52. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-020-01175-y
*Dimakos, J., +Gauthier-Gagné, G., *Lin, L., *Scholes, S., Gruber, R. (2021). The Associations Between Sleep and Externalizing and Internalizing Problems in Children and Adolescents with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Empirical Findings, Clinical Implications and Future Research Directions. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chc.2020.08.001
*Lin, L., Somerville, G., Boursier, J., *Santisteban, J. A., & Gruber, R. (2020). Sleep Duration Is Associated with Academic Achievement of Adolescent Girls in Mathematics. Nature and science of sleep, 12, 173–182. https://doi.org/10.2147/NSS.S237267
Gruber, R., Somerville, G., & *Santisteban, J.A. (2020). Using Parental Report to Identify Children at Risk for Poor Sleep and Daytime Problems. Behavioral sleep medicine, 18(4), 460–476. https://doi.org/10.1080/15402002.2019.1613236
Gruber, R., Somerville, G., & Finn, C. (2019). School-based sleep health education in Canada. Sleep medicine, 56, 9–15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleep.2019.01.037
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