My research program is dedicated to understanding and advancing sleep health equity in children and adolescents. I utilize a socio-ecological model to examine how sleep outcomes emerge from interactions across individual, family, community, and healthcare system contexts. This framework allows me to move beyond viewing sleep problems as isolated issues, recognizing them as products of broader structural conditions.
I am developing a novel social ecological model that positions the medical system as a key factor influencing pediatric sleep health.
Environmental exposures (e.g., air pollution, noise, and proximity to hazardous waste sites) affect sleep. Little is known about the effects at the population level, and even less is known about the impacts on children.
My work in this area aims to clarify how aspects of sleep health contributes to emotional and cognitive functioning in at-risk youth, with implications for early intervention.
It is important to ensure we are conceptualizing sleep health appropriately. A current endeavor seeks to validate the addition of dreaming as an additional domain of sleep health (as defined by the RUSATED framework).
Beginning with the development of a novel measure of sleep health literacy, I continue to ensure relevance and validity of existing sleep measures in child/young adult populations.
I have become increasingly focused on how caregiver responses, cultural beliefs, and early experiences with distressing dreams influence the persistence of nightmares across the lifespan.
My long-term goal is to establish a research program that moves beyond simply documenting sleep health disparities. I aim to actively dismantle the systems that create them, translating findings into more equitable and accessible care for underserved youth. This involves not only identifying problems but also developing and implementing innovative, context-specific solutions.
