Research Projects
St-Onge M-P
Lifestyle Patterns and Glycemic Control
NCT05224986
Variability in lifestyle behaviors has been associated with adverse health, specifically poor glucose control. The goal of the proposed study is to evaluate the feasibility and initial efficacy of stabilizing lifestyle behaviors to improve glucose control and body composition in patients with pre-diabetes. The investigator proposes that following stable lifestyle behaviors will improve patients' glucose control, body composition, and liver fat. The results from this study has the potential to translate into clinical practice and patient care.
Contact: For additional details, contact Lena Navarro at lrn2116@cumc.columbia.edu.
Circadian Misalignment and Energy Balance (CM)
NCT03663530
Preliminary findings from our lab suggest that circadian misalignment, occurring when meals and sleep are mistimed from one another, alters resting state neuronal processing in areas relevant to food reward and interoception; supporting a role of sleep and meal misalignment, on energy balance regulation. No study has been done to disentangle the effects of sleep and meal timing on body weight regulation, independent of sleep duration. This study will provide information to guide messaging related to timing of meals and sleep that can be translated to individuals whose sleep follows unconventional times, such as shift workers and those with jetlag and social jetlag.
Contact: For additional details, contact Lena Navarro at lrn2116@cuimc.columbia.edu.
Impact of Yo-Yo Sleep on Cardiometabolic Health
NCT05880758
Many U.S. adults suffer from insufficient nightly sleep, which can lead to adverse cardiometabolic effects and weight gain. Weekday sleep deprivation often prompts longer weekend sleep, altering their sleep midpoint and potentially worsening health outcomes. Therefore, the goal of the current investigation is to evaluate the impact of repeated intermittent short sleep, with short sleep maintained 5 days/week followed by 2 days of recovery sleep, relative to daily adequate sleep, on energy balance and cardiometabolic risk markers. A secondary goal of this research is to determine if maintaining a constant sleep timing while undergoing intermittent short sleep, leads to better outcomes than intermittent short sleep in conjunction with shifts in sleep times.
Contact: For additional details, contact Greiby Mercedes at gdm2130@cumc.columbia.edu.
Shriasu-Hiza M
Circadian regulation of physiological functions
The Shirasu- Hiza lab published MIRA-funded results support the hypothesis that a key function of sleep is defense against oxidative stress and their more recent preliminary data suggest that chronic short sleep causes sensitivity to oxidative stress due to underlying changes in metabolism. This first project will further investigate this sensitivity to oxidative stress due to chronic short sleep in Drosophila. The second project is based on the lab’s NIGMS-funded research that identified a circadian-regulated mechanism of host tolerance against B. cepacia infection. The Stimulator of Interferon Genes (STING) pathway was also found to increase tolerance against B. cepacia infection. This second project will investigate whether STING’s roles in immunity and metabolism intersect during infection
Contact: For additional details, contact Mimi Shirasu-Hiza at ms4095@cumc.columbia.edu.
Circadian-Regulated Aging Physiologies
This project will test the hypothesis that TRF enhances circadian clocks in multiple tissues that promote anti-aging health benefits. Specifically, we will 1) investigate the impact of Time-Restricted Feeding on different circadian clocks (both peripheral and central), as well as examining clock-to-clock communication; 2) investigate TRF health benefits for the immune system and brain and identify tissue-specific clock(s) required for diverse TRF health benefits; 3) investigate the molecular mechanism(s) underlying autophagy-independent TRF-induced changes in lipid metabolism (storage and usage).
Contact: For additional details, contact Mimi Shirasu-Hiza at ms4095@cumc.columbia.edu.
Shechter A
Psychological symptoms in healthcare workers following the COVID-19 pandemic and relationship to long-term cardiovascular risk
NIH/NHLBI; 5R01HL157341-03
This study aims to investigate the long-term psychological impacts on emergency department healthcare workers (HCWs) following the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City, a significant early epicenter. Initial surveys indicate high rates of acute stress, anxiety, and insomnia among HCWs. The study will examine the prevalence and predictors of sustained psychological symptoms such as PTSD and insomnia, and their potential link to cardiovascular health over three years. Ultimately, this research seeks to inform interventions to support the mental and physical well-being of HCWs during and beyond public health crises.
Contact: For additional details, contact Ari Schechter, PhD at as4874@cumc.columbia.edu.
The Identification of Modifiable Emergency Department and Sleep Factors Contributing to Psychological and Cardiovascular Risk in Clinicians
NIH/NHLBI; 5R01HL146911-05.
The purpose of this research is to test whether modifiable ED factors increase CVD and psychological (burnout) risk in the millions of ED clinicians worldwide who are exposed to those same risk factors for years. This project aims to 1) evaluate the short-term contribution of ED crowding, circadian misalignment, and short sleep to acute changes in Ambulatory Blood Pressure and psychological risk 2) characterize the relationship of cumulative ED stress exposures and sleep impairment to 3-year progression of CVD and psychological risk.
Contact: For additional details, contact Bernard Chang, MD, PhD at bpc2103@cumc.columbia.edu.
Laferrère B
The Alzheimer's Disease and Alzheimer's Disease Related Dementias in Prediabetes and Type 2 Diabetes: The Diabetes Prevention Program Outcomes Study AD/ADRD Project.
NCT00038727
The Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) was a multi-center trial examining the ability of an intensive lifestyle or metformin to prevent or delay the development of diabetes in a highrisk population due to the presence of impaired glucose tolerance (IGT). The DPP has ended early demonstrating that lifestyle reduced diabetes onset by 58% and metformin reduced diabetes onset by 31%. The Diabetes Prevention Program Outcomes Study (DPPOS-3 2014-2025) took advantage of the long-term randomized exposure of the study cohort to metformin and the aging of the DPPOS cohort to examine the long-term effects of metformin on cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cancer outcomes. The new phase of DPP, the Alzheimer's Disease and Alzheimer's Disease Related Dementias in Prediabetes and Type 2 Diabetes: The Diabetes Prevention Program Outcomes Study AD/ADRD Project (2022-2027) investigates the determinants and the nature of cognitive impairment among persons with pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes, who are a high-risk group for cognitive impairment and represent a large fraction of the United States population.
Time-Restricted Eating to Improve Cardiometabolic Health (NY-TREAT Study)
NCT04465
The New York-TREAT study is a lifestyle intervention administered via a smartphone application that aims to improve cardiometabolic health (blood pressure, blood glucose, cholesterol levels, etc.) in adults aged 50 to 75 years, with overweight or obesity, diet-treated or metformin-treated type 2 diabetes, or prediabetes. The NY-TREAT study will test whether self-monitoring food intake with a smartphone and decreasing the number of hours people eat each day affects body fat, sleep, and blood sugar.
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