Development

Gene and Tubie Gilmore Fund for Sleep Research and Education

Through generous annual gifts since 2007, Gene and Tubie Gilmore of Grand Rapids, MI, have created exceptional opportunities to support highly innovative, pilot research designed to improve understanding of sleep disorders or their treatment.  These investments have opened new directions of investigation at U-M; shed new light on areas as important as sleep during pregnancy and how to design better fitting CPAP masks; and provided justification for further external grant awards, from sources such as the National Institutes of Health.

The current call for applications for the Gilmore Award is available here on the University of Michigan Competition Space. 

Past winners and their topics have included:

2020

Mark E.P. Prince, MD, FRCS(C), FACS
Project Name:  Characterizing the Incidence of Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Ghana via Creation of a Validated Sleep Survey

2019

Erica C. Jansen, PhD
Project Name:  The Role of Circadian Disruption in Gestational Diabetes: Epigenetic Pathways

2017

Barbara T. Felt, MD, MS
Project Name:  Clinical and Genetic Differences Between Restless Legs Syndrome and Growing Pains in Children

2016

Joan Chen, PhD
Project Name:  Physiologic Associations Between Sleep and Gastroesophageal Reflux Symptoms - A Pilot Study
 

2015

Danny Forger, PhD
Project Name:  SLEEP EASY:  A Sleep/Circadian Mobile Application for Clinical and Research Use 
 

2014

Leslie Swanson, PhD
Project Name:  The Effects of Light Therapy on Circadian Rhythms, Sleep, and Mood in Postpartum Depression
 
 

2013

Susan Garetz, MD
Project Name:  Use of a 3D Printer to Create Customized CPAP Masks for Children with Craniofacial Syndromes and Obstructive Sleep Apnea
 
Cathy Goldstein, MD, MS
Project Name:  Sleep and Circadian Rhythms in Women Undergoing In Vitro Fertilization 
 

2012

Louise O'Brien, PhD, MS
Project Name:  The Influence of Maternal Sleep on Nocturnal Fetal Activity 
 

2011

Dawn Dore-Stites, PhD
Project Name:  Development and Feasibility Testing of a Group-Based Intervention Targeting Increased Use of CPAP in a Pediatric Population
 

2010

Michael Wang, MD
Project Name:  Enhancing Recovery by Treatment of Sleep Disturbances After Stroke:  A Preclinical Study
 

2009

Richard Dopp, MD
Project Name:  Improving Physical Activity in Depressed Youth
 

2008

Louise O'Brien, PhD, MS
Project Name:  Use of Positive Airway Pressure in Women with Pre-eclampsia
 

 

Elizabeth and Jim Sweetnam Sleep Research Fund

In 2016, the Sleep Disorders Center received a generous contribution from Jim and Elizabeth Sweetnam, in demonstration of their commitment to improve knowledge about sleep, problems people experience with their sleep, and strategies to address those challenges.  A competitive request for proposals is to be circulated to U-M faculty to solicit ideas most likely to advance sleep and circadian rhythm science, and to lead to further external funding so that this work can continue for many years to come.

Past winners and their topics have included:

2016

Neeraj Kaplish, MD
Grant Kruger, PhD
Project Name:  Robotic Oral Appliance for Sleep Apnea Care
 

Malhotra Academic Sleep Medicine Endowment

In 2008, Shalini Paruthi, MD, and Raman Malhotra, MD, two physician graduates of the U-M Sleep Medicine Fellowship training program, expressed gratitude for their education here by creating a permanent endowment. Although the principal remains permanently invested, the interest on this account is made available each year to further educational aims of the U-M Sleep Disorder Center.  For example, these funds can help a trainee attend a national sleep meeting, support the purchase of new medical textbooks, or provide assistance for a fellow research project.

Johnathan A. Covault Memorial Foundation for Sleep Disorders Research

To commemorate the life of Johnathan A. Covault, who passed away prematurely in 2000 in part because of an untreated sleep disorder, his family made a gift to the University of Michigan to support research on sleep disorders.  The result was an early-stage but impactful study that received world-wide attention in the media and helped to educate people about obstructive sleep apnea.  The study, published in 2013, was entitled “The Face of Sleepiness: Improvement in Appearance after Treatment of Sleep Apnea”.  The study showed that patients who used their CPAP regularly to treat their sleep apnea looked better after the treatment.  Specifically, lay and medical raters who did not know the participants looked at before and after pictures, and were able to beat the odds in guessing which pictures looked more alert, young, and attractive.  This seminal research, which could not have been performed without the help of the Covault Foundation, helped to publicize information that could motivate patients across the nation to use their CPAP machines more regularly.