ESRS Newsletter February 2025

Dear Friends and Colleagues, 

This month marks the launch of eSleep Europe 2025. Next week on 13 February, 12:00 – 15:00 CET. I am personally excited to begin this year-long virtual congress with the Public Health Track, bringing together an incredible lineup of speakers including a keynote by Dr. Daniel Buysse that I am privileged to Chair. As an ESRS member, you have free access to the entire event so if you haven’t registered yet, I strongly encourage you to do so here .The full programme outlining the topics covered across the eight tracks is also available here, ensuring you don’t miss any of the 8 Tracks, including our new Sleep Technology track on 13 November at 12:00 CET.  

Last week, we closed applications for the 2025 ESRS Sleep Medicine Examination, and I am pleased to share that we received more than 200 applications. It is always encouraging to see so many dedicated professionals eager to advance their expertise and contribute to the field. The committee now takes on the important task of evaluating applications, and I want to extend my enthusiastic support to all candidates as they move forward in this process. 

We are already looking ahead to our next major initiative for early-career researchers- the ESRS Sleep Science School. This intensive programme provides an incredible opportunity to dive deep into key topics, learn from leading experts, and engage in discussions with senior sleep researchers all while enjoying French coastline as your backdrop for the week-long school. Applications open 1 March. The programme will be posted this month on the official page here. 

Another important reminder: funding opportunities remain open, but the deadline is fast approaching on 15 February. If you are looking for support to further your research, training, or professional development, ESRS offers several grants designed to strengthen research exchanges and foster collaboration within our community. I encourage you to explore these opportunities and apply before the deadline: 

• Two-Week Training Grant
• Short-Term Research Fellowship
• Meetings & Courses Fellowship

A strong and connected network is at the core of our mission, and your continued engagement is what drives our collective progress. Now that the large part of membership renewals are behind us, I am proud to announce that we have over 2300 individual ESRS members. I encourage each of you, regardless of career stage, to take advantage of your membership benefits and this outstanding and knowledgeable network. 

On 11 April, JSR Editor and long-term ESRS member, Prof. Dr. Dieter Riemann will be honoured with a farewell symposium, “Sleep, Insomnia and Mental Health – A Lifelong Journey”, marking his retirement after more than three decades at the Medical Center – University of Freiburg.  The symposium will be streamed live, and he would like to extend the invitation to all ESRS members to join in this legacy symposium. You can view the official invitation here. 

In closing, I want to share the first steps in a long-term society focused project. Last month, the ESRS Board held its annual strategic meeting and invited an external consultant specialised in non-profit and foundation strategic planning to begin the process of writing a strategic plan for the society. This was an important first step to strengthening the future of the society and the field of sleep in Europe. I look forward to providing periodic updates over the course of the next months and will soon be asking you, the ESRS members, to actively participate.    

Thank you for being part of this journey, and I look forward to everything we will accomplish together in the months and years ahead. 

Warm regards, 

Erna Sif Arnardóttir