ESRS Newsletter September 2025

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

The summer months are behind us, and September already ushers in a busy and exciting time for the ESRS. 

The Call for Symposia for Sleep Europe 2026 is now at its halfway point and will remain open until 8 October 2025. I invite you to take this opportunity to submit your proposal and help shape the scientific agenda of our flagship congress. 

As we look ahead to this congress, inclusivity remains a guiding priority. The Early Career Network (ECN), in collaboration with the Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee (EDIC), is conducting a survey to better understand the barriers faced by early-career professionals when attending congresses. Challenges such as high travel and registration costs, visa restrictions, caregiving responsibilities, and institutional limitations are often decisive factors. By listening to these experiences, we aim to ensure that future congresses are more accessible and supportive. If you are an MSc or PhD student, or a post-doctoral researcher, educator, or clinician within ten years of your PhD or MD, I encourage you to share your perspective by completing the survey. 

eSleep Europe returns on 9 October with the Basic Human Track, covering themes such as sensory stimulation, autonomic dynamics, immunology, memory, and the emergence of sleep-like activity in specific states such as brain damage. Registration is open and complimentary for ESRS members and members of supporting organisations. 

As many of you know, after 17 years of unwavering service, Brigitte Knobl has retired from her role as Editorial Manager of the Journal of Sleep Research. She extends her very best wishes to the ESRS family and shared a glimpse of her first month of retirement: spent 200 kilometres above the polar circle, witnessing the historic relocation of the Kiruna church, a unique world event broadcast internationally.