Early Career Researcher Network Committee 2022-2024: Together for a Sustainable Future
2022-2024 Vision of the Early Career Researcher Network
We, the members of the Early Career Researcher Network (ECRN), are thrilled to present our 2022-2024 vision “Together for a Sustainable Future” through the upcoming initiatives of our current committee. Our aim is to tackle the pressing challenges posed by climate change and promote sustainable practices within the ESRS community.
In today’s world, we witness the alarming consequences of extreme weather conditions, heat waves, water scarcity, declining crop yields, climate migrations and the growing eco-anxiety among the youth. Some of these environmental consequences are likely to even be associated with sleep-related complaints. It is clear that we must take action to protect our planet and secure a better future for generations to come. As a climate activist Greta Thunberg rightly said, “It is our future on the line, and we must at least have a say in it”. Therefore, we chose to make sustainability the central theme of our current committee.
ECRN Lunch Time Talks
To facilitate discussions and knowledge sharing on various sustainability topics, we are introducing a series of engaging and informative sessions called ECRN Lunch Time Talks. These sessions will cover a wide range of topics about sustainability that are relevant to sleep researchers and clinicians, from practical tips for eco-friendly conference travels through exploring the impact of climate change on sleep, to strategies to become “greener” scientists.
We are excited to announce that our first ESRS-ECRN Lunch Time talk is scheduled for the 6th of July – Register Here. The session will focus on making conference travel more sustainable by exploring the options of carbon offsetting. We are happy to have Fridolin Königsberger, a physical engineer specialising in reducing carbon emissions, as our speaker. His insights on this important topic will help us learn about effective ways to offset our ecological footprint during conferences and inspire our community to adopt sustainable practices in professional endeavours.
You can add this event to your calendar here.
Peer Network for Early Career Sleep Researchers
In line with our commitment to collaboration, peer support, and sustainability, the motto of our committee is “Together for a Sustainable Future”. Building upon the primary goal of the ECRN to establish a strong peer network for early career sleep researchers and clinicians, we firmly believe that by working together, we can achieve greater success in promoting sustainability within our research field.
To further foster a sense of community, we plan to re-launch “Meet me, members” posts, spotlighting individual early career members of our community. Additionally, we will regularly share sustainability posts, offering practical tips, resources, and updates to encourage and guide our peers towards greener practices.
We hope that, together, we can make the ECRN LinkedIn page and LinkedIn group our peer community main “home”, so join us there!
We aim for this to be an interactive place for us to share our ideas and news and be a space where early career researchers and clinicians can network across Europe over our shared love of sleep! Planned content will also be shared across the year through Sleep Science Friday publication. We are always keen for input and feedback and there will be opportunities for early career members to get involved in ECRN initiatives and of course, apply to be a part of the new committee in September 2024.
Together for a Sustainable Future
In conclusion, we wholeheartedly believe that by prioritising sustainability and actively engaging in meaningful discussions, we can drive positive change and contribute to a more sustainable future. We kindly request your support and endorsement of our proposal. Together, let us embrace our responsibility to protect the environment, empower future generations, and create a brighter and more sustainable world.
Adriana, Fran, Christine, Sébastien, Lieve & Anna
Your ECRN committee 2022-2024
Article written by:
Adriana Michalak
Postdoctoral Fellow in Dream Engineering at the IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Italy and Sustainability Lead at the ESRS Early Career Researchers Network (ECRN).
Recent publications from ESRS members
- Chai et al. (2023). Enhanced amygdala-cingulate connectivity associates with better mood in both healthy and depressive individuals after sleep deprivation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A.
- Cederberg, Sikes and Mignot (2023). Perceptions of exercise and restless legs syndrome: Results from a nationwide survey. J Sleep Res.
- Van den Bossche et al. (2023). Quantitative Measurement of Pharyngeal Dimensions During Drug-induced Sleep Endoscopy for Oral Appliance Outcome. Laryngoscope.
- Senkevich et al. (2023). Association of Rare Variants in ARSA with Parkinson’s Disease. Mov Disord.
- Titone et al. (2023). Frequency-dependent connectivity in large-scale resting-state brain networks during sleep. Eur J Neurosci.