Symposium session: Unravelling the causal nexus: diet, sleep and health
Tracks
Track 3
| Saturday, October 19, 2024 |
| 3:45 PM - 5:15 PM |
| Room 5 |
Details
The interconnection between diet and sleep presents a complex web of causal relationships that are challenging to disentangle. This symposium is a comprehensive exploration of this intricate relationship through the lens of causal inference methods. We begin with a gentle introduction to causal inference techniques specifically tailored to understanding the causal effects of diet on sleep and vice versa. We then transition into a real-world epidemiological example, showcasing the practical application of these methods in unraveling causal pathways. Moving into the laboratory setting, we explore research on sleep and nutrition, shedding light on their reciprocal influences. Finally, we address the policy and intervention implications stemming from our findings, highlighting the potential for targeted interventions to optimise both diet and sleep for improved health outcomes.
Speaker
Dr Yohannes Melaku
Senior Research Fellow
Flinders University
Causal inference in sleep and nutrition
3:45 PM - 4:05 PMBiography
Yohannes is an early-career researcher specializing in nutritional and sleep epidemiology. He has a clinical background (BSc, 2009) complemented by a quantitative-oriented education in public health (MPH, 2012). He further expanded his expertise with degrees in nutrition (MPH, 2018) and nutritional epidemiology (PhD, 2018). Following his doctoral studies, he underwent postdoctoral training in nutrition and sleep epidemiology from 2019 to 2021. His skill set is enriched by extensive coursework, research experience, and short-term trainings in quantitative epidemiological methods, causal inference, and biostatistics. He is currently an NHMRC EL-1 Fellow. His research focuses on nutrition, sleep, and chronic diseases epidemiology.
Prof Robert Adams
Professor Of Respiratory And Sleep Medicine
Flinders University
Diet and sleep apnea risk: UK Biobank data
4:05 PM - 4:20 PMBiography
Dr Charlotte Gupta
Research Fellow
CQ University / Appleton Institute
Diet and sleep in the lab
4:20 PM - 4:35 PMBiography
Charlotte is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Appleton Institute at Central Queensland University and completed her PhD in 2020. Charlotte’s research investigates the optimal timing of sleep and nutrition, particularly for those working non-standard hours such as shiftworkers. Charlotte is an emerging research leader in the field of chrononutrition, and her research on the impacts of meal timing at night on work performance has informed practice and policy for shiftworkers.
Prof Sally Ferguson
Director, Appleton Institute
CQ University
Implications for policy and intervention
4:35 PM - 4:50 PMBiography
Sally is the Director of the Appleton Institute at CQUniversity with more than 20 years of experience in sleep and circadian research in applied settings. Sally and her team have partnered with healthcare, mining and resources, rail, aviation, marine operations, agriculture and the fire and emergency services sector. Sally does a lot of work in the area of fatigue risk management and sleeps quite well herself.
Prof Robert Adams
Professor Of Respiratory And Sleep Medicine
Flinders University
Chair
Biography
Prof Sally Ferguson
Director, Appleton Institute
CQ University
Chair
Biography
