The mission of the AASM Foundation is to lead the field in academic sleep medicine in terms of research and education, aiming to enhance sleep health for all through funding initiatives. The RLS Foundation focuses on improving care and seeking cures for those affected by Restless Legs Syndrome through research, education, and connecting communities.
The Program Advancing Research for Equity, a collaboration between the AASM Foundation and the University of Illinois at Chicago, Hispanic Center of Excellence (UIC HCOE), is designed to support Latino undergraduate and medical students by providing them with summer research opportunities in sleep health or sleep and circadian science. The program aims to address health disparities that disproportionately affect Latino and other minority communities through research in biomedical or clinical disciplines. Specifically, this initiative will fund 1 undergraduate and 1 medical student conducting research within these fields, offering a paid 8-week research engagement along with weekly seminars from distinguished faculty and feedback sessions from established investigators. In addition to research experience, participants may receive extra support for presenting their research at local and national conferences, with medical students receiving a $5,000 stipend for their participation.