Profile
Rachel Sharman
My CV
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Education:
2006-2010 University of Surrey. 2010-2014 Northumbria University
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Qualifications:
BSc in Biochemisty (medical), PhD in Psychology
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Work History:
Division of Sleep Medicine, Harvard Medical School. University of Surrey Clinical Research Center.
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Current Job:
Postdoctoral Researcher
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About Me:
Postdoctoral researcher at the University of Oxford specialising in adolescent sleep and adults with insomnia (people who cant sleep). I have a cat called Stanley, my favourite food is banana dipped in nutella, and I am a girl guide leader.
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I live near Oxford and work at the Sleep and Circadian Neuroscience institute at Oxford University. My main research interest is preventative sleep medicine and at the moment I am on the Teensleep project trying to find ways to help improve adolescent sleep, GCSE results, and health and wellbeing (delaying school start times and sleep education).
I started life as Biochemist at the University of Surrey where I soon learnt that using a pipette in a laboratory isnt really for me but studying people as they sleep (or keeping them awake for a very very long time) was really interesting. I took a year at the Division of Sleep Medicine, Harvard Medical School where I worked on some really amazing sleep projects looking at things like can we adjust to Mars time (longer day length) or what colour light can keep us awake (this meant keeping people awake, in bed, for 50hrs!).
After this, I did my PhD in insomnia at Northumbria University, where I looked at how do we know we have had a good sleep. I tested this by playing common night noises (think cats fighting, seagull, storms) or words to people with and without insomnia whilst they slept to see how their brain responded.
After that I worked as Clinical Research Officer at the University of Surrey, working in first in human drug trials (for example, does this drug make you sleepy if mixed with alcohol) and running a sleep clinic testing people for sleep disorders for the NHS.
Then I ended up at the University of Oxford!
When out of the lab, I love being out walking and recently climbed Mt Snowdon! I am a Girl Guide Leader. I have a cat called Stanley and Ive tried to study his sleep but he wont wear an activity tracker on his collar!
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My current job involves running various studies looking at sleep interventions for people with insomnia or interventions to help adolescents sleep better.
In adolescents the body clock shifts 1 to 3 hours later. So a 7am wake up for me is like a 4am wake up call for the average teenager. In addition the teenager eye becomes far more reactive to blue light (from mobile phones etc.). Blue light can move our body clock later meaning a teenager using their mobile phone later into the evening can make it far more difficult for them to get to sleep. My research has shown that the average UK teenager is not getting enough sleep, around 7 hours on a school day, yet wants round 9 hours. The National Sleep Foundation has said that teenagers need 8 to 10 hours sleep to be at their best. Stuides have shown that the more sleep a teenager gets, the better they may do in their exams.
We have been looking at numerous ways to help teenagers in the UK to get that perfect amount of sleep. We have just finished running a pilot study looking at teaching sleep education lessons as part of PSHE and are now looking at delaying school start times or using special light googles to help teenagers feel more alert in the morning.
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My Typical Day:
Is never typical but usually involves someone having a nap in the lab! Sometimes I work from 10am in my office and sometimes my day starts at 10pm in my lab (which has two bedrooms!).
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My current job involves running various studies looking at sleep interventions for people with insomnia or interventions to help adolescents sleep better.
Some days can be quite quiet and I will be in the office writing papers, writing grant applications to get money for research studies, or teaching.
I teach on the University of Oxford Sleep Medicine Masters programme and I teach the medical students about sleep EEG, circadian rhythms, activity tracking, sleep education intervention, and sleep center management.
Some days I am running studies so that would include visiting schools to hand out activity trackers or train teachers to teach sleep education lessons. It may also include heading to our sleep laboratory to stick electrodes to participants heads and study their sleep overnight.
I am involved in public engagement activities so work on our summer school for PhD students, our work experience programme for a-level students, our MSc summer school, or I may be in a museum discussing how we measure sleep and why dolphins only sleep with half of their brain at a time!
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What I'd do with the prize money:
Go into more schools to show teenagers how to measure sleep and help their own sleep
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My Interview
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
Giggly, loud, (often)sleepy!
What did you want to be after you left school?
Forensic Pathologist
Were you ever in trouble at school?
A little bit! I didnt like French so used to get in trouble for doing extra science work in those lessons!
Who is your favourite singer or band?
Wheezer
What's your favourite food?
Banana dipped in nutella (or a crisp sandwich!)
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
That there is no more glass ceilings for women in the workplace, to live in a world where there are equal rights for all, and for everyone to take a little more care of those around us
Tell us a joke.
Did you know that dogs cant operate MRI machines...but Cat Scan
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