Sleep Research Award for Maria Robles
29 Jan 2025
BMC sleep researcher Maria Robles receives this year's ‘Outstanding Scientific Achievement Award’ from the Sleep Research Society (SRS).
29 Jan 2025
BMC sleep researcher Maria Robles receives this year's ‘Outstanding Scientific Achievement Award’ from the Sleep Research Society (SRS).
© J. Greune / LMU
Professor Maria Robles, chronobiologist and sleep researcher at LMU, has been awarded this year's “Outstanding Scientific Achievement Award” by the Sleep Research Society (SRS). The international organization recognizes scientists whose research has had a significant impact on the field of sleep and chronobiology.
Maria Robles is Professor of Medical Psychology and Chronobiology at the LMU Faculty of Medicine. Her research team uses quantitative proteomics to study the molecular mechanisms controlled by the body's internal circadian clock and sleep-wake cycles. Her work has contributed significantly to a deeper understanding of how circadian and sleep-regulated processes influence organ physiology, cellular homeostasis and synaptic function.
According to the SRS, Robles receives the “Outstanding Scientific Achievement Award” for two groundbreaking studies published in the renowned journal Science, which shed light on the molecular basis of the established two-process model of sleep regulation. Using a multi-omics approach - i.e. the analysis of large biological time series data sets - Robles conducted holistic studies on mouse brains and isolated synapses. This enabled her and her collaboration partner, the late Steve Brown, to identify the specific molecular mechanisms underlying the modulation of synaptic activity depending on time of day and sleep history.
The award, which is endowed with 1,000 US dollars (approximately 950 euros), will be presented to Robles at the Associated Professional Sleep Societies' SLEEP 2025 annual meeting in Seattle in June. “This award underscores the importance of molecular research and the use of cutting-edge technologies such as proteomics to understand the regulation of sleep - a fundamental physiological state whose disruption is linked to numerous diseases,” explained Robles.
She also sees the award as a tribute to her “dear colleague and friend, the late Steve Brown” from the University of Zurich, whose “creative vision” made her award-winning studies possible. She also paid tribute to the “outstanding students Sara B. Noya and Franziska Brüning who contributed to this research”.
Source: LMU Newsroom & Sleep Research Society