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The management Knowledge Transfer Partnership (mKTP) with Beever and Struthers will help drive the firm’s digital transformation The 30-month programme will specifically aim to develop, embed and exploit smart data driven technologies It will enable the business to increase quality, productivity and capacity. Aston University has begun a management Knowledge Transfer Partnership (mKTP) with nationwide accountants and business advisors Beever and Struthers to help drive the firm’s digital transformation. A management Knowledge Transfer Partnership is built around identifying strategic management-based initiatives to increase business effectiveness and improve management practices. As part of the mKTP, led by Aston University in collaboration with Professor Brian Nicholson and Dr Sung Hwan Chai (Alliance Manchester Business School), Dr George Moyenda Salijeni (Aston Business School) and the team will conduct a comprehensive evaluation of Beever and Struthers' existing data systems. Following the assessment, specific methodologies will be proposed to ensure alignment between the mKTP and the firm's ongoing data systems. The 30-month programme will aim to develop, embed and exploit smart data driven technologies within the audit function, enabling the business to increase the quality, productivity and capacity to deliver additional insight and value to clients. Dr George Salijeni, a lecturer in accounting at Aston Business School and an expert in data analytics tools used in external audits and knowledge base supervisor in the mKTP, said: “This mKTP offers an opportunity to share and utilise knowledge and technical exposure which academics at Aston University and Alliance Manchester Business School have gained and generated over the years through undertaking multi-disciplinary research and engagements with practitioners and audit regulators on data driven technologies which include artificial intelligence. Potentially, this project generates insights, workflows which could impact and transform the way audits are performed by leveraging data driven analytics tools and models.” Michael Tourville, partner at Beever and Struthers, said: “Given that the business has been around for up to 125 years it is quite traditional in its approach, but we are now keen to embrace the opportunities that a truly digital transformation could offer. Although we are a firm with a long history, we are also an entrepreneurial business and are keen to grasp opportunities when we see them. This mKTP is all about giving our clients more insight and helping us navigate data far better too. The main improvements for us will come from increased efficiency and insight, but we will also be able to further improve the quality of the service we offer.” Professor Andy Lymer, head of the Accounting Department at Aston University, said: “Digital approaches to accounting are increasingly at the heart of how the accounting industry works – and therefore increasingly at the heart of what we teach and research related to this industry and its practices. This extremely innovative project will enable us to work with the partners in this programme to go in depth into an organisation exploring how the use of the latest developments in the use of digital tools such as advanced data analytics can further enhance the processes of audit. The experience and knowledge gained in this work will be brought back into the classroom for our students to benefit from also.”
Aston University student and graduate business startup support programme marks 10th year
BSEEN is a collaboration of four Birmingham universities, led by Aston University It has helped over 800 new businesses to launch through intensive startup bootcamps and a network of business mentors An awards dinner was held on 4 May to celebrate a decade in operation. An Aston University student and graduate business startup support programme has celebrated its 10th year in operation. BSEEN, a collaboration of four Birmingham universities led by Aston University, marked a decade of supporting student and graduate entrepreneurs with an awards dinner on 4 May 2023. Mike Bander, an Aston University alumnus and recipient of an honorary doctorate, was guest speaker and gave a keynote speech. The programme has helped over 800 new businesses to launch through 31 intensive startup bootcamps and a network of 85 business mentors. The awards night at Fazeley Studios in Birmingham showcased the student and graduate entrepreneurs supported by BSEEN and the mentors and professional services organisations who have worked to help startups through surgeries, drop-ins and round table discussions. Mike Bandar, international business trainer and speaker and founding partner of Turn Partners, said: “The power of the collective community has changed “I” into “us”. Personal ambition is essential, but the true spirit of entrepreneurship is to unite, collaborate and transform. Diversity gives us strength by not seeing competitors as rivals, but partners.” Professor Zoe Radnor, pro-vice chancellor and executive dean of the College of Business and Social Sciences at Aston University, said: “I have heard so much about BSEEN that was amazing and I am looking forward to supporting young people to achieve their goals despite European funding for the scheme coming to an end.” Paula Whitehouse, deputy dean for enterprise and engagement at Aston University, said: “The programme has delivered a big social and economic impact with businesses ranging from hand-crafted paper goods to medical devices.” Carolyn Keenan, BSEEN project manager, said: “It has been a privilege to be involved with the programme from the beginning.” The eight awards presented during the event went to the following: BSEEN Rising Star Winner: Ruth Mestel and Charis McRoberts, Calathea Arts Highly Commended: Denise Amory-Reid, Amory R Management BSEEN Champion Award Winner: Ben Brophy, Ad Valorem Accountants Highly Commended: Richard Freeman and Jamie Partington, Higgs LLP Award for Technology Winner: Alliyah and Amirah Khan, Our Tied Camel Highly Commended: Safe Queen Team Award for Creative Industries Winner: Morgan Grice, Odd Orange Highly Commended: Andrea Craciun, Sweetest Mango Illustration Award for Innovation Winner: David Akraka, Akreon Technology Highly Commended: Hardeep Randhawa, ProLimbs Award for Social Impact Winner: Cleo Morris, Mission Diverse Highly Commended: Jamaal O’Driscoll, O’D Collective BSEEN Community Award Winner: Shovon Wiggan, Inspire-a-Doll Highly Commended: Janani Prasad, Supabite.com Award for Small Business Growth Winner: Bobby Bradstock, Serenity Psychotherapy Highly Commended: Joseph Housley and Connor Watt, Narce Media and Ben Curtis, Hobby Store Group. To find out more about the BSEEN programme, click here.
Ask an Expert: Can a Recession Boost Employee Job Satisfaction?
Will the United States tip into recession in 2023? The jury for many remains out, though there are enough clouds forming on the horizon to cause consternation for firms eyeing the next financial quarter. But while recessions invariably spell belt-tightening, are they always plain bad for business? Could there be some kind of silver lining to hard times? New research led by Goizueta Business School’s Emily Bianchi suggests there is in fact an upside to economic downturns: higher employee job satisfaction. Bianchi and colleagues from Oglethorpe and Hong Kong Polytechnic Universities have found that in times of increased financial uncertainty, people tend to think less about other opportunities or openings, and focus more on the jobs they actually have. This in turn makes us see our jobs and workplace more favorably, says Bianchi. “It might feel counter-intuitive because there’s reason to think that tumultuous times make the workplace and workplace relations more tense or challenging. But we wanted to explore whether the security of having a job in an economic slump might positively impact the way people think about their roles and employers,” Bianchi says. Our hunch was that fewer available jobs outside the organization may translate into greater satisfaction with the jobs we have in hand when there’s a recession. To test this possibility, Bianchi and co-authors ran three studies. The first looked at almost 50 years of data from the U.S. General Social Survey, a cross-sectional barometer of people’s attitudes and opinions, including their assessment of the economy and satisfaction with the work they do. Through analyses of respondents’ answers between 1974 and 2016, Bianchi et al. found compelling evidence to support their hypothesis: at both the national and state level, job satisfaction rose during recessions and fell off again when the economy did better. A second study analyzed data from the U.K. where recessions tend to hit at the same time as the United States, but can be more or less severe. Two surveys conducted by the University of Essex followed the same respondents between 1991 and 2013, allowing Bianchi et al. to measure how individual job satisfaction fluctuated with macro-economic changes. Limiting their analysis to those people who remained employed over the time period and controlling for things like age, gender and income, the researchers were able to isolate the impact of recession based on the way that a group of just over 8,500,000 employees felt about their jobs. They found the same pattern. “By looking at the same individuals over time, we’re able to eliminate any impact coming from changes in the composition of the workforce across economic cycles,” says Bianchi. The same pattern emerged: during bad economic times, people reported greater job satisfaction even within the same group. Unlocking the Upside of Downturns To dig deeper into the psychological mechanisms undergirding these patterns, Bianchi et al. ran an experiment. One group was shown “bad news” about the economy, while the other read a report on economic growth and “plentiful jobs.” Both groups were then asked to self-report on job satisfaction. Those who had read the news article on recession and unemployment reported greater contentment with their current jobs. Moreover, when reminded of recessions, they reported that alternative jobs became less salient, which in turn led to greater job satisfaction. In other words, their own jobs were “more satisfying.” One implication of these findings is that they challenge the notion that job satisfaction is exclusively dictated by what happens inside the organization. We tend to think of businesses as bubbles that are somehow impervious to the outside world. But these studies show broader societal events can affect us in surprising ways. A Silver Lining for Employers Recessions are rarely welcome news. And for employers, they can engender feelings of hopelessness, says Bianchi. The insights shared in her paper should provide some reassurance, nonetheless, that even when the chips are down, they might have one less thing to worry about. But there’s a caveat. Our findings suggest that there might actually be a bright side to recessions for employers; that greater job satisfaction during these difficult times might help people psychologically weather an otherwise challenging situation. “Of course, this does not mean that employers should take advantage of this surprising goodwill by asking more of their employees. Rather, while employers likely believe that there is little they can do to bolster job satisfaction during tough times, our research suggests that satisfaction-boosting efforts may be even more effective. Moreover, our findings suggest that employers should be more attuned to bolstering satisfaction when times are good and employees are particularly apt to be looking at other opportunities.” Interested in learning more about how a recession may impact the workplace? Then let us help with your coverage and questions. Goizueta Business School’s Emily Bianchi is available to speak regarding this important topic - simply click on her icon now to arrange an interview today.
Expertise Marketing and Content Marketing - Is There a Difference?
We often get asked the question about how Content Marketing compares to Expertise Marketing. It’s ironic that still to this day many of our academic clients don’t refer to what they do as “content marketing.” But corporate customers are well acquainted with the importance of developing content to build reputation, relationships and revenue. Adding to the confusion are all the names that are bantered about by marketing departments and agencies - There’s inbound marketing popularized by companies such as Hubspot. And there are more bespoke “Thought Leadership” programs that are often developed by outside agencies such as Weber Shandwick and Edelman. While there are a lot of common elements to these programs there are some important differences that we focus on when developing and launching Expertise Marketing programs with our institutional and corporate clients. Here’s a deeper dive to help you better understand the value of Expertise Marketing. Introducing Expertise Marketing Expertise marketing is the practice of making the knowledge and skills of your human resources more visible to your partners and audiences. It draws attention to the value that your people can bring as brand ambassadors and strategically leverages the work your experts are doing to tell a more personal story. In many cases, expertise marketing can also be used to showcase your strengths in research and innovation. Creating a stronger digital presence, expertise marketing more effectively uses your channels to connect with audiences such as media, customers, partners and donors. It builds a sense of trust with your customers and above all else, it helps establish your reputation as an industry leader. ex•per•tise mar•ket•ing 1. The practice of collectively promoting an organization’s experts as brand ambassadors to demonstrate their skills or knowledge. 2. Best practices to publish and connect The Value of Expertise Marketing Reputation - Positions research, client work, thought leadership perspectives and achievements in the context of relevant topics that are in the news. Market Awareness - Expertise marketing makes it easier for key audiences to find expert content and people in search engines and on the organization’s website. Audience Engagement - Provides more intuitive search features for visible content which can be expanded to include assets such as video, social, and publications to drive richer conversations with audiences. Metrics on performance in areas related to expert development, content contribution and audience engagement page views and inquiries can be tracked. Demand Generation - Increased number of direct leads/ inquiries from audiences such as: Customers/Students Industry Partners Alumni Donors Media New Employee Recruits Conference Organizers Talent - Better engage stakeholders, researchers & subject-matter experts in the development and distribution of content while improving recruitment and retention of talent. Internal Collaboration - Better coordinate the knowledge and resources across internal communications teams and other departments as they engage experts. Provide a faster, more efficient way to generate content for breaking news and events. Content Contribution - Increase the size of the organization’s digital footprint by aggregating more content and distributing it contextually to multiple websites and third-party databases. Efficiency - Help employees get their jobs done faster and more efficiently. Enable them to find information faster, speed up internal processes and foster collaboration among people in multiple locations. Leverage Current and Future Infrastructure - Properly integrated, new technology investments should integrate seamlessly to leverage existing/proposed infrastructure such as content management systems (such as WordPress™) and marketing automation systems (such as Hubspot) How is Expertise Marketing Different from Content Marketing? A More Human Approach: People buy from people. That’s why content that is more personalized and attributed to specific experts who are well-identified as expert sources is far more trusted than most company-sponsored content. A More Collaborative Process that Engages Employees: A more structured “win-win” model empowers experts to contribute their knowledge. Expertise marketing is a proven way to build culture and celebrate diversity which assists with talent retention and recruitment. An Efficient Way to Create More Content to Boost SEO & Website Traffic: Engaging your experts creates a larger hub of “owned” content that is proven to boost PageRank in search engines and site traffic. Expert content is used by organizations to enhance their “About Us” page, staff/faculty/physician directories, newsroom pages, research pages and speakers bureaus. Optimized Content Formats Better Connect with Audiences: A variety of short format, long format and visual content formats (such as expert profiles, blogs, Q&A and videos) are designed to engage specific audiences at various stages of the customer journey. Improved Calls to Action & Analytics Boost Demand Generation & Leads/Inquiries: Experts become more approachable as “lead magnets” that generate measurable inbound opportunities, avoiding common issues of lost customer leads due to poor processes and workflow. You might be surprised at how much value expertise marketing can bring to your organisation. The chances are, that the time you are currently spending on ineffective content marketing strategies will be greatly reduced with a redefined focus on expertise marketing. By putting the focus back on the skills and relevance of your experts, as people, you're not only making them more visible but also establishing your brand reputation which will simultaneously generate more leads and increase efficiency.
Amanda Hewes, MS, education program manager at ChristianaCare’s Gene Editing Institute, has been named one of the 2023 Outstanding Delaware Women in STEM by Million Women Mentors, an international movement dedicated to encouraging girls and women to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Hewes’ selection spotlights her dedication to engaging young people in the science of gene editing by introducing the Gene Editing Institute’s CRISPR in a BoxTM educational toolkit into classrooms across Delaware and her commitment to bridging disparities in STEM education. “I’m overjoyed to be honored among so many amazing women in this state,” Hewes said. “It’s humbling to be considered and to stand alongside them. All of these women foster and lead dynamic communities of young women that inspire me every day. I hope that I can do the same by making young women in this state feel empowered through the work that I do.” Hewes joined ChristianaCare’s Gene Editing Institute in 2017 with a focus on expanding its CRISPR gene editing system in a cell-free environment. She was first author in a publication in Nature that established the highly innovative “gene editing on a chip” protocol that allowed CRISPR to edit DNA outside of the cell for the first time. This methodology enables researchers to take fragments of DNA extracted from human cells, place them in a test tube and precisely engineer multiple changes to the genetic code. This gene editing system eventually led to the creation of the CRISPR in a Box™ toolkit. This innovative educational resource provides a way for students to learn about this exciting frontier of science through a hands-on exercise in which they use CRISPR gene editing to disrupt a synthetic gene within a plasmid. The simplicity of this experiment allowed for the reaction to be developed into a remarkable teaching tool that can be brought into most school laboratories containing basic laboratory equipment. Once CRISPR in a Box™ was developed, Hewes recognized the potential it could have for high school and college students. She took on a new role as education program manager and expanded the Gene Editing 360™ platform, which is the Gene Editing Institute’s suite of educational tools for engaging students and the public. “Amanda has set us on a tremendous path toward providing more educational opportunities for Delaware students,” said Eric Kmiec, Ph.D., director of ChristianaCare’s Gene Editing Institute. “She’s inspired young women in multiple states and has created so much of this program with her own ingenuity and passion.” Hewes was honored alongside 10 other women by Gov. John Carney, Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long and others at the Delaware State House with the signing of a proclamation to declare March 24, 2023, as “Delaware Women and Girls in STEM Day.”
Aston Medical School given full approval by the General Medical Council
Aston Medical School has been given full approval by the General Medical Council (GMC), meaning they can award degrees to graduating students for the first time this year. The Medical School at Aston University completed the GMC’s rigorous quality assurance process, which began in 2016. The decision, ratified by the GMC’s Council, means Aston Medical School can be added to the list of UK bodies able to award a primary medical qualification. The approval means that from this summer, medical graduates from Aston University will be added to the medical register and will be able to join the UK’s healthcare workforce as doctors. Aston Medical School welcomed its first students in 2018 and will be graduating its first cohort of students at its graduation ceremonies taking place in July 2023. The school was built on the ethos of educating medical professionals of the future, those who come from a wide cross section of society, and in particular those from disadvantaged communities where they have traditionally faced more barriers to accessing and completing medical education. Professor Helen Cameron, Dean of Medical Education at Aston Medical School, said: "This is a really exciting moment for Aston Medical School, and we are delighted for our students, especially our pioneer cohort who will graduate in July with an Aston University medical degree and contribute to the UK's healthcare workforce. Our focus on providing excellent education and support to a diverse range of students, including those from disadvantaged communities, has been at the heart of our mission since the school's inception. “We are proud that through commitment, team-work, and partnership with our students, we have met the GMC's rigorous quality assurance standards and we look forward to continuing to educate the healthcare leaders of the future.” Professor Aleks Subic, Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of Aston University, said: "Receiving full approval from the General Medical Council is a significant milestone for Aston Medical School and Aston University in general, and a testament to the hard work and dedication of our faculty, staff and students. “This achievement enables us to continue our mission of developing the next generation of medical professionals, with a particular focus on promoting diversity and inclusion in healthcare education and improving healthcare in the community. “We are proud to be adding new exceptional talent to the UK’s healthcare workforce and look forward to the contributions our graduates will make to the field." Professor Colin Melville, the GMC’s Medical Director and Director of Education and Standards, said: “The GMC maintains high standards and has a very rigorous process before a new medical school can award primary medical qualifications to its students. Aston University has worked hard, over a number of years, to meet our quality assurance standards. I’m delighted that, thanks to that hard work, they now have GMC approval to award medical degrees.” The GMC oversees both undergraduate and postgraduate medical education and training in the UK. Any institution looking to establish a new medical school or training programme must demonstrate it meets the GMC’s standards by being subject to an extensive period of quality assurance.
New research sheds light on how human vision perceives scale
Researchers from Aston University and the University of York have discovered new insights into how the human brain makes perceptual judgements of the external world. The study, published on 8 May in the journal PLOS One, explored the computational mechanisms used by the human brain to perceive the size of objects in the world around us. The research, led by Professor Tim Meese, in the School of Optometry at Aston University and Dr Daniel Baker in the Department of Psychology at University of York, tells us more about how our visual system can exploit ‘defocus blur’ to infer perceptual scale, but that it does so crudely. It is well known that to derive object size from retinal image size, our visual system needs to estimate the distance to the object. The retinal image contains many pictorial cues, such as linear perspective, which help the system derive the relative size of objects. However, to derive absolute size, the system needs to know about spatial scale. By taking account of defocus blur, like the blurry parts of an image outside the depth of focus of a camera, the visual system can achieve this. The maths behind this has been well worked out by others, but the study asked the question: does human vision exploit this maths? The research team presented participants with photographic pairs of full-scale railway scenes subject to various artificial blur treatments and small-scale models of railway scenes taken with a long exposure and small aperture to diminish defocus blur. The task was to detect which photograph in each pair was the real full-scale scene. When the artificial blur was appropriately oriented with the ground plane (the horizontal plane representing the ground on which the viewer is standing) in the full-scale scenes, participants were fooled and believed the small models to be the full-scale scenes. Remarkably, this did not require the application of realistic gradients of blur. Simple uniform bands of blur at the top and bottom of the photographs achieved almost equivalent miniaturisation effects. Tim Meese, professor of vision science at Aston University, said: "Our results indicate that human vision can exploit defocus blur to infer perceptual scale but that it does this crudely – more a heuristic than a metrical analysis. Overall, our findings provide new insights into the computational mechanisms used by the human brain in perceptual judgments about the relation between ourselves and the external world." Daniel Baker, senior lecturer in psychology at the University of York, said: "These findings demonstrate that our perception of size is not perfect and can be influenced by other properties of a scene. It also highlights the remarkable adaptability of the visual system. This might have relevance for understanding the computational principles underlying our perception of the world. For example, when judging the size and distance of hazards when driving.”
Aston University celebrates becoming a University of Sanctuary with official event
Aston University officially celebrated becoming a University of Sanctuary with an event held on 16 May for all those who contributed to achieving this status. The University was awarded University of Sanctuary status in December 2022, joining a network of higher education institutions across the UK working to develop support for those displaced by humanitarian crises. The celebration was hosted by Aston University Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive, Professor Aleks Subic. Guests included Councillor John Cotton, Birmingham City Council Cabinet member for Social Justice, Community Safety and Equalities, who made a special award presentation. The event programme also included a performance by poet Loraine Masiya Mponela, who herself was an asylum seeker and conversations with recipients of Ernest Edward Scholarships, a sanctuary scholarship scheme for students who have sought refuge in the UK. The scheme was set up by Aston University in 2022 due to a generous donation by prominent businessperson Matthew Crummack. Universities of Sanctuary is an initiative to recognise and celebrate the good practice of institutions welcoming people seeking sanctuary through facilitated access to higher education, supporting local refugee communities and taking an active role in learning about the issues and obstacles faced by this group in pursuing university-level education. Professor Aleks Subic, Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of Aston University, said: “I am delighted to have had this opportunity to host a celebration event to thank everyone who has helped us achieve the University of Sanctuary status. “Aston University is committed to supporting people seeking sanctuary through its efforts to deepen our understanding of the issues surrounding asylum seekers and refugees, providing a welcoming environment for sanctuary students, and working with individuals and communities beyond the campus to promote the values and principles of sanctuary. “Being a University of Sanctuary is key to our Civic Agreement: our commitment to make Birmingham a better place for everyone who lives, works, and studies here. Birmingham." Councillor John Cotton, Birmingham City Council Cabinet member for Social Justice, Community Safety and Equalities, said: “Birmingham is proud to be a City of Sanctuary, with its long history of offering refuge to those fleeing war, persecution and tyranny around the globe. In these troubled times, standing up for the principles of sanctuary and refuge is more important than ever. “I’m delighted that Aston University has joined the family of Universities of Sanctuary and is one of the many important institutions in our city that actively extends the hand of friendship to those seeking refuge and the chance to rebuild their lives here in Birmingham.”
Aston University predicted as one of the UK’s leading centres for lab-made meat
• Aston University named as one of the UK’s leaders in the potential future of food • Highlighted for research, teaching, public outreach, industry links and location • Process uses cells taken from animals via biopsy, so doesn’t involve slaughter. Aston University has been named as one of the UK’s leading lights in what is predicted to be the future of food - lab-made meat. The University is one of 17 higher education institutions that are expected to play a major role in the development of cultivated meat. Cultivated or lab-grown meat is made from cells taken from animals via biopsy. The cells are used to create meat which doesn’t involve the slaughter of animals. The process promises fewer greenhouse gases and a decrease in land required for its production compared to traditional livestock. The list of universities has been compiled by Cellular Agriculture UK, a non-profit organisation which promotes the UK’s so-called ‘cell-ag’ sector. Aston University is one of five institutions they chose to highlight in their report Mapping the potential for UK universities to become research and teaching hubs for cellular agriculture. Aston University is described in the report as having potential to be an anchor institution for cellular agriculture, and was highlighted for its research and teaching, public outreach work, links with emerging industry and its central location. Dr Eirini Theodosiou, senior lecturer in the School of lnfrastructure and Sustainable Engineering, focuses on ways to produce enough cell mass to create the meat. She said: “This is still a relatively new food technology. Unlike many others we work on biomaterials for microcarriers/scaffolds for cultivated meat, which puts us in a very strong position, in the UK at least.” Meanwhile Dr Jason Thomas’ work explores the psychology behind supporting people to accept lab-made food. Although many people are willing to try it, there are still many who are reluctant to do so. A recent study of the US and UK found that 35% of meat eaters and 55% of vegetarians claimed they were too disgusted by the idea of cultured meat to even try it. A key goal of his research is how to support people to not just try it but to integrate it into their diet. Dr Thomas said: “We are interested in finding out what factors can influence consumer purchase of and consumption of lab-made meat.” “The engineering/psychology link is one of our USPs and is something Aston University can capitalise on; learning what the consumer wants from cultivated meat, and what would encourage them to consume it, using psychological science, and then incorporating this directly into the production process via engineering. “It is a relatively new food technology, and much work still needs to be done to make it affordable, acceptable and on a massive scale, but it could easily end up being one of the most transformative new foods of the 21st century.”
Comprehensive Sleep Wellness Center Opens on Newark Campus
More than 70 million Americans suffer from sleep-related problems. To address this growing need, ChristianaCare has opened a new comprehensive sleep wellness center in the Medical Arts Pavilion II on the ChristianaCare Newark Campus. The ChristianaCare Sleep Wellness Center, accredited by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, is an outpatient program that provides expert diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders. The nearly 5,000 square foot, seven-bed facility builds on the success of ChristianaCare’s previous sleep diagnostic center, now incorporating clinical care and diagnostic testing at the same site. The center is staffed by board-certified sleep medicine specialists who provide in-lab and at-home sleep testing, as well as a behavioral health specialist who offers cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia. The center offers onsite and virtual appointments. “At the ChristianaCare Sleep Wellness Center, we offer the full range of sleep care services in one place, with the expertise to help people with all kinds of sleep disorders,” said Shilpa Kauta, M.D., medical director of the ChristianaCare Sleep Wellness Center. “Sleep disorders affect members of every race, socioeconomic class and age group, but despite the high prevalence of sleep disorders, many people remain undiagnosed and untreated,” she said. National surveys show that more than 60 percent of adults have never been asked about the quality of their sleep by a physician. “It’s important for people to know that if they have problems related to sleeping, they should talk to their doctor about it, or call us at the Sleep Wellness Center. Sleep disorders can affect overall health—and they are often very treatable.” The Sleep Wellness Center provides expert, multidisciplinary diagnosis and care for every kind of sleep problem, including: Obstructive sleep apnea. Restless leg syndrome. Narcolepsy. Parasomnias, such as sleepwalking. As part of the ChristianaCare team, the expert staff at the Sleep Wellness Center coordinates with disease-based programs at ChristianaCare to integrate sleep services into cardiac care, weight loss surgery and renal transplant care. They also partner with surgeons to manage hypoglossal nerve stimulation therapy, a major advancement in obstructive sleep apnea treatment. Patients at the Sleep Wellness Center undergo a personal sleep history, medical background and physical examination. If appropriate, a polysomnography (sleep study) may be ordered to monitor and record brain waves, heart rate, blood oxygen level, breathing and eye movements. Poor Sleep Health is a National Problem According to the National Institutes of Health, of the 70 million Americans suffering from sleep-related problems, more than 50% are likely to have a chronic disorder, such as insomnia, obstructive sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome and narcolepsy. People who suffer from sleep disorders are also more likely to have chronic diseases like hypertension, diabetes, depression, obesity and even cancer. The impact on American life and economy is enormous as sleep deprivation and untreated sleep disorders are estimated to cost over $100 billion annually in lost productivity, medical expenses, sick leave, property and environmental damage. “With information collected through testing, our sleep experts can determine the source of a sleep problem and begin a treatment plan to help patients improve their quality of life,” Kauta said. The address and phone number of the new center: ChristianaCare Sleep Wellness Center 4735 Ogletown Stanton Rd. Suite 2210 Newark, DE 19713 302-623-0610