Facilities

The UC Irvine Research Center for Exercise Medicine and Sleep (RCEMS) is one of the few in the nation with both a state-of-the-art pediatric human performance laboratory to conduct exercise tests, and a functional genomics laboratory equipped with cutting-edge platforms to evaluate impacts at the molecular level. Additionally, our specialized rooms for sleep assessments are outfitted with the latest technology for sleep research. Both the environment and research methodologies are tailored to children.

Children are not little adults. Experimental procedures involving children must conform to ethical and feasibility standards not often encountered in other areas of translational research.

RCEMS has assembled a group of exercise physiologists, sleep scientists, biomedical engineers and computer scientists with the experience and expertise to incorporate these special considerations into their work as they explore exercise and sleep as medicine.

Novel methodologies enabling RCEMS to conduct exercise studies in pediatric populations include:

• Modified testing protocols to use limited volumes of blood and saliva for genomic and epigenetic assays in children
• Accelerometers that are re-engineered to be worn by premature babies and wirelessly record movements of all four limbs
• Use of exhaled breath to measure naturally occurring trace gases that reflect metabolism
• Nontraditional exercise testing protocols that focus on how quickly bodies respond to (and recover from) individual bouts of exercise

These capabilities attract collaborators from leading research institutions to explore innovative ways to study exercise and genomics in the pediatric population.

The RCEMS Sleep Health Research Laboratory at UC Irvine Health is a cutting-edge facility dedicated to advancing the science of sleep and its relationship with exercise.

Our lab features two specialized rooms to ensure participant comfort and privacy, with dedicated spaces for both participants and their guardians. These rooms are monitored from a central control room by our skilled technicians, ensuring real-time observation and high-quality data collection.

We utilize the latest in sleep research technology, including high-definition polysomnography (PSG) systems, a Quantum 128-channel PSG amplifier, and the NeuroWorks & SleepWorks 8 platform for precise EEG data acquisition and sleep scoring. In addition, our Actigraphy units provide advanced actigraphy analysis, capturing detailed habitual sleep patterns and circadian activity rhythms to offer insights into daily activity patterns and sleep-wake cycles.

Our lab supports a wide range of studies, including patient screening and clinical assessment, neurocognitive evaluations focusing on sleep-dependent cognitive performance, overnight PSG recording with hdEEG (128 channels), and comprehensive actigraphy analysis.

The RCEMS Sleep Health Research Laboratory is at the forefront of technology for exploring how sleep and exercise interact.