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Center of Excellence Personnel
Wilfred R. Pigeon, Ph.D.
VA Appointment: Executive Director
Academic Affiliation: Professor of Psychiatry, University of Rochester
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Research InterestsMy research focuses on the mechanisms, consequences and treatment of sleep disturbance especially as they relate to suicidal thoughts and behaviors and their co-occurrence with common medical and mental health conditions. I am interested in the effects of combining sleep and other treatments to enhance overall care and mitigate suicide risk. This includes the adaptation and testing of behavioral sleep interventions in a variety of patient populations including those with chronic pain, depression, interpersonal violence, and combat-related PTSD. I have been involved with research on non-medication treatments for sleep, and other conditions as upstream approaches to divert Veterans with these conditions from engaging in suicidal thoughts and acts. Our team is also investigating the suicide safety profile of sedative-hypnotic medications. I am also involved in adapting evidence-based interventions for delivery in primary care settings, by telephone and other technology platforms to improve overall mental health in larger segments of the population. To date this has included work with brief adaptations of behavioral treatments for insomnia, behavioral activation therapy for depression, and mindfulness based therapy for PTSD as well as delivering cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia for self-management in several different modalities. |
Current Funding
| DATES | SPONSOR | PROJECT | ROLE |
| 2018-2022 | VA/HSR&D | Improving Sleep as a Strategy to reduce Suicide Risk Among at-Risk Veterans: A Real World Clinical Trial | MPI |
| 2018-2020 | NIH/NCCIH | Primary Care Based Mindfulness Training for Veterans with PTSD | Co-I |
| 2018-2020 | NIH/NIMH | Interplay between Insomnia & Reward Processing in Depression Risk | Co-Sponsor |
| 2014-2020 | NIH/NCI | Yoga for Sleep in Cancer: The Role of Circadian, Physcial and Immune Function | Co-I |
| 2018-2019 | Pfizer | Quantification of Scratch and Sleep in Atopic Dermatitis | MPI |
| 2014-2019 | VA/CSRD | Cognitive Rehabilitation for Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses | Site PI/Co-I |
| 2017-2019 | American Foundation for Suicide Prevention | Sleep Disturbance and Short-Term Suicide Risk in Youth after Psychiatric Hospitalization | Co-I |
| 2017-2019 | VISN 2 Center of Excellence for Suicide Prevention | Suicide & Sleep: Is Sleep Apnea Associated with Suicidality and does Treatment of Sleep Apnea reduce Risk? | Co-I |
| 2017-2019 | VA Office of Mental Health & Suicide Prevention | Combined CBT-Pain Intervention & Internet-Delivered CBT-Insomnia to Decrease Suicide and Unintentional Overdose | Co-I |
| 2017-2020 | VA Office of Mental Health & Suicide Prevention | Advanced Predictive Analytics for Suicide Behaviors and Depression Treatment Response | Co-I |
| 2019-2020 | URMC Public Health Science Pilot | Assessing Subjective and Objective Parameters of Sleep and Dreaming in the Deaf Community | MPI |
| 2019-2022 | K12 Award via GM106997 | Sleep an Dreaming in the Deaf Community | Mentor |
Past Funding
| DATES | SPONSOR | PROJECT | ROLE |
| 2015-19 | VA/HSR&D | RCT of Behavioral Activation for Depression and Suicidality in Primary Care | MPI |
| 2017-18 | VA Office of Mental Health & Suicide Prevention | Improving the Safety of Prescribing Medications Labelled for Risk of Suicidal Ideation and Behavior | Co-I |
| 2016-18 | NIH/UR-CTSI | Effects of Mindfulness on PTSD: A Community-Based Clinical Trial among Trauma Survivors | Primary Sponsor |
| 2015-18 | NIH/NIDA | NIH Pain Consortium Center of Excellene in Pain Education | Co-I |
| 2012-17 | NIH/NINR | Managing Sleep Symptoms & Modifying Mechanisms of Traumatic Stress | MPI |
| 2014-17 | Department of Defense | Diverting Pathways to Substance Misuse by Improving Sleep | Consultant |
| 2016-17 | VA/HSR&D | Mobile Sleep & Pain Intervention for OEF/OIF/OND Veterans | Co-I |
| 2016-17 | Eisai Corp. | 1-Month, Multicenter, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Contrikked Parallel-Group, Phase 3 Study of Efficacy & Safety of Lemborexant Compared to Zolpidem in Insomnia Subjects 55+ | Site PI |
| 2015-16 | VA/HSR&D | An Adjunctive Behavioral Sleep Intervention to Prevent Veteran Suicides | PI |
| 2012-15 | NIH/NIA | Slow Wave Sleep and Inflammatory Processes in Pain Role | MPI |
| 2011-14 | VISN 2 Center of Excellence for Suicide Prevention | Brief CBT for Insomnia in VA Primary Care Patients with Depression & Insomnia to Reduce Suicide Risk | PI |
| 2013-14 | VA MH QUERI | MBSR to Decrease Suicidal Ideation and Enhance Well-Being in Women Veterans Exposed to Military Sexual Trauma | Mentor/Co-I |
| 2013-14 | VA Women's Health Services | MBSR to Promote Cardiovascular Health and Reduce Suicide Risk for Women Veterans Exposed to Trauma | Mentor/Co-I |
| 2011-13 | VA Patient Care Services | Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction for Primary Care Veterans with PTSD Sympotms | MPI |
| 2012-13 | VISN 2 Center of Excellence for Suicide Prevention | Pilot Test of Behavioral Activation for Depression & Suicidality in Primary Care | MPI |
| 2010-13 | VA Center for Integrated Healthcare | Pattern and Prevalence of Sleep Disturbances in OEF/OIF Veterans with PTSD & Piloting a Brief Intervention | PI |
| 2010-13 | VA CSR&D - Merit Review Award | Daily Fluctuations of PTSD Symptoms and Alcohol Use among OEF/OIF Veterans | Co-I |
| 2011-12 | Zeo, Inc. Equip. Grant | Pain, Sleep Quality and Inflammatory Markers | PI |
| 2010-12 | Merck & Co | A Phase III, Multicenter, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Parallel Group Study to Evaluate the Safety and Efficacy of MK-4305 in Patients with Primary Insomnia-Study B | Site PI |
| 2011-12 | DoD Consortium Development Award | Integrative Physiology of Gulf War Illness: Role of Autonomic Function, Central Neural Processing and Sleep | Co-I |
| 2009-10 | NIH/NIMH | Real World Treatments & Outcomes for Insomnia | PI |
| 2009-10 | URMC Department of Anesthesiology | Pharmacological Pre-Treatment with Physostigmine Versus Placebo Can Ablate Respiratory Arrhythmias Caused by Sedation with Midazolam and Remifentanil | Co-I |
| 2009-10 | Merck & Co | A Pjase IIb, Multicenter, Randomized, Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled 2-period Adaptive Crossover PSG Study to Evaluate Safety and Efficacy of MK-6096 in Patients with Primary Insomnia | Site PI |
| 2008-10 | NIH/NIMH | Court-based Mental Health Screening and Service Referrals for Co-occuring Issues Relating to IPV Victims | Co-I |
| 2007-10 | NIH/NINR | The Psychoneuroimmunology of Insomnia: Response to A Vaccine Challenge | PI |
| 2007-10 | VISN 2 Center of Excellence for Suicide Prevention | CBT for Insomnia in Combat Veterans: Outcomes on Sleep, Depression, PTSD, Suicide and Immunity | PI |
| 2007-10 | NIH/NIMH | Information Processing at Sleep Onset and During Sleep in Patients with Insomnia | Co-I |
| 2008-09 | Merck & Co | A Phase IIb, Multicenter, Randomized, Double-Blind Placebo-Safety and Efficacy of MK-4305 in Patients with Primary Insomnia | Site PI |
| 2006-08 | American Sleep Medicine Foundation | Sleep Homeostasis in Primary Insomnia Following CBT | PI |
| 2007-08 | Takeda Pharmaceuticals | Development of an Interactive CME Website to Train Physicians and Nurses to Assess and Manage Insomnia | Co-I |
| 2006-07 | CherryPharm, Inc. | Effects of a Tart Cherry Juice Beverage on the Sleep of Older Adults with Insomnia | PI |
| 2005-07 | Rochester Center for MindBody Research | CBT for Co-Morbid Insomnia and Chronic Pain: Sleep, Pain and Immune Function Outcomes | PI |
| 2004-06 | Cephalon | A 2nd Evaluation of the Effects of Modafinil Alone and in Combination with Behavioral Treatment for Insomnia | Co-I |
| 2004-07 | NIH/NINDS | Treatment of Insomnia Secondary to Chronic Pain | PI |
