Briana J. Taylor, PhD

Research Fellow

Education

BA: Liberal Arts, Bard College, Annandale, New York
MS: Bio-health Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
PhD: Bio-health Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Broadly, my research has focused on associations between sleep patterns and both bio-behavioral and mental-health. My master’s thesis focused on prospective associations between habitual sleep patterns and cardio-metabolic health in mid-life women. The primary finding of this study was that high intra-individual variability in bed time was associated with greater insulin resistance years later. From this I developed a strong interest in circadian physiology and circadian phenotypes. I focused on “night owl” tendencies in adolescents and their link with maladaptive behavior. I then completed a dissertation examining autonomic indices of emotion regulation as mechanisms to explain the high prevalence of maladaptive behavior in night owls.

Since starting my post-doctoral research fellowship, I have shifted my focus to examine sleep patterns and circadian physiology as predictors of adaptive functioning in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). To date, developmental changes in sleep and circadian rhythms from childhood to adolescence have not been examined in youth with ASD. I intend to investigate 1) sleep patterns and circadian rhythm profiles in youth with ASD across developmental stages; and 2) sleep and circadian disturbances as pathways for adaptive functioning in ASD.

(Milligan was changed to Taylor in 2014)

Taylor, B.J., Sanders, K., Kyle, M., Pedersen, K.A., Veenstra-VanderWeele, J., & Siegel, M. (in press). Inpatient psychiatric treatment of serious behavioral problems in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD): General versus specialized inpatient units. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.

Taylor, B.J. & Hasler, B.P. (in press). Chronotype and mental health: Recent advances. Current Psychiatry Reports.

Smagula, S., Krafty, R.T., Taylor, B.J., Martire, L.M., Schulz, R., & Hall, M.H. (in press). Rest-activity rhythm and sleep characteristics associated with depression symptoms severity in strained dementia caregivers. Journal of Sleep Research.

Hall, M.H., Mulukutla, S., Kline, C.E., Samuelsson, L.B., Taylor, B.J., Thayer, J.F., Krafty, R.T., Frank, E., Kupfer, D.J. (2016). Objective sleep duration is prospectively associated with endothelial health. Sleep, 40(1).

 Taylor, B.J., Matthews, K.A., Hasler, B.P., Roecklein, K.A., Kline, C.E., Buysse, D.J., Kravitz, H.M., Tiani, A.G., Harlow, S.D., Hall, M.H. (2016). Bedtime variability and metabolic health in midlife women: The SWAN Sleep Study. Sleep, 39(2): 457-65.

Taylor, B.J., Irish, L.A., Martire, L.M, Siegle, G.J., Krafty, R.T., Schulz, R., Hall, M.H. (2015). Avoidant coping and poor sleep efficiency in dementia caregivers. Psychosomatic Medicine, 77(9): 4364-7.

Rothenberger, S.D., Krafty, R.T., Taylor, B.J., Cribbet, M.R., Buysse, D.J., Thayer, J.F., Kravits, H. M., Buysse, E.D., Hall, M.H. (2014). Time-varying correlations between slow wave sleep and heart rate variability in mid-life women. Psychophysiology, 52(4): 572-84.

Siegel, M., M.D., Milligan, B., B.A., Chemelski, B., Ph.D , Ellsworth, B., MA, CCC-SLP, Payne, D., PA-C, Harmon, J., M/OTR, Teer, O., BA, and Smith, K.A. Ph.D. (2014). Specialized Inpatient Psychiatry Treatment for Serious Behavioral Disturbance in Autism and Intellectual Disability. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 44(12): 3026-32.

Ad hoc reviewer for:

  • Psychophysiology
  • Journal of Affective Disorders
  • SLEEP
  • Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders

Professional Memberships and Societies:

  • Sleep Research Society 2012-Present
  • American Psychosomatic Society 2012-2016

Academic and Professional Development Activities:

  • 2018 – Present Sleep Research Society Trainee Symposia Series Subcommittee member
  • 2017 – Present Chair of the MHIR Center for Psychiatric Research Junior Investigator Group
  • 2016 Sleep, health and aging community outreach, Weinberg Terrace Assisted Living Facility
  • 2015 Planning committee member for graduate student interview weekend
  • 2014 Sleep and cardio-metabolic health community outreach, Upper St. Clair High School
  • 2013 Sleep science community outreach, YMCA Summer youth program, Pittsburgh, PA