Sam Gillman received his HBSc in Neuroscience and Psychology from the University of Toronto in 2020, with a Minor in Physiology. During his time there, he contributed to advancements in our understanding of associative memory acquisition using optogenetic manipulations in animal models. Sam completed his MSc in Health and Exercise Science in 2022, supervised by Dr. Thanh Dang-Vu. He examined EEG brain oscillation activity and cross-frequency coupling (CFC) during REM sleep in relation to memory consolidation across adulthood. Sam continued his work and is now completing his PhD. His work examines the relationship between age- and Alzheimer’s disease (AD)-related changes in CFC, and how that reflects cognitive decline across the lifespan and with AD. A large portion of his effort is on phasic and tonic REM sleep, which are relatively understudied in the past 20 years. His work may elucidate mechanisms of cognitive decline, and provide novel therapeutic targets of cognitive decline, through sleep. In addition, he has contributed to studies on the feasibility of sleep wearables and how sleep wearables can be used to treat cognitive decline, via projects with the Canadian-National Research Council and with InteraXon, Inc. To read more about Sam’s work, please see https://scnlab.com/research-topics/sleep-and-cognition/.
Phasic and Tonic REM Sleep; Sleep-Dependent Memory Consolidation; Neurobiological Performance; Neural Oscillations; Cognition; Alzheimer’s Disease; Non-Invasive Biomarkers; EEG; Wearable Sleep Devices; Sleep Device Acceptability.
Peer-reviewed publications
Paez, A., Gillman, S. O., Dogaheh, S. B., Carnes, A., Dakterzada, F., Barbe, F., Dang‐Vu, T. T., & Piñol‐Ripoll, G. (2025). Sleep spindles and slow oscillations predict amyloid beta, tau pathology, and cognitive decline in persons with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s Disease.”. Alzheimer’s & Dementia, 21(Suppl 2), e104172. https://doi.org/10.1002/alz70856_104172
Dion, K., Porteous, M., Kendzerska, T., Nixon, A., Lee, E., de Zambotti, M., Garland, S. N., Singh, M., De Luca, G., Gillman, S., Baril, A. A., Gallson, D., Robillard, R., & Canadian Sleep Research Consortium (2025). Sleep, Health Care-Seeking Behaviors, and Perceptions Associated With the Use of Sleep Wearables in Canada: Results From a Nationally Representative Survey. Journal of medical Internet research, 27, e68816. https://doi.org/10.2196/68816
- Biography
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Sam Gillman received his HBSc in Neuroscience and Psychology from the University of Toronto in 2020, with a Minor in Physiology. During his time there, he contributed to advancements in our understanding of associative memory acquisition using optogenetic manipulations in animal models. Sam completed his MSc in Health and Exercise Science in 2022, supervised by Dr. Thanh Dang-Vu. He examined EEG brain oscillation activity and cross-frequency coupling (CFC) during REM sleep in relation to memory consolidation across adulthood. Sam continued his work and is now completing his PhD. His work examines the relationship between age- and Alzheimer’s disease (AD)-related changes in CFC, and how that reflects cognitive decline across the lifespan and with AD. A large portion of his effort is on phasic and tonic REM sleep, which are relatively understudied in the past 20 years. His work may elucidate mechanisms of cognitive decline, and provide novel therapeutic targets of cognitive decline, through sleep. In addition, he has contributed to studies on the feasibility of sleep wearables and how sleep wearables can be used to treat cognitive decline, via projects with the Canadian-National Research Council and with InteraXon, Inc. To read more about Sam’s work, please see https://scnlab.com/research-topics/sleep-and-cognition/.
- Research interests
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Phasic and Tonic REM Sleep; Sleep-Dependent Memory Consolidation; Neurobiological Performance; Neural Oscillations; Cognition; Alzheimer’s Disease; Non-Invasive Biomarkers; EEG; Wearable Sleep Devices; Sleep Device Acceptability.
- Contact details
- Selected publications
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Peer-reviewed publications
Paez, A., Gillman, S. O., Dogaheh, S. B., Carnes, A., Dakterzada, F., Barbe, F., Dang‐Vu, T. T., & Piñol‐Ripoll, G. (2025). Sleep spindles and slow oscillations predict amyloid beta, tau pathology, and cognitive decline in persons with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s Disease.”. Alzheimer’s & Dementia, 21(Suppl 2), e104172. https://doi.org/10.1002/alz70856_104172
Dion, K., Porteous, M., Kendzerska, T., Nixon, A., Lee, E., de Zambotti, M., Garland, S. N., Singh, M., De Luca, G., Gillman, S., Baril, A. A., Gallson, D., Robillard, R., & Canadian Sleep Research Consortium (2025). Sleep, Health Care-Seeking Behaviors, and Perceptions Associated With the Use of Sleep Wearables in Canada: Results From a Nationally Representative Survey. Journal of medical Internet research, 27, e68816. https://doi.org/10.2196/68816