Projects per year
Personal profile
Biography
Dr Wassing's training included biochemistry (BSc) and neuroscience (MSc), and he obtained his Doctorate in May 2019, for the research program on the neurobiology of emotional memory processing in insomnia under supervision of Prof. Van Someren at The Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, De Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Since 2019 he is a post-doctoral research fellow at the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research and at the School of Psychological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia.
Research interests
Mental disorders will be the number one health burden of our society worldwide in 2030. Dr. Wassing's research program revealed that fragmented sleep is key to the mechanisms underlying disturbed emotion regulation. Indeed, fragmented sleep is also known to be the primary transdiagnostic factor determining the risk, severity, chronicity and relapse of mental problems. Current research efforts focus on (1) a transdiagnostic understanding of the underlying neurobiological mechanisms of sleep fragmentation and its key role in dysregulated emotional distress; (2) optimised and validated markers to identify people at risk and to monitor intervention success; (3) utilisation of these markers for early stratification of people at risk into our combined sleep and circadian eHealth intervention.
Education/Academic qualification
Neuroscience, PhD, Restless REM sleep and its detrimental effects on the regulation of emotional distress, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Award Date: 1 May 2019
Neuroscience, MSc, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Award Date: 1 Sept 2012
Biochemistry, BSc, InHolland University of Applied Sciences
Award Date: 1 Sept 2008
External positions
Post-doctoral research fellow, Woolcock Institute of Medical Research
2019 → …
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Projects
- 3 Active
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Usyd led: Synergise, Integrate and Enhance Sleep Research to Transform Brain Ageing (SIESTA)
Naismith, S., D'Rozario, A., Grunstein, R., Martins, R., Gordon, C., Hoyos, C., Rainey-Smith, S., Anderson, C., Shine, J. M., Bourgeat, P., Coulson, E. J., Trickett, D., Wassing, R., Fripp, J., Postnova, S., Ward, S., Matar, E., Phillips, C., Jacobson, L., Hedner, J. & Eslick, S.
11/06/24 → 10/06/29
Project: Research
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Enhancing slow wave sleep and sleep dependent memory in older adults with sleep disorders and chronic respiratory disease.
D'Rozario, A., Wassing, R. & Tang, J.
1/01/24 → 31/12/26
Project: Research
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Understanding Brain Cleaning in Obstructive Sleep Apnoea
Phillips, C., Postnova, S., Butlin, M., Wong, K., D'Rozario, A. L., Grunstein, R. R., Chatterjee, P., Wassing, R., Gordon, C. J., Hoyos, C. & Martins, R.
21/02/22 → 31/01/26
Project: Research
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Insomnia subtypes have differentiating deviations in brain structural connectivity
Bresser, T., Blanken, T. F., de Lange, S. C., Leerssen, J., Foster-Dingley, J. C., Lakbila-Kamal, O., Wassing, R., Ramautar, J. R., Stoffers, D., van de Heuvel, M. P. & van Someren, E. J. W., 1 Feb 2025, In: Biological Psychiatry. 97, 3, p. 302-312 11 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile7 Citations (Scopus)16 Downloads (Pure) -
Moderately strong intraclass correlations between actigraphic and polysomnographic total sleep time and sleep efficiency in older adults with sleep disturbance
Rahimi, M. M., Phillips, C. L., Marshall, N. S., Wassing, R., Pun, T., Grunstein, R. R. & Gordon, C. J., 15 Apr 2025, In: Sleep and Breathing. 29, 2, p. 1-6 6 p., 161.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile7 Downloads (Pure) -
Neural correlates of insomnia with depression and anxiety from a neuroimaging perspective: a systematic review
Peng, C., Wang, K., Wang, J., Wassing, R., Eickhoff, S. B., Tahmasian, M. & Chen, J., Jun 2025, In: Sleep Medicine Reviews. 81, p. 1-13 13 p., 102093.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review
1 Citation (Scopus) -
The effect of obstructive sleep apnea on sleep neurophysiology and cognition in schizophrenia
Cho, G., Faris, S., Wassing, R., Kao, T., Bartlett, D., Valenzuela, I., Garden, G., Tai, J. E., Sureshkumar, P., Marshall, N., Yee, B., Lambert, T., Grunstein, R. & D'Rozario, A., May 2025, In: Sleep. 48, S1, p. A55-A56 2 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Meeting abstract
Open Access -
Different heart rate variability profile during sleep in mid-later life adults with remitted early-onset versus late-onset depression
Kong, S. D. X., Espinosa, N., McKinnon, A. C., Gordon, C. J., Wassing, R., Hoyos, C. M., Hickie, I. B. & Naismith, S. L., 1 Aug 2024, In: Journal of Affective Disorders. 358, p. 175-182 8 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile2 Citations (Scopus)78 Downloads (Pure)
Activities
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Australasian Sleep Association Neuroscience Council (External organisation)
Rick Wassing (Chair)
1 Dec 2024 → …Activity: Membership › Membership of council
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Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences (Organisational unit)
Rick Wassing (Member)
1 Nov 2024 → …Activity: Membership › Membership of committee
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Implementation of nuisance regression for the analysis of haemodynamic responses to the finger tapping task
Rick Wassing (Speaker)
15 Jul 2024Activity: Talk or presentation › Presentation
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To wake up or continue sleep: neurophysiological correlates of LC activity
Rick Wassing (Keynote speaker)
28 Aug 2024Activity: Talk or presentation › Invited talk
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Improved sleep for better mood and emotion regulation
Rick Wassing (Invited speaker)
8 Apr 2024Activity: Talk or presentation › Invited talk
Press/Media
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Discovery of different forms of insomnia could lead to better treatment
31/08/24
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Public Engagement Activities
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Evenings interview by Renee Krosch
20/05/24
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Public Engagement Activities
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How we process emotions during sleep may change our mental health
18/05/24
4 Media contributions
Press/Media: Public Engagement Activities