Sep 11 2023
Wake Up Narcolepsy 2023 National Conference & Patient Summit Event Recap

Posted at Sep 11 2023
h in News by Cara Weaver

The 2023 Wake Up Narcolepsy National Conference & Patient Summit took place on September 9th, 2023, in Rochester, Minnesota, in association with Rochester Mayo Clinic!

Left: Program Organizers Julie Baughn, M.D., and Diego Z. Carvalho, M.D., M.S., giving an introduction to the event

Right: Person with Narcolepsy Panel: Olivia Sirpilla, Ann Klaas, Tom Heckmaster and Nicole Jeray with Monica Gow, Executive Director and Co-Founder of Wake Up Narcolepsy

The event was a great success and gave the opportunity for meaningful connections to be formed, education and awareness to be spread and ideas to be shared. Around 130 people attended in person and over 350 attended virtually!

The presentations and panels were available to both in-person and virtual attendees and were all recorded except the support group breakout sessions at the conclusion of the event. The recordings can be found on the Wake Up Narcolepsy YouTube channel or here. Keep an eye out on social media for updates and make sure to sign up for our newsletter, The Monthly Wake Up.

On September 8th, the night before the main event, there was a meet & greet hosted for attendees. The people who attended enjoyed refreshments and conversations about support and awareness, preparing for the next day.

The conference began around 8 AM with a breakfast and brief introduction from Monica Gow, Co-Founder and Executive Director for Wake Up Narcolepsy, followed by words from program organizers Julie Baughn, M.D., and Diego Z. Carvalho, M.D., M.S.

Following were presentations from the keynote speaker, Michael H. Silber, M.B., Ch.B., on “Medications for Narcolepsy: Present & Future,” Mithri Junna,, M.D., on “Narcolepsy Symptoms and Diagnosis,” and the Person with Narcolepsy Panel featuring Nicole Jeray, Tom Heckmaster, Olivia Sirpilla and Ann Klaas.

After a short break for lunch, two breakout sessions took place, including presentations on “Mental Health” by Bhanuprakash (Bhanu) Kolla, M.B.B.S., M.D., “Medical Comorbidities” by Diego Z. Carvalho, M.D., M.S., “Comorbid Sleep Disorders” by Erik St. Louis, M.D., “Transition of Care” by Julie Baughn, M.D., “Pregnancy, Parenting” by Melissa Lipford, M.D., and “Patient Perspective” by Emily Robinson.

There was then presentations from industry speakers and the event was concluded with support group breakout sessions, dividing into rooms for a people with Narcolepsy, led by Nicole Jeray, parents and loved ones of people with Narcolepsy, led by Anne Samarawickrama, and youth with Narcolepsy, led by Hero Anderson and Tara O’Connor.

Throughout the day, there was a nap room available for those needing space to rest. It was complete with beds and comfortable seating, blankets, pillows, headphones and eye masks. Check it out here! The nap room was sponsored by Alkermes.

The teen track took place simultaneously with the speakers during the event, giving young attendees a space to engage with each other and form connections. This group played an escape room game, went on a scavenger hunt, helped with a Wake Up Narcolepsy social media takeover and had time for art and creative journaling. They also got the chance to speak with the person with Narcolepsy panel and ask questions about their experiences.

If you’d like to see more from the event, visit our Tik Tok and YouTube for videos of the day!

Thank You to our Sponsors!

Platinum Sponsors – Avadel Pharmaceuticals, Jazz Pharmaceuticals

Gold Sponsors – Axsome Therapeutics, Harmony Biosciences, Takeda

Supporting Sponsors – Centessa Pharmaceuticals

Nap Room Sponsor – Alkermes

Session Sponsor – Biotrial

Partner – RTSleepWorld’s Sleep Lab Magazine

Thank you also to:

All of our amazing volunteers, speakers and board members, Alli Trost from Events by Alli C, who worked closely with WUN to plan the event and The Kahler Grand Hotel and Rochester Mayo Clinic for hosting us!