Research Overview

At present, my research revolves around leveraging wearable device data to understand how objectively measured sleep and physical activity influence healthy aging. I am also interested in how data from wearable tech can be used to develop machine learning tools for personal health monitoring. My research primarily concerns older adults ages 65+.

Publications

  • Sakal, C., Li, T., Li, J. et al. Predicting poor performance on cognitive tests among older adults using wearable device data and machine learning: a feasibility study. npj Aging 10, 56 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41514-024-00177-x

  • Sakal, C., Zhao, W., Xu, W. et al. Effects of caffeine on accelerometer measured sleep and physical activity among older adults under free-living conditions. BMC Public Health 24, 3299 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-20115-6

  • Sakal C, Li T, Li J, Yang C, Li X. Association Between Sleep Efficiency Variability and Cognition Among Older Adults: Cross-Sectional Accelerometer Study. JMIR Aging 2024;7:e54353. doi: 10.2196/54353

  • Sakal C, Li T, Li J, Li X. Identifying Predictive Risk Factors for Future Cognitive Impairment Among Chinese Older Adults: Longitudinal Prediction Study. JMIR Aging 2024;7:e53240, doi: 10.2196/53240

  • Collin Sakal, Juan Li, Yu-Tao Xiang, Xinyue Li. Development and validation of the Chinese Geriatric Depression Risk calculator (CGD-risk): A screening tool to identify elderly Chinese with depression, Journal of Affective Disorders, Volume 319, 2022, Pages 428-436, ISSN 0165-0327, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2022.09.034.

Accepted, Submitted, and Working Papers

  • Collin Sakal, Tong Chen, Wenxin Xu, Yang Yu, Xinyue Li. Towards proactively improving sleep: machine learning and modifiable wearable-derived activity features forecast sleep efficiency 4-8 hours before sleep onset. Under review, available upon request.

Conferences and Talks

  • Conference Poster Presentation: Daytime activity attenuates associations between sleep efficiency and mortality among older adults. Gerontological Society of America Annual Scientific Meeting, 2024. Seattle, USA. Abstract available in Innovation in Aging here: https://academic.oup.com/innovateage/article/8/Supplement_1/1299/7939904

  • Guest Lecture: Polars as an alternative to Pandas for data science. City University of Hong Kong Department of Data Science, 2024. Hong Kong, China

  • Conference Oral Presentation: The International Conference on Aging and Gerontology (ICAG) 2023. Chengdu, China

  • Guest Lecture: An introduction to the Polars library for data science. City University of Hong Kong Department of Data Science, 2023. Hong Kong, China

  • Oral Presentation: Electronic cigarettes as cessation devices for traditional tobacco smokers. Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center Research Presentation Competition for Undergraduate Interns, 2018. Buffalo, New York, USA

  • Oral Presentation: Electronic cigarettes as cessation devices for traditional tobacco smokers. Buffalo Summer Research Conference, 2018. Buffalo, New York, USA

Reviewer Experience

  • Journal of Medical Internet Research (JMIR)

  • JMIR Public Health and Surveillance

  • JMIR mHealth and uHealth

  • Scientific Reports

  • JMIR Aging

  • JMIR Medical Informatics

  • JMIR Research Protocols

  • JMIR Formative Research

  • Online Journal of Public Health Informatics