Andrew S. Tubbs, PhD

MS IV
College of Medicine – Tucson
Year Entered Program: 
2015
Grad Year: 
2024
Degrees Received: 
  • BSc, Biological Sciences, University of California, Davis (2012)
  • PhD, Neuroscience, University of Arizona (2021)
PhD Program: 
Neuroscience Graduate Interdisciplinary Program
Thesis Advisor: 
Michael Grandner, PhD, MTR, DBSM
Thesis Research: 

The Mind after Midnight: Nocturnal Wakefulness, Suicide, and the ANSWERS Project

About Me: 

My research examines how sleep and circadian rhythms affect suicide risk and drive mental and functional disability in psychotic disorders. My research on suicide risk takes the form of secondary data analyses and mini-longitudinal/ecological momentary assessment studies examining how wakefulness during the middle of the night increases suicide risk through normal circadian decreases and sleep deprivation-induced losses in cognitive function, risk assessment, and emotional regulation. The core of this work was recently published as a mini-review titled the Mind After Midngiht Hypothesis. I have done additional clinical (behavioral sleep medicine) and research work examining how sleep and circadian rhythms are disrupted in first-episode psychosis, whether this population is amenable to cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia, and how such disturbances may increase the risk for psychotic symptoms and suicide. 

Honors & Awards: 
  • Graduated Summa Cum Laude, June 2012
  • Regent Scholars Award, 2008-2012
  • Byrd Honors Scholarship, 2008-2011
  • Chevron REACH Scholarship, 2008-2012
  • Phi Kappa Phi Honors Society Emerging Scholar, 2009
  • Commitment to Underserved Peoples (CUP) Alumnae Scholarship Award, 2017
  • CUP Leadership Award, 2017
  • University of Arizona Galileo Circle Scholar, 2019, 2021
  • Sleep Research Society Trainee Merit Award, 2019
  • UA ARCS Might Fellowship, 2020-2021 
  • Society for Behavioral Sleep Medicine Student Dissertation and Thesis Award, 2020
  • American Academy of Sleep Medicine Trainee Investigator Award, Honorable Mention, 2021
  • American Society for Clinical Psychopharmacology, New Investigator Award, 2022
Selected Publications: 

Papers:

  • Tubbs AS, Fernandez FX, Grandner MA, Perlis ML, Klerman EB. The Mind after Midnight: Nocturnal Wakefulness, Behavioral Dysregulation, and Psychopathology. Front. Netw. Physiol. 1: 830338. doi: 10.3389/fnetp. 2022 Mar 3.
  • Mason BJ, Tubbs AS, Fernandez FX, Grandner MA. Spectrophotometric properties of commercially available blue blockers across multiple lighting conditions. Chronobiol Int. 2022 Jan 4:1-12. doi: 10.1080/07420528.2021.2021229. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34983271.
  • Tubbs AS, Ghani SB, Naps M, Grandner MA, Stein MD, Chakravorty S. Past-year use or misuse of an opioid is associated with use of a sedative-hypnotic medication: a US National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) study. J Clin Sleep Med. 2022 Mar 1;18(3):809-816. doi: 10.5664/jcsm.9724. PMID: 34666879.
  • Miller M, Sun S, Iosif AM, Young GS, Belding A, Tubbs A, Ozonoff S. Repetitive behavior with objects in infants developing autism predicts diagnosis and later social behavior as early as 9 months. J Abnorm Psychol. 2021 Aug;130(6):665-675. doi: 10.1037/abn0000692. PMID: 34553961; PMCID: PMC8480432.
  • Tubbs AS, Fernandez FX, Johnson DA, Perlis ML, Grandner MA. Nocturnal and Morning Wakefulness Are Differentially Associated With Suicidal Ideation in a Nationally Representative Sample. J Clin Psychiatry. 2021 Sep 21;82(6):20m13820. doi: 10.4088/JCP.20m13820. PMID: 34551221.
  • Ghani SB, Taneja K, Wills CCA, Tubbs AS, Delgadillo ME, Valencia D, Halane M, Killgore WDS, Grandner MA. Culturally-consistent diet among individuals of Mexican descent at the US-Mexico border is associated with sleep duration and snoring. BMC Nutr. 2021 Aug 23;7(1):53. doi: 10.1186/s40795-021-00452-0. PMID: 34420524; PMCID: PMC8381582.
  • Tubbs AS, Kennedy KER, Alfonso-Miller P, Wills CCA, Grandner MA. A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial of a Polyphenol Botanical Blend on Sleep and Daytime Functioning. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Mar 16;18(6):3044. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18063044. PMID: 33809544; PMCID: PMC8000032.
  • Tubbs AS, Fernandez FX, Ghani SB, Karp JF, Patel SI, Parthasarathy S, Grandner MA. Prescription medications for insomnia are associated with suicidal thoughts and behaviors in two nationally representative samples. J Clin Sleep Med. 2021 May 1;17(5):1025-1030. doi: 10.5664/jcsm.9096. PMID: 33560206; PMCID: PMC8320505.
  • Khader WS, Tubbs AS, Haghighi A, Athey AB, Killgore WDS, Hale L, Perlis ML, Gehrels JA, Alfonso-Miller P, Fernandez FX, Grandner MA. Onset insomnia and insufficient sleep duration are associated with suicide ideation in university students and athletes. J Affect Disord. 2020 Sep 1;274:1161-1164. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2020.05.102. Epub 2020 May 24. PMID: 32663946; PMCID: PMC7384749.
  • Tubbs AS, Harrison-Monroe P, Fernandez FX, Perlis ML, Grandner MA. When reason sleeps: attempted suicide during the circadian night. J Clin Sleep Med. 2020 Oct 15;16(10):1809-1810. doi: 10.5664/jcsm.8662. PMID: 32621577.
  • Tubbs AS, Fernandez FX, Perlis ML, Hale L, Branas CC, Barrett M, Chakravorty S, Khader W, Grandner MA. Suicidal ideation is associated with nighttime wakefulness in a community sample. Sleep. 2021 Jan 21;44(1):zsaa128. doi: 10.1093/sleep/zsaa128. PMID: 32614967; PMCID: PMC8240658.
  • Tubbs AS, Gallagher R, Perlis ML, Hale L, Branas C, Barrett M, Gehrels JA, Alfonso-Miller P, Grandner MA. Relationship between insomnia and depression in a community sample depends on habitual sleep duration. Sleep Biol Rhythms. 2020 Apr;18(2):143-153. doi: 10.1007/s41105-020-00255-z. Epub 2020 Feb 6. PMID: 34305449; PMCID: PMC8296753.
  • Tubbs AS, Perlis ML, Basner M, Chakravorty S, Khader W, Fernandez F, Grandner MA. Relationship of Nocturnal Wakefulness to Suicide Risk Across Months and Methods of Suicide. J Clin Psychiatry. 2020 Feb 25;81(2):19m12964. doi: 10.4088/JCP.19m12964. PMID: 32097547.
  • Tubbs AS, Khader W, Fernandez F, Grandner MA. The common denominators of sleep, obesity, and psychopathology. Curr Opin Psychol. 2020 Aug;34:84-88. doi: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2019.11.003. Epub 2019 Dec 2. PMID: 31835070.
  • Tubbs AS, Grandner MA, Combs D. Refractory Insomnia in an Adolescent with Total Blindness. Yale J Biol Med. 2019 Jun 27;92(2):201-204. PMID: 31249480; PMCID: PMC6585511.
  • Tubbs AS, Combs D, Grandner MA, Parthasarathy S. Obstructive sleep apnea in Jacobsen Syndrome. Sleep Vigilance. 2019 Apr 21;3(1):77-79. doi: 10.1007/S41782-019-00060-W
  • Tubbs AS, Perlis ML, Grandner MA. Surviving the long night: The potential of sleep health for suicide prevention. Sleep Med Rev. 2019 Apr;44:83-84. doi: 10.1016/j.smrv.2019.01.001. PMID: 30797539; PMCID: PMC6530547.
  • Murzl CA, Durns TA, Mowrey LT, Tubbs AS, Boeve SA. A Medical Student-Run Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Clinic: One Institution's Experience. Acad Psychiatry. 2017 Oct;41(5):582-586. doi: 10.1007/s40596-017-0753-x. Epub 2017 Jul 13. PMID: 28707231.

Book Chapters

  • Tubbs, Andrew S., et al. "The basics of sleep physiology and behavior." Sleep and health. Academic Press, 2019. 3-10.
  • Tubbs, Andrew S., and Michael A. Grandner. "Sleep and Health." Integrative Sleep Medicine (2021): 17.
  • Tubbs, Andrew S., and Michael A. Grandner. "CBT-I for patients with schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders." Adapting Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia. Academic Press, 2022. 165-179.