Salome Kurth

SNSF-Professor, Eccellenza Fellowship, PD, Dr. sc. nat.

photo

 salome.kurth@unifr.ch
 +41 26 300 7647
 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1432-4367

Chargé·e de cours
Département de psychologie

RM 01 bu. C-4.115
Rue P.A. de Faucigny 2
1700 Fribourg
RM 01, C-4.115
+41 26 300 7647

Biographie

Salome Kurth est professeure assistante au Département de psychologie de l'Université de Fribourg. Ses recherches portent sur la maturation du rythme du sommeil, la neurophysiologie du sommeil au cours de la période de développement, le développement cognitif dans la petite enfance et les interactions avec le contexte familial, la nutrition et le microbiome intestinal. 

Elle a été la première à mener des recherches en pédiatrie en utilisant l'EEG à haute résolution spatiale. Elle a créé des cartes du sommeil du cerveau en développement et découvert que l'activité des ondes lentes (SWA, 1-4,5 Hz ; un marqueur du sommeil profond) se déplace des régions postérieures vers les régions antérieures du cuir chevelu, reflétant la maturation anatomique corticale et les fonctions comportementales associées. Cette recherche élucide le connectome du cerveau à l'aide d'une approche innovante et non invasive. Son laboratoire a lancé des recherches sur les nouveaux marqueurs de connectivité et les résultats comportementaux dans la petite enfance. Ils ont été les premiers à explorer la relation dynamique entre la régulation du sommeil du nourrisson, le microbiote intestinal et le développement neurologique. Ses résultats montrent que les cartes SWA sont liées aux profils du microbiome intestinal, les liens les plus forts se produisant vers l'âge de 3 mois, une période critique pour prédire les résultats comportementaux et développementaux basés sur les habitudes de sommeil et les marqueurs bactériens. Ses derniers travaux ont porté sur la nutrition au début de la vie et montrent que le maintien d'un rythme alimentaire régulier se reflète dans le microbiote intestinal et qu'une grande régularité alimentaire permet de prédire un sommeil nocturne moins fragmenté chez les nourrissons. Cela ouvre de nouvelles possibilités d'interventions, y compris des ajustements alimentaires et une éducation pédiatrique au sommeil - une approche proactive pour protéger le développement neurologique à long terme.

Depuis 2019, elle est titulaire d'une professeure Eccellenza du FNS à l'Université de Fribourg. Avant son poste à Fribourg, elle était titulaire d'une bourse Junior Start-up du programme prioritaire de recherche clinique « Sleep and Health » de l'Université de Zurich, dans les départements de neurologie et de pneumologie de l'Hôpital universitaire de Zurich (2016 - 2018). Entre 2012 et 2016, elle a été chercheuse postdoctorale à l'Institut de physiologie intégrative de l'Université du Colorado Boulder, avec le soutien du Fonds national suisse de la recherche scientifique. Salomé a obtenu son doctorat à l'Université de Zurich en 2011, dans le cadre du programme international de doctorat en neurosciences du Centre de neurosciences de Zurich. Elle a obtenu sa maîtrise en biologie à l'Université de Berne en 2007.

Projets actuels du FNS: 
https://data.snf.ch/grants/grant/181279
https://data.snf.ch/grants/grant/10000835

Outreach:  
www.baby-sleep.ch

Recherche et publications

  • Publication List
    331 publications

    The gut microbiota and sleep in infants: a focus on diurnal rhythmicity patterns
    Fannie Kerff, Christophe Mühlematter, Anja Adamov, Deborah Fast, Serafina Plüss, Petra Zimmermann, Salome Kurth, Nicholas A. Bokulich, Gut Microbes Reports (2026) | Article

    Stool Dynamics and the Developing Gut Microbiome During Infancy
    Mohammed Al-Andoli, Sarah Schoch, Andjela Markovic, Christophe Mühlematter, Matthieu Beaugrand, Oskar G. Jenni, Rabia Liamlahi, Jean-Claude Walser, Dennis Nielsen, Salome Kurth, Journal of Biological Rhythms (2026) | Article

    Perinatal antibiotic exposure and infant sleep behavior: findings from the ABERRANT study.
    Markovic A and Kurth S and Zimmermann P, Pediatric research (2026) | Article

    Charting infant sleep cycle development using actigraphy: longitudinal evidence for ultradian cycle lengthening within the first year of life from 35,000 hours of sleep.
    Hammad G and Schoch SF and Engelmann M and Spock Z and Kurth S and Winnebeck EC, Sleep (2026) | Article

    The infraslow fluctuation of sigma power during sleep and its links to markers of arousal and memory reactivation across development.
    Dimitriades ME and Osorio-Forero A and Fattinger S and von Arx S and Kurth S and Pugin F and Jaramillo V and Volk C and Krugliakova E and Furrer M and Leach S and Achermann P and Huber R, Scientific reports (2026) | Article

    Fecal melatonin as a biomarker of emerging circadian maturity and gut microbiota in infancy
    Mohammed Al-Andoli, Petra Zimmermann, Sarah Schoch, Andjela Markovic, Christophe Mühlematter, Matthieu Beaugrand, Oskar G. Jenni, Rabia Liamlahi, Jean-Claude Walser, Dennis Nielsen, Salome Kurth, npj Biological Timing and Sleep (2026) | Article

    The Interaction between Sleep and Development on Wake EEG Oscillations
    Sophia Snipes, Valeria Jaramillo, Elena Krugliakova, Carina Volk, Melanie Furrer, Mirjam Studler, Monique LeBourgeois, Salome Kurth, Oskar G. Jenni, Reto Huber, eneuro (2026) | Article

    Tracing infant sleep neurophysiology longitudinally from 3 to 6 months: EEG insights into brain development.
    Beaugrand M and Jaramillo V and Mühlematter C and Schoch SF and Reicher V and Markovic A and Kurth S, Npj biological timing and sleep (2026) | Article

    Perinatal antibiotic exposure and infant sleep behavior: findings from the ABERRANT study
    Markovic, Andjela and Kurth, Salome and Zimmermann, Petra, Pediatric Research (2026) | Article

    Stool Dynamics and the Developing Gut Microbiome During Infancy
    Al-Andoli, Mohammed and Schoch, Sarah and Markovic, Andjela and Mühlematter, Christophe and Beaugrand, Matthieu and Jenni, Oskar G and Liamlahi, Rabia and Walser, Jean-Claude and Nielsen, Dennis and Kurth, Salome, Journal of Biological Rhythms (2026) | Article

    The Infraslow Fluctuation of Sigma Power During Sleep in Young Individuals with Schizophrenia
    Dimitriades, M and Schumacher, E and Arudchelvam, J and Fattinger, S and Kurth, S and Pugin, F and Wehrle, F and Jaramillo, V and Volk, C and Leach, S and others, Sleep Medicine (2026) | Article

    Charting infant sleep cycle development using actigraphy: longitudinal evidence for ultradian cycle lengthening within the first year of life from 35,000 hours of sleep
    Hammad, Grégory and Schoch, Sarah F and Engelmann, Max and Spock, Zoe and Kurth, Salome and Winnebeck, Eva C, Sleep (2026) | Article

    The Interaction between Sleep and Development on Wake EEG Oscillations
    Snipes, Sophia and Jaramillo, Valeria and Krugliakova, Elena and Volk, Carina and Furrer, Melanie and Studler, Mirjam and LeBourgeois, Monique and Kurth, Salome and Jenni, Oskar G and Huber, Reto, eneuro (2026) | Article

    Tracing infant sleep neurophysiology longitudinally from 3 to 6 months: EEG insights into brain development
    Beaugrand, Matthieu and Jaramillo, Valeria and Mühlematter, Christophe and Schoch, Sarah F and Reicher, Vivien and Markovic, Andjela and Kurth, Salome, npj Biological Timing and Sleep (2026) | Article

    THE INFRASLOW FLUCTUATION OF SIGMA POWER DURING SLEEP IN YOUNG INDIVIDUALS WITH SCHIZOPHRENIA
    SLEEP MEDICINE (2026) | Article

  • Projets de recherche

    GrumpyBiome: Synchronization of gut microbiota and sleep rhythm in infancy
    Statut: Terminé

    Début 01.10.2022
    Fin 30.09.2024
    Financement Autre 

    Development of sleep regulation – a window of opportunity for fostering healthy development
    Statut: Terminé

    Début 01.09.2019
    Fin 31.07.2025
    Financement FNS  Voir la fiche du projet
    Good sleep is essential to human health, as it fosters neuronal functioning, cognitive performance and decision-making. Empirical work in the past decade has caused a shift in view from sleep as a pure behavior towards sleep as localized neurophysiological and cellular recovery process. Sleep also interacts with neurodevelopment – a connotation that opens up new avenues for interventional studies. Importantly, bacterial symbionts partially regulate the gene expression landscape of the human host. Our studies demonstrate that sleep, gut bacteria, and brain activity dynamically co-evolve in human infancy. Mechanisms physiologically underlying the sleep-bacteria link are proposed to include peripheral circadian synchronization, the hormone melatonin or neurotrophic/ neuroendocrine pathways. This project fosters the understanding of the role of sleep and especially also bacterial symbionts in cognitive development. We show that: (1) sleep quality is linked to gut bacteria in infants, (2) sleep-wake behavior is associated with neurophysiological (EEG) maturational markers, and (3) neurophysiological maturational markers are associated with cognitive development. Through multiscale sleep profiling, dietary factors and context integration we examine the link between bacteria and infant sleep regulation. Associations are tested in a stress context, and effects of antibiotic exposure are explored. Effects of "improved" sleep on bacteria and cognition are determined. To capture the earliest emergence sleep-wake regulation, sleep is objectively assessed in a cohort of mother-infant pairs, starting in pregnancy. Continuous sensor tracking detecting sleep-wake preferences in the fetus determines its predictive value for later infant outcomes. Further, maternal behavioral rhythm before birth and microbiota transfer through breast milk likely shape the earliest human rhythms. From data of different cohorts, we report on the association of sleep-wake behavior with neuronal maturational markers and with cognitive development and show that infant sleep is vulnerable to contextual stressors but also serves as a buffer for cognitive development. Using high-density EEG, we identify maturational markers of brain development and their sensitivity to family context. The project at the edge of neuroscience, psychology and microbiology and the use of novel approaches tackling the early human lifespan has reached the goal to examine the role of the bacteria-sleep link in infant development. The translational vision is to leverage microbiota-targeted and rhythm-based interventions, such as the NapBiome RCT, to foster healthy sleep and cognitive development.