Basic-to-Translational Science for Preventing and Managing Chronic Diseases in Shift Workers: Challenges and Barriers Hindering Progress

Program of the 25th International Symposium on Shiftwork and Working Time

The 25th edition of the International Symposium on Shiftwork and Working Time, a biennial international event held since 1969, is organized by the Working Time Society (WTS), an international non-profit scientific society whose primary objectives are the study, research, and practices related to organizational and psychosocial aspects, as well as health problems, performance, and accidents/incidents associated with shift and night work and irregular work schedules. The WTS is also a twin association linked with the International Commission on Occupational Health Scientific Committee on Shiftwork and Working Time. Thus, in addition to scientific members, the symposium also welcomes non-scientific participants such as industry, labor, health and safety professionals, policy makers and others interested in promoting safety, health and wellbeing of workers in nonstandard schedules.

Local Organizing Committee

Claudia RC Moreno (Chair)

Cibele A Crispim

Elaine C Marqueze

Frida M Fischer

Patrícia A Nehme

Scientific Committee

Anastasi Kosmadopoulos – Australia

Anna Arlinghaus – Germany

Anne Helene Garde – Denmark

Charli Sargent – Australia

Cibele A Crispim – Brazil

Claudia RC Moreno – Brazil

Elaine C Marqueze – Brazil

Frida M Fischer – Brazil

Gregory Daniel Roach – Australia

Heidi Lammers-van der Holst – Netherlands

Imelda Wong – United States of America

Kimberly Honn – United States of America

Kyriaki Papantoniou – Austria

Mikael Sallinen – Finland

Nils Backhaus – Germany

Patrícia A Nehme – Brazil

Ro-Ting Lin – Taiwan

Stephen Popkin – United States of America

Thomas Kantermann – Germany

Tomohide Kubo – Japan

Theme

The central theme this time is “Basic-to-Translational Science for Preventing and Managing Chronic Diseases in Shift Workers: Challenges and Barriers Hindering Progress.”

The event will focus on the need to discuss fundamental and applied issues in the field of shift and night work, a labor modality that accounts for ∼30% of the global work force and is associated with an increased risk of various health disorders, particularly sleep, metabolic, cardiovascular, and psychological disorders, as well as the risk of workplace accidents, according to scientific literature.

Venue

We are pleased to host the Symposium in Guarujá, a beautiful coastal region located just 100 km from the vibrant city of São Paulo, Brazil. This will be the third time the Symposium takes place in Brazil.

Program

Tuesday, Nov 11th

Opening Session

Claudia RC Moreno - Chair, Symposium Shiftwork 2025

Kimberly Honn - President, Working Time Society

Opening Lecture

Keynote speaker: Shantha M.W. Rajaratnam

Developing sleep and circadian health solutions for shift workers: from physiology to practice.

Chair: Elaine C Marqueze

1^st Thematic session - Tailoring health interventions for shift workers: exploring personalized approaches and evidence-based strategies.

Chair: Heidi Lammers Van-Der Holst

● Emily Manoogian. The healthy heroes randomized control trial, focusing on the personalization of a time-restricted eating schedule for 24-hour shift workers.

● Shantha M.W. Rajaratnam. SleepSync: a personalized digital intervention for sleep and well- being in Australian shift workers.

● Philip Cheng. Personalized light therapy for night shift work: a precision medicine approach to reducing insomnia and sleepiness.

● Maaike Van Der Rhee. GRIP study: a personalized sleep and nutritional intervention to combat the adverse effects of night shift work.

2^nd Thematic session - From research to practice – how research on working hours is applied.

Chair: Anne Helene Garde

Co-chair: Imelda Wong

● Mikko Härma. Implementation of the FIOH working time traffic light recommendations in the social and health care in Finland.

● William Dawson. Why prescription and risk management approaches to shiftwork and fatigue regulation are inevitably doomed.

● Imelda Wong. Lessons learned from working in the US Federal government.

● Anne Helene Garde; Jesper Madsen; Jan Kristensen Schmidt. Experiences with upstream implementation of research- based recommendations on shift work scheduling in a Danish context.

● Johannes Gaertner; Anna Arlinghaus. Experiences from Austria in jointly planning new shifts & schedules in companies.

Wednesday, Nov 12^th

Keynote speaker: Siri Waage

Assessment and management of shift work disorder

Chair: Patrícia A Nehme

3^rd Thematic session - Shift work, long working hours and health among women - new knowledge and research possibilities.

Chair: Mikko Härmä

Co-chair: Claudia RC Moreno

● Claudia RC Moreno. Night shift work and sleep disturbances in women.

● Johnni Hansen. Night shift work and female breast cancer risk – update of epidemiologic evidence.

● Chiara Dall’ora. Long shifts of 12+ hours in healthcare: consequences for staff health and patient safety.

● Mikko Härmä. Payroll-based data of working hours and health. A treasure trove for studies on detailed exposure to shift work and health.

Thursday, Nov 13^th

Keynote speaker: Stephen M. Popkin

The Impact of 50 years of research and practice on improving the lives of shiftworkers.

Chair: Frida M Fischer

4^th Thematic session - Shaping the Future Workweek: Global Trends and Effects of Longer versus Shorter Work Hours.

Chair: Nils Backhaus

Co-chair: Anna Arlinghaus

● Imelda Wong. Long Work Hours: Does Regional and Occupational Prevalence Influence Differences in Occupational Health and Safety?

● Nils Backhaus. Insights into employees’ working time preferences and findings on health impacts.

● Kati Karhula. Examination of workplace-level interventions and trials of reduced working time and their implications for well-being.

● Anna Arlinghaus. Reduced working hours, job satisfaction and well-being: field studies from Austria.

5^th Thematic session - Fatigue management in aviation: scientific principles, regulatory aspects and the role of biomathematical models.

Chair: Tulio Rodrigues

● Tulio Rodrigues. Aircrew rostering workload patterns and associated fatigue and sleepiness scores in short/medium haul flights in Brazil.

● Hans Van Dongen. Fatigue risk management in aviation and other 24/7 operations: the challenge of predicting when people choose to sleep.

● Jaime K Devine. More than math: practical applications within Fatigue Risk Management Systems.

● William Dawson. Biomathematical models: when not to use them.

Friday, Nov 14^th

6^th Thematic session- Do flight time limitations prevent fatigue in flight crew? A symposium on the findings of the FTL 2.0 study

Chair: Alwin Van Drongelen

● Alwin Van Drongelen. Opening and explanation of the study objectives and methods used.

● Dorothee Fischer. Feeling jet-lagged? Effects of flying in an unknown state of acclimatization on crew fatigue.

● Mikael Sallinen. Sleepiness and fatigue during long flight duties “at the most favorable time of the day.”

● Laurie Marsman. Conditions, circumstances, and reasons for flight crew members to use controlled rest.

● Kati Karhula. Other than airport standbys: timing, circumstances and maximum hypothetical flight duty periods.

● Alwin Van Drongelen. Conclusions and recommendations for regulators, airlines, and flight crew.

7^th Thematic session- Mechanistic studies in shift workers: understanding the biological mechanisms and designing interventions to mitigate the risks

Chair: Kyriaki Papantoniou

Chair: Heidi Lammers Van Der Holst

● Kyriaki Papantoniou. Night shift work and biomarkers of disease risk in observational mechanistic studies.

● Anne Helene Garde. Diurnal rhythms of melatonin and cortisol among permanent night workers.

● Sylvia Rabstein. Short and long-term effects of a dynamic light intervention in shift workers.

● Heidi Lammers Van Der Holst. Behavioral and sleep interventions in shift workers to improve health.

Closing session

Chair: Cibele Crispim

Oral Abstracts and Posters Presentations

Publication History

Article published online:
08 October 2025