FACULTY
Vsevolod Y. Polotsky, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor
Dr. Polotsky is a world-renowned expert in animal models of obstructive sleep apnea, and metabolic complications of sleep apnea. His laboratory developed a mouse model of intermittent hypoxia mimicking the oxyhemoglobin profile in human OSA.
His work has revealed mechanisms by which sleep apnea contributes to glucose dysregulation, liver injury, and atherosclerosis. Currently, he is exploring novel chemogenetic techniques to manipulate upper airway patency. Dr. Polotsky is Director of Sleep Research T32 Fellowship Training Program and has mentored fellows from around the world.
Jonathan C. Jun, M.D.
Associate Professor
Dr. Jun has been on faculty since 2011 and has focused on the impacts of hypoxia and sleep apnea on lipid and glucose metabolism, oxidative stress, and atherosclerosis. He demonstrated significant effects of intermittent and sustained hypoxia on atherosclerosis, oxidative stress, lipid metabolism, glucose metabolism, and thermoregulation. He has also examined metabolic effects of Hypoxia-Inducible Factors (HIFs) on metabolism in vivo and in vitro. He is lead PI on clinical studies of CPAP withdrawal to examine metabolic effects of sleep apnea, using stable isotopes to measure substrate flux.
Luu V. Pham, M.D.
Assistant Professor
Dr. Pham joined the Sleep Research group as a Fellow in Sleep Medicine in 2013 and joined the faculty in 2016. He is studying the role of hypoxemia and ventilatory control in the pathogenesis of metabolic disturbances. To address this topic, he has studied nocturnal respiratory patterns from participants of the CRONICAS study, an epidemiological study conducted at high and low altitude sites in Peru.
Thomaz Fleury Curado, M.D. Ph.D.
Instructor
Dr. Fleury is an Otolaryngologist and Craniofacial Surgeon from Brazil with clinical and surgical experience in the treatment of OSA. He joined the group in 2015 with an interest in the development of novel treatments for sleep apnea. He has developed a novel approach for stimulating lingual muscles and treating sleep apnea in a murine model, using cutting-edge chemogenetic techniques to stimulate hypoglossal motor neurons in the brain.
