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Andrey Zinchuk, MD, MHS

Assistant Professor; Director, Advanced Apnea Management Program; Director, Yale Sleep Fellowship Didactic and Research Curriculum, Internal Medicine, PCCSM; Director, Upper Airway Neurostimulation Program; Section of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine

Contact Information

Andrey Zinchuk, MD, MHS

Research Summary

Research: My goal is to improve the lives of people with sleep-disordered breathing. My colleagues and I aim to make the care of patients with sleep apnea more precise, using the unique physiology, prognosis, and treatment responsiveness of each individual. We anticipate this approach will result in novel, effective, and tolerable treatments.

Extensive Research Description

We conduct NIH-sponsored research to identify physiological characteristics of individuals with sleep apnea that predict the effectiveness of treatment. Many individuals with sleep apnea can not tolerate first-line therapy: continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). We find that traits such as the ease with which individuals arouse from sleep and the biological clock are key factors in someone's success with CPAP therapy. We aim to use this understanding to personalized approaches to treatment, for example, in those with easy arousability, using medications or non-pharmacological treatments.
We also hope to understand phenotypes of sleep apnea and how they influence incident cardiovascular disease or death. For example, the propensity for oxygen desaturation during an apnea or the heart rate response to an apnea may identify those at most risk for heart disease or death. Understanding these phenotypes can help identify individuals in which sleep apnea treatment may prevent heart disease.

Mentors: Klar Yaggi MD (Yale), Andrew Wellman MD, PhD (Harvard), Scott Sands, PhD (Harvard)

Coauthors

Research Interests

Cardiovascular Diseases; Sleep; Sleep Apnea Syndromes; Polysomnography; Sleep Apnea, Central; Continuous Positive Airway Pressure; Precision Medicine; Endophenotypes

Selected Publications