Meet the Team

by Alice Braga, Ph.D. | Sleep Research Network

Introducing Sairam Parthasarathy, M.D., Professor at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson

An international leader in sleep, pulmonary, and critical care medicine, Dr. Sairam Parthasarathy combines clinical expertise with a strong focus on patient-centered, community-engaged, and translational research.

Highlights of his work:

  • Professor of Medicine and Chief, Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care & Sleep Medicine, University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson
  • Founding Director, University of Arizona Center for Sleep, Circadian and Neuroscience Research
  • Previously a Special Advisor, National Institutes of Health and National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Research Focus:

  • Community-engaged interventions to reduce health disparities, including serving as Contact-PI for the Arizona NIH-CEAL Alliance against COVID-19–related health disparities
  • Sleep disturbances, inflammation, and patient outcomes in critical illness and post-acute COVID-19 (Adult Hub MPI for NIH RECOVER)
  • Health services research in sleep medicine with emphasis on dissemination, implementation, and improving treatment adherence in underserved populations
  • Patient-ventilator interactions in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and critical illness
  • Experimental models of sleep deprivation and novel sleep-promoting interventions

Clinical Contributions:

  • Expertise in non-invasive ventilation for sleep-related breathing disorders and invasive ventilation for critically ill patients
  • Leadership in clinical trials evaluating:
  • Positive airway pressure therapies for sleep-disordered breathing and heart failure (ADVENT-HF, CIHR/Toronto Rehabilitation Institute)
  • Peer-driven adherence interventions for CPAP therapy, Patient-stakeholder engagement, and comparative effectiveness research for sleep apnea treatments (PCORI)
  • Sedation, sleep, and inflammation in patients with acute lung injury/ARDS (NIH/NHLBI)
  • Advocacy for patient-centered approaches to sleep and critical care medicine

Educational Contributions:

  • Leadership in training programs for pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine specialists
  • Mentorship of clinical researchers in translational and implementation science as one of the founders of the Young Investigator Research Forum for the past 15 years
  • Service on NIH and NHLBI advisory panels guiding national sleep and health policy

To learn more about the Sleep Research Network (SRN), contact Melissa McKinzie at coordinator@srsnet.org.