Research

The University of Pittsburgh are forerunners in the field of sleep medicine. David Kupfer and Chip Reynolds helped to organize the organization that is now the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. The faculty at Pitt have played national leadership roles across sleep organizations such as the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, American Thoracic Society, and Sleep Research Society. We have had 2 presidents of the AASM (2000-2001: Daniel Buysse; 2010-2011: Patrick Strollo), one president of the SRS, and the outgoing Program Committee Chair for the Associated Professional Sleep Societies. Our faculty are engaged on the Board of Directors of the Sleep Research Society.  Pitt investigators developed BiPAP, the Inspire upper airway stimulator, and Brief Behavioral Treatment for Insomnia (BBTI).

For fellows with an interest in sleep and circadian research, there is over 75 currently funded NIH studies, ranging from basic to translational to patient-centered outcome research.  There are opportunities to spend up to 3 years beyond the clinical fellowship to pursue training in sleep research via our T32 training grants available at University of Pittsburgh from divisions of Pulmonary, Cardiology, Epidemiology, Biomedical Engineering, and Psychiatry. The research training is focused on developing expertise on how to design studies, collect and analyze high quality data, and write your findings for publications. Faculty have mentored fellows to obtain grants and pursue new research questions. There is support for formal coursework and degree programs through the School of Public Health or through the Institute for Clinical Research Education (ICRE) to achieve high quality training for physician scientists. Finally, our major goals are to sponsor our fellows, connect them with the broad sleep community, and allow them to blossom to become the next leaders in the field.

We closely collaborate with the Department of Psychiatry’s Center for Sleep and Circadian Science, Center for Sleep and Cardiovascular Outcomes Research, Neuroscience Clinical and Translational Research Center, Pittsburgh Mind – Body Center, and other UPMC research programs.

For those with clinical interest, scholarly output is encouraged of all trainees. Abstract submission by trainee to annual SLEEP meeting is strongly recommended. In addition, an annual quality improvement project is a requirement of ACGME. There is opportunity to pursue a degree in medical education via Pitt’s Master of Science in Medical Education Program that is designated to help academically oriented physicians enhance their teaching skills.