ATS Foundation Partners with ResMed for Fellowship Opportunity

NEW YORK (April 24, 2018)—The ATS Foundation announced its new ATS Foundation/ResMed Research Fellowship in Sleep-disordered Breathing and PAP Therapy.

The award will provide funding for two years in the amount of $100,000, provided by ResMed, a global provider of connected health with more than 4 million cloud-connected PAP devices monitoring patients every night.

Sleep-disordered breathing refers to breathing difficulties during sleep, which range from simple snoring to sleep apnea. These chronic conditions result in partial or complete cessation of breathing many times throughout the night, resulting in daytime sleepiness or fatigue that interferes with a person’s ability to function and reduced quality of life. Sleep apnea, the most common form of sleep-disordered breathing, is associated with other life-threatening conditions such as heart failure, stroke and type 2 diabetes.

“Sleep apnea is a very common disease with significant morbidity and we need to learn so much more about how to diagnose and treat it most efficiently,” said Richard Schwab, MD, medical director of the Penn Centers for Sleep Disorders at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center and chair of the ATS Scientific Advisory Committee. “Thus, we are very excited that the ATS and ResMed have partnered on a new two-year research fellowship to study sleep apnea and positive airway pressure. Such grants provide funding for the future leaders of the sleep field and will help patients who have sleep apnea.”

“This award can help shine a brighter light on sleep apnea—a public health crisis—and PAP therapy’s role in addressing it worldwide,” said Carlos M. Nunez, MD, ResMed Chief Medical Officer. “When 85 percent of people with sleep apnea still aren’t diagnosed, ResMed is proud to support any research effort to accelerate finding, testing and treating them so they can enjoy a full night’s rest, better overall health and a significant reduction of life-threatening risks.”

The Fellowship application process will open Thursday, April 26, 2018. The two-year funding period is from December 2018 through December 2020. Applications will be reviewed by the ATS Scientific Advisory Committee for their scientific merit, innovation, feasibility and relevance to sleep-disordered breathing and PAP therapy.

Interested applicants may learn more about this grant opportunity here.