Dr. Najib Ayas appointed as Associate Head, Research

Dr. Ayas is a Professor in the Division of Critical Care Medicine/Respiratory Medicine and Medical Director of the UBC Hospital Sleep Disorders Program. He graduated with distinction from the University of Alberta in 1992 and pursued further education, including an internal medicine residency at the Mayo Clinic in 1996 and specialized training in respiratory, critical care, and sleep medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School in 2000. Additionally, he holds a Master of Public Health from the Harvard School of Public Health.

Dr. Ayas’ research focuses on the public health and safety consequences of sleep apnea and sleep deprivation. His work has been published in various medical journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA, American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Chest, Thorax, Sleep, Lancet Respiratory Medicine, Cardiovascular Nursing, and Archives of Internal Medicine. He has held many national and international leadership positions with respect to sleep medicine, including Executive Member of the Canadian Sleep Society, Head of the Canadian Thoracic Society Sleep Disordered Breathing Guidelines Committee, and Chair of the American Thoracic Society Sleep and Respiratory Neurobiology Planning Committee. In addition, he served as Head of the UBC Division of Critical Care Medicine from 2009 until 2019.