Professor Danny Eckert

Dr Eckert is a sleep and respiratory physiologist. His research team based at NeuRA focuses on investigation of various aspects of sleep and upper airway physiology in humans. One of the primary goals is to investigate the multiple causes of a common sleep-related breathing disorder, obstructive sleep apnoea, to identify novel therapeutic targets and develop new individualised approaches for therapy. Multiple neurophysiological techniques to study human upper airway muscle activity, function, and airway mechanics during wakefulness and sleep are used as part of a comprehensive basic sciences and translational sleep research program. Current projects include: determining the mechanisms of upper airway muscle dysfunction in sleep apnoea, assessing the role of a variety of pharmacological agents on upper airway physiology and sleep-disordered breathing in humans, determining why people with spinal cord injury get sleep apnoea, understanding the bidirectional relationship between sleep and the brain (NeuroSleep CRE), mechanisms and new approaches to mandibular advancement therapy, and development of targeted approaches to improve sleep and breathing.