Dr. Leila Kheirandish-Gozal, MD
Sleep Medicine Specialist | Sleep Medicine
404 N Keene St Columbia MO, 65201About
An established pediatric sleep medicine specialist, ranked among the top 4 physicians in the field in 2018, Dr. Leila Kheirandish-Gozal is a Professor of Pediatrics and Director of the Child Health Research Institute (CHRI) at the University of Missouri, Columbia. Specializing in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), Dr. Kheirandish-Gozal was one of the major investigators who developed in vitro techniques to assess adenoid and tonsil tissue proliferation. Using the techniques she developed with others, she went on to explore and demonstrate the potential value of corticosteroids in reducing the proliferative rates of these tissues. In her more recent efforts, Dr. Kheirandish-Gozal has pioneered MRI studies in children with OSA aiming to define structural-functional associations accounting for the cognitive deficits and the role of exosomes as effector of cognitive morbidity through disruption of the blood brain barrier.
Dr. Leila Kheirandish-Gozal, MD's Videos
Education and Training
University of Damascus School of Medicine medical degree 2000
Provider Details
Faculty Titles & Positions
- Director Child Health Research Institute (CHRI) at the University of Missouri, Columbia -
Awards
- Order of Extraordinary Merit Award 2011
- Professional Woman of the Year Award 2011
- Dean’s Citation Award 2012
- Marquis Who's Who in America Award 2012
- Marquis Who's Who in America Award 2013
Professional Memberships
- Sleep Research Society
- American Thoracic Society
- American Pediatric Society
- Iranian Sleep Society
- Illinois Sleep Society
- Society for Pediatric Research
- Society for Behavioral Sleep Medicine
- International Pediatric Sleep Association
- European Sleep Research Society
- Spanish Sleep Society
Fellowships
- University of Louisville Hospital Pediatrics, Sleep Medicine
Fellowships
- University of Louisville Hospital0Pediatrics, Sleep Medicine
Professional Society Memberships
- Sleep Research Society American Thoracic Society American Pediatric Society Iranian Sleep Society Illinois Sleep Society Society for Pediatric Research Society for Behavioral Sleep Medicine International Pediatric Sleep Association European Sleep Research Society Spanish Sleep Society
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Get to know Pediatric Sleep Medicine Specialist Dr. Leila Kheirandish-Gozal, who serves patients in Columbia, Missouri.
Dr. Kheirandish-Gozal is a tenured and endowed Professor of Pediatrics and Director of the Child Health Research Institute (CHRI) at the University of Missouri, Columbia. She is one of the most celebrated pediatric sleep medicine experts in the world, ranking No. 4 among specialists in 2018.
A native of Syria, she earned her medical degree from the University of Damascus School of Medicine in 2000. After relocating to the United States, she completed her fellowship in pediatric sleep medicine at the University of Louisville School of Medicine in 2005. Later, she completed her Master of Science degree (MSc) in Clinical Investigation and Public Health from the University of Louisville School of Public Health in 2012.
Continuously advancing her efforts, Dr. Kheirandish-Gozal is an active member of the Sleep Research Society, the American Thoracic Society, the American Pediatric Society, the Iranian Sleep Society, the Illinois Sleep Society, the Society for Pediatric Research, the Society for Behavioral Sleep Medicine, the International Pediatric Sleep Association, the European Sleep Research Society, and the Spanish Sleep Society.
An enthusiastic researcher, her research focus is both on mechanisms and biomarkers which may mediate the strong correlation between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and vascular dysfunction. She was instrumental in the development of non-invasive techniques that enable today’s assessments of endothelial function as a marker of cardiovascular risk in children.
Furthermore, Dr. Kheirandish-Gozal described the presence of divergent phenotypes of vascular dysfunction in children with similar OSA severity, and she provided a conceptual framework that attempted to assign a role to “endothelial repair processes” as being involved in such divergent phenotypes.
In her breakthrough work in the OSA field, she revealed that differences in the recruitment and mobilization of endothelial progenitor cells and the chemokines that promote such mobilization accounted for a substantial proportion of the variance in endothelial function in children with OSA.
Sleep medicine is a medical specialty or subspecialty devoted to the diagnosis and therapy of sleep disturbances and disorders. From the middle of the 20th century, research has provided increasing knowledge and answered many questions about sleep-wake functioning. Sleep medicine specialists are trained to diagnose, treat, and manage various types of sleep disorders.
Among her most notable achievements, Dr. Kheirandish-Gozal has been the recipient of the Order of Extraordinary Merit Award (2011), Professional Woman of the Year Award (2011), Dean’s Citation Award (2012), and Marquis Who’s Who in America Award (2012, 2013).
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