I. Profile
The Sleep Respiratory Laboratory (hereinafter referred to as the "Laboratory"), established in 2011, is a medical research center for sleep research and clinical diagnosis and treatment. It was approved as a Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Medicine and Health in 2013. The Laboratory mainly includes two parts: clinical laboratory and basic laboratory. The clinical part relies on the Department of Sleep Respiratory Medicine, No. 1 Clinical Medical College of Binzhou Medical University, and is mainly engaged in the clinical diagnosis and treatment of patients with sleep disorders and clinical physiology research. In addition, it has continued in-depth exchanges and cooperation with other clinical disciplines to carry out cross-medical research. At present, it has formed a comprehensive diagnosis and treatment system for sleep disorders involving multiple disciplines such as cardiology, neurology, otolaryngology, obstetrics and gynecology, and endocrinology. The basic part relies on the sleep breathing laboratory on the Yantai campus, which is equipped with the world's advanced sleep deprivation and testing equipment and systems, as well as complete animal and cellular hypoxia modeling equipment. The Laboratory undertakes a number of general projects of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, as well as the National Key 973 plan. It also cooperates with key laboratories in the United States, Germany and other countries, and under the guidance special experts from the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Wisconsin, and People’s Hospital of Peking University, it has carried out a series of research on sleep-related topics.
II. The Team
At present, the Laboratory is under the leadership of Dr. Han Fang, and has 2 overseas distinguished professors, 3 professors, 3 associate professors, 2 lecturers, and 5 professional experimenters (with master's degree). There are 4 sleep technicians (with bachelor degree), forming a scientific research team with complete experimental technology, strong research ability, and reasonable personnel structure.
Han Fang, Doctor of Medicine, Professor, Doctoral advisor, is a Distinguished Professor in the Respiratory and Sleep Medicine Center of the Affiliated Hospital of Binzhou Medical University, Head of Sleep Science Group of Chinese Respiratory Society, Chairman of Chinese Sleep Research Association, Chairman of Asian Sleep Research Association, Secretary-General of World Sleep Association, Member of the Third and Fourth Council of Chinese Society of Instrumentation Medical Instruments, Member of WHO Sleep Disease Classification Committee, Member of the Hypersomnia and Traffic Accident Committee of the American Thoracic Society (ATS), China Member of the World Association of Sleep Medicine (WASM), and (Korea) Member of the Academic Committee of the International Symposium on Sleep Disorders. He has published nearly 100 academic papers in academic journals at home and abroad, of which 30 are collected by SCI, published 1 monograph, and participated in the compilation of 8 monographs. The research work was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, China-Germany Center, Beijing Science and Technology Rising Star Program and the New Century Excellent Talents Program of the Ministry of Education, and he was awarded the title of National Self-Reliance Model.
III. Academic Achievements
This Laboratory is closely integrated with the clinical and basic aspects. The Clinical Sleep Center and the Affiliated Hospital of Binzhou Medical University have continued in-depth exchanges and cooperation in various clinical disciplines to carry out cross-medical research (such as the relationship between sleep apnea and hypertension, arrhythmia, sleep apnea and metabolic synthesis symptoms, early screening and treatment of early night sleep apnea in pregnant women), forming a comprehensive sleep disorder diagnosis and treatment system involving multiple disciplines such as cardiology, neurology, otolaryngology, obstetrics and gynecology, and endocrinology. At present, the basic laboratory has undertaken more than 20 projects from the National Natural Science Foundation of China, 5 projects from the Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province, 1 Sino-US and 1 Sino-German cooperative research project, and published more than 30 SCI papers.
In addition, the Laboratory has undertaken a national continuing medical education project, contributing to the training of clinical personnel in sleep medicine.
IV. Infrastructure
The clinical sleep center covers an area of about 800 square meters. It has 6 independent sleep testing rooms with current international standards, 6 polysomnography monitors, 4 blood oxygen saturation monitors, 4 dual-level non-invasive ventilators, and 6 auto-single-level ventilators, 1 multi-guide workstation system, 1 end-expiratory CO2 detector, 1 sleep-respiratory physiology test platform, 1 intelligent two-way communication system, and 1 remote ventilator pressure regulating system. At the same time, a medical service system with respiratory and sleep medicine clinics, monitoring wards, consultations, patient follow-ups, and remote services as the mainstay was established. The basic laboratory has an effective utilization area of more than 600 square meters, including 2 sleep recording rooms, 2 molecular biochemistry laboratories, 1 dark room, 1 cell culture room, and 2 general animal breeding rooms, 1 animal surgical room, and 3 behavioral observation room. It has been equipped with the most advanced sleep recording, deprivation and analysis system in the world, including: (1) Turntable animal sleep deprivation method (Disc Treadmill Method). The established animal model of the effects of chronic sleep deprivation on physical and mental health can be used to study the effects of chronic sleep deprivation on cognitive function, immunity, aging, and tumor growth. (2) Establishment of an animal model of sleep hypoxia, simulating the establishment of an animal model of persistent and intermittent apnea, and studying the effects of different hypoxia modes on the respiratory regulation function of freely moving mice and the mechanism of damage to multiple systems of the body.
