Executive Leadership & Expert Bios

Michael Decker PhD, RN, RRT, D. ABSM

Team Leader, Translational Research Program, NCZVED

 

Michael Decker PhD, RN, RRT, D. ABSM, is the team leader of the Translational Research Program within the Chronic Viral Diseases Branch of the National Center for Zoonotic, Vector-Borne, and Enteric Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Dr. Decker received his PhD in Anatomy and Neuroscience from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. He is a board certified in Clinical Sleep Disorders by the American Board of Sleep Medicine, an Assistant Professor of Georgia State University′s program in Allied Health Science, and a former Assistant Professor of Neurology at Emory University.

Dr. Decker′s research, funded by the National Institutes of Health, has defined that certain disorders of minimal brain dysfunction, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may be the outcome of adverse, but subclinical, events occurring during a critical period of brain development. He has also participated in projects funded by the National Science Foundation and National Geographic to define those genetically conferred mechanisms that enable people to adapt to life within the high altitude, low oxygen environments of the Andean, Himalayan and Simien mountains. Currently, Dr. Decker′s research and clinical endeavors focus on public health aspects of sleep-related disorders and chronic fatigue syndrome. His ongoing research seeks to characterize the prevalence of sleep-related disorders within the population, and understand the association between those disorders with chronic diseases including diabetes, high blood pressure and stroke. In addition, his studies seek to define mechanisms through which sleep disorders lead to reduced cognitive ability and executive dysfunction.

He has published over 40 peer-reviewed papers, six book chapters, and multiple clinical guidelines. Dr. Decker is routinely invited to present his research throughout the United States and abroad.

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