Living with Sleep and Breathing Disorders – ELF Patient Conference

Sophia Schiza is a Professor of Respiratory and Sleep Medicine at the University of Crete's School of Medicine, where she leads the Respiratory Department and Sleep Disorders Centre. She is an expert in sleep-disordered breathing, and is Head of the European Respiratory Society (ERS) Assembly 4 on Sleep Disordered Breathing.

Professor Schiza has received the ERS Teaching Award twice and is a Fellow of the ERS. She is actively involved in numerous ERS Task Forces, Guidelines committees, and collaborates closely with the European Lung Foundation to advocate for patients with sleep-disordered breathing. Her research focuses on cardiovascular consequences of obstructive sleep apnoea, sleep-disordered breathing in COPD and IPF, sex differences in OSA, and the role of digital health in diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders. Prof. Schiza is also involved in European projects such as e-sleep and Sleep Revolution, aimed at improving sleep medicine education and research.

As an associate editor for Sleep Medicine and a member of the European Sleep Apnea Database (ESADA), Prof. Schiza continues to make significant contributions to the field of sleep medicine.

Luca is a patient with Sleep Apnoea who founded the patient association Apnoici Italiani in Italy in 2016. Apnoici Italiani is focused on advocacy for recognition of the pathology, support for patients and caregivers, and they work for the creation and strengthening of diagnostic and therapeutic pathways on the territory.

Luca is a co-chair of the Living with Sleep and Breathing Disorders - ELF Patient Conference and a member of the ELF Sleep Patient Advisory Group.

Matteo Siciliano is a pulmonologist based in Rome, trained at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart – Policlinico A. Gemelli IRCCS. With a longstanding passion for respiratory sleep disorders, he has been actively involved in national working groups focused on these conditions within Italian scientific societies. Since September 2023, he has represented Assembly 4 (Sleep-Disordered Breathing) of the European Respiratory Society as an ECM Representative.

Dr. Siciliano’s work extends beyond respiratory health, delving into the neurological aspects of sleep disorders to better understand their complexities. He is currently pursuing a PhD, focusing on predictive factors of residual excessive daytime sleepiness and is also enrolled on a second-level Master’s program in Sleep Medicine at the University of Bologna.

Dr. Siciliano emphasises the importance of understanding the mechanisms, treatments and latest research in sleep-disordered breathing to provide holistic and effective patient care. His dedication to clinical practice and research ensures he stays at the forefront of advancements in the field

Clare Williams has worked in patient involvement and engagement at ELF since 2020. Before that she worked in service user involvement in a hospice. She holds an MSc in psychological research and has authored several publications and a book chapter.

Clare coordinates ELF's Sleep Patient Advisory Group. She has obstructive sleep apnoea as a consequence of Ehler’s Danlos syndrome, and has been using CPAP for the past three years and will be sharing her insights at the Sleep and Breathing Conference 2025.

Dries Testelmans is the clinical head of the Department of Respiratory Diseases at the University Hospital Leuven in Belgium. He is responsible for the care of patients with a broad range of sleep disorders at the Leuven University Center for Sleep and Wake Disorders (LUCS).

Dries is also a part-time associate professor in the Department of Chronic Diseases and Metabolism at KU Leuven. His current research interests include phenotyping of sleep apnoea, new technologies for the diagnosis and treatment of sleep apnpea and home ventilation. Since 2020, he has been the president of the Belgian Association for Sleep Research and Sleep Medicine (BASS).

Professor Athanasia Pataka is a professor of Respiratory Medicine and Sleep Disorders in the Medical School of Aristotle at the University of Thessaloniki, Greece. She is also an expert in sleep medicine, having completed the ERS training for Sleep Disorders and as the secretary of ERS Assembly Group 04.02 which focusses on clinical and epidemiological sleep medicine.

Athanasia is also a co-chair and member of the European Sleep Apnea Database (ESADA) and contributes to the Sleep Revolution Project. She leads the sleep laboratory and clinic at the Respiratory Failure Unit of the Papanikolaou Hospital and has published several papers in the field.

Manuel Sánchez-de-la-Torre, PhD is a researcher in the Spanish Ramón y Cajal Excellence Program and scientific director at the Institute for Health Research of Castilla-La Mancha. He is also an associate professor at the University of Castilla-La Mancha, Spain.

Manuel holds a degree in Biology from the University of Jaén in 2003 and completed his PhD at the University of Lleida in 2007. Following this, he pursued postdoctoral training at the University of Chicago and at CIBER (Madrid, Spain). During his fellowship at the University of Chicago, he developed the first technology for the personalised management of sleep apnoea.

His research focuses on precision medicine in sleep apnoea and he has made significant contributions to understanding the links between sleep apnoea treatments and cardiovascular disease. He has authored over 170 publications, which can be found in top-tier journals such as JAMA, Lancet Respiratory Medicine, AJCCM, ERJ, and BMJ.

Manuel also serves as Director of the Scientific Committee of the Spanish Respiratory Society (SEPAR) and chairs the Basic and Translational Research in Sleep Group at the European Respiratory Society.