Domnik | Department of Medicine | School of Medicine

Nicolle Domnik PhD

Position(s)

Cross Appointed DOM and Department of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences

Biography:

Dr. Nicolle Domnik is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences, cross-appointed to the Department of Medicine, Division of Respirology and Sleep Medicine. She completed her BHSc, Life Sciences at Queen’s University in 2010, followed by her PhD in Physiology at Queen’s University in 2015. She is a 2017-2019 CIHR Banting Postdoctoral Fellow and has been a Principal Investigator in the Respiratory Investigation Unit since 2022.

Dr. Domnik's background spans basic as well as clinical physiology, centred around autonomic regulation of the cardiopulmonary systems with a specific emphasis on respiratory (patho) physiology. She has been engaged in lectureship since January 2014, contributing to the Life Sciences, Nursing, and Undergraduate Medical curricula at Queen’s University as well as the Interdisciplinary Medical Sciences curricula at the undergraduate and graduate levels at Western University. She is an active member of the CanCOLD Cohort Physiology, Pathophysiology and Imaging Thematic Working Group, European Respiratory Society/European Respiratory Review, and Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

Research Interests:

Research in the Domnik Lab centers around the intersection of how breathing impacts upon states of physiologic stress, such as exercise and sleep, and vice-versa – how exercise and sleep influence breathing. This is explored in patient populations, including those with Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA); impact of CPAP on movement behaviours, exercise capacity, and motivation, and across the spectrum of heathy ageing, with recognition for sex-differences and circadian influences. Nascent inquiry includes investigation into the impact of vaping on cardiovascular and sleep health in healthy young adults.

The Respiratory Investigation Unit is also currently participating in sponsored clinical trials (AstraZeneca) and is a site for the Canadian Cohort of Obstructive Lung Disease (CanCOLD) study.

Current projects include investigating the impact of nocturnal non-invasive ventilation (NIV) therapy on ventilatory drive to breathe in advanced COPD; how the combined occurrence of COPD and OSA alters exercise capacity and motivation; and developing tools and techniques for facilitating data analysis in cardiopulmonary physiology. These projects are undertaken in collaboration with local colleagues in Respirology as well as collaborators from institutions across Canada and internationally.

Details on her publications can be found on her Google Scholar Profile.

Team

Faculty & Staff