Lena Xiao
MD
Investigator and Pediatric Respirologist, BC Children's Hospital
Sleep Medicine
Lena Xiao and Mystica Terrance and Chun Ting Au and Colin Massicotte and Indra Narang
DOI: 10.1016/j.sleep.2026.10878404 / 2026
Journal of Neuromuscular Diseases
Lena Xiao and Djurdja Djordjevic and Sohee Kang and Hernan Gonorazky and Jackie Chiang and Munazzah Ambreen and Elisa Nigro and Eugenia Law and Lauren Weinstock and Reshma Amin and Melissa D McCradden
DOI: 10.1177/2214360225137556109 / 2025
Sleep Medicine
Xiao, L. and Baker, A. and Massicotte, C. and Reyna, M.E. and Shi, J. and Wolter, N.E. and Propst, E.J. and Mahant, S. and Amin, R. and Parekh, R.S. and Narang, I.
DOI: 10.1016/j.sleep.2025.03.022Sleep Medicine
Xiao, L. and Sarbajna, R. and Kuyntjes, S. and Cithiravel, N. and Amin, R. and Chiang, J. and Baker, A. and Narang, I.
DOI: 10.1016/j.sleep.2025.106745Pediatric Pulmonology
Cithiravel, N. and Xiao, L. and Shi, J. and Chiang, J. and Amin, R.
DOI: 10.1002/ppul.26721Sleep Medicine Clinics
Xiao, L. and Amin, R.
DOI: 10.1016/j.jsmc.2024.04.004Chronic Respiratory Disease
Xiao, L. and Amin, R. and Nonoyama, M.L.
DOI: 10.1177/14799731231176301Archives of Disease in Childhood
Xiao, L. and Kang, S. and Djordjevic, D. and Gonorazky, H. and Chiang, J. and Ambreen, M. and Nigro, E. and Law, E. and Weinstock, L. and McCradden, M. and Amin, R.
DOI: 10.1136/archdischild-2023-325762Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine
Xiao, L. and Voutsas, G. and Ryan, C.M. and Katz, S.L. and Narang, I.
DOI: 10.5664/jcsm.10706Sleep Medicine
Chiang, J. and Xiao, L. and Nigro, E. and St-Laurent, A. and Weinstock, L. and Law, E. and Janevski, J. and Kuyntjes, S. and Cithiravel, N. and Tran, T. and Wolter, N.E. and Gonorazky, H. and Amin, R. and Dowling, J.J. and McKinnon, N. and Johnstone, J. and McAdam, L.
DOI: 10.1016/j.sleep.2023.09.019Pediatric Pulmonology
Sunkonkit, K. and Alzaid, M. and Xiao, L. and Massicotte, C. and Al-Saleh, S. and Amin, R.
DOI: 10.1002/ppul.26567Snoring and Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Children
Xiao, L. and Narang, I. and Propst, E.J.
DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-323-99653-2.00020-1American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine
Xiao, L. and Sunkonkit, K. and Shi, J. and Narang, I.
DOI: 10.1164/rccm.202201-0051RRPediatric Pulmonology
Xiao, L. and Chiang, J. and Castro-Codesal, M. and Kolski, H. and Bedi, P. and Al Amrani, F. and Gonorazky, H.D. and Amin, R.
DOI: 10.1002/ppul.26173Sleep and Breathing
Xiao, L. and Sunkonkit, K. and Chiang, J. and Narang, I.
DOI: 10.1007/s11325-022-02612-3Behavioral Sleep Medicine
Lena Xiao and Anna Chen and Arpita Parmar and Lucy Frankel and Alene Toulany and Brian J. Murray and Indra Narang
DOI: 10.1080/15402002.2021.191649603 / 2022
Neurology: Clinical Practice
Al Amrani, F. and Amin, R. and Chiang, J. and Xiao, L. and Boyd, J. and Law, E. and Nigro, E. and Weinstock, L. and Stosic, A. and Gonorazky, H.D.
DOI: 10.1212/CPJ.0000000000001179European Journal of Pediatrics
Xiao, L. and Barrowman, N. and Momoli, F. and Murto, K. and Bromwich, M. and Katz, S.L.
DOI: 10.1007/s00431-022-04438-3Pediatric Pulmonology
Xiao, L. and Kaspy, K. and Zielinski, D. and Amin, R.
DOI: 10.1002/ppul.25773Sleep Medicine
Lena Xiao and Jackie Chiang and Reshma Amin
DOI: 10.1016/j.sleep.2021.06.02210 / 2021
Sleep Medicine
Lena Xiao and Adele Baker and Giorge Voutsas and Colin Massicotte and Nikolaus E. Wolter and Evan J. Propst and Indra Narang
DOI: 10.1016/j.sleep.2021.07.03609 / 2021
Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine
Xiao, L. and Barrowman, N. and Momoli, F. and Murto, K. and Bromwich, M. and Proulx, F. and Katz, S.L.
DOI: 10.5664/jcsm.9420Childhood obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is highly prevalent, occurring in 1-4% of children. The gold standard therapy is continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) for persistent OSA following adenotonsillectomy. Although CPAP is highly efficacious, long-term effectiveness is limited by poor adherence rates of 50%. Given the burden of untreated OSA in children, novel alternative therapies that are effective, acceptable, and comfortable are urgently required. My research interest is in alternative therapies for childhood OSA. There is an emerging distinct clinical phenotype in children called positional OSA whereby obstructive breathing is worse in the supine position. This phenotype may be treated with positional therapy to prevent children from adopting the supine position during sleep. We are currently conducting a randomized crossover trial to examine the efficacy of positional therapy compared to an inactive control. The knowledge gained will help change the paradigm of clinical care from a one size fits all approach to a personalized treatment strategy for OSA.
Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) is an autosomal recessive neuromuscular disorder that commonly manifests with motor deterioration, respiratory decline, and orthopedic complications. The paradigm of care is shifting as disease-modifying therapies including nusinersen, onasemnogene abeparvovec, and risdiplam alter the disease trajectory of SMA. I have an interest in examining the respiratory characteristics, clinical outcomes, and experiences of children with SMA receiving disease-modifying therapies.
Insomnia and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) are highly prevalent conditions in the pediatric population. There is a growing recognition that these conditions may coexist, referred to as comorbid insomnia and sleep apnea (COMISA). Importantly, COMISA is associated with greater morbidity than either condition alone. Emerging evidence suggests that coexisting insomnia may affect tolerance to the gold standard positive airway pressure (PAP) therapy for children with OSA following surgical intervention. PAP therapy is highly effective for the treatment of OSA but is limited by poor adherence rates in children. I have an interest in evaluating COMISA and its impact on health outcomes in children. Understanding the impact of coexisting insomnia on PAP adherence in children may inform future targeted treatment strategies for this population to improve PAP adherence and health outcomes.
Principal Investigator. The IPAD Cohort Study: Insomnia and Positive Airway Pressure Adherence in Children and Adolescents. Funding Source: American Academy of Sleep Medicine Foundation, Madeleine M. Grigg-Damberger Focused Projects Grant for Junior Investigators: Pediatric Sleep.
Co-Principal Investigator. Establishing the Top Ten Research Priorities for Respiratory Care of Pediatric Neuromuscular Disease. Funding Source: Muscular Dystrophy Canada
Co-Principal Investigator. Single Site Feasibility and Safety Study of Home Initiation of Noninvasive Positive Pressure Ventilation in Children with Medical Complexity. Funding Source: Baxter Corporation Endowment Fund for Home Care
Principal Investigator. The Association Between Insomnia and Positive Airway Pressure Adherence in Children. Funding Source: International Pediatric Sleep Association and Sleep Research Society Foundation Small Research Grant
Co-Principal Investigator, Continuous Positive Airway Pressure vs High Flow Nasal Cannula for the Treatment of OSA in Children (CHOSA Trial). Funding Source: Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
2021 - The Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarships Master’s Award, Canadian Institutes of Health Research
2021 - Clinician-Scientist Training Program Award, The Hospital for Sick Children
2021 - Academic Sleep Pulmonary Integrated Research/Clinical Fellowship (ASPIRE Fellowship), American Thoracic Society
2023 - Ontario Graduate Scholarship, Institute of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation
2024 - Carole L. Marcus Outstanding Achievement Award, American Thoracic Society
2025 - IMPaCT Early Career Researcher Training Award, Increasing Capacity of Maternal and Paediatric Trials
At BC Children’s, we are making discoveries that save lives and transform health care for children in our province and around the world. Our research portfolio includes basic, clinical, population, and public health research.
EXPLORE OUR RESEARCH
Sign up for compelling stories about innovative science, the doctors and researchers who turn ideas into discoveries and treatments, and the kids and families whose lives are changed.
BC Children's Hospital Research Institute operates on the ancestral and unceded territory of the Coast Salish peoples — xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. Further, this acknowledgement, gratitude, and respect extends to all of the First Nations communities on whose territories the Research Institute builds relationships and operates in British Columbia.
© 2026 BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute. All rights reserved.
Crafted with by Forge and Smith
