Christopher Schmickl, MD, PhD, MPH

Christopher Schmickl, MD, PhD, is board-certified in internal and sleep medicine. He practices general sleep medicine, with a focus on obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), especially for patients interested in hypoglossal nerve (upper airway) stimulation or who are undergoing weight loss surgery.

He feels sleep is vital to good health and finds it very rewarding to see how transformative improvements in sleep can be for patients. His goal is to make recommendations that empower his patients to make informed decisions that are best for their condition and needs.

As a physician-scientist focusing his research on novel and personalized therapies for patients with OSA, he believes there are great synergisms between clinical and scientific work. He shares, "Being a clinician helps me design research that is clinically relevant and applicable, whereas my work as a researcher enables me to treat patients based on cutting-edge medical evidence." Dr. Schmickl is an assistant professor of medicine in the UC San Diego School of Medicine, where he trains medical students, residents, and fellows in the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine.

Dr. Schmickl completed a sleep medicine fellowship at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston Children's Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. He did his residency in internal medicine at Boston University Medical Center.

In addition, he earned a Master of Public Health degree from Harvard University. Dr. Schmickl received his medical and doctoral degrees from University of Witten/Herdecke Medical School in Germany.

He is a member of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) and the American Thoracic Society (ATS).

In his spare time Dr. Schmickl enjoys playing soccer, surfing, hiking, traveling, cooking and spending time with his family. A native of Bavaria, he is fluent in German as well as English.

UC San Diego Health Links
For more information, see Sleep Medicine Center.