Markus H. Schmidt, MD, PhD is President and Director of Research at the Ohio Sleep Medicine Institute. He is strongly committed to his patients and strives to provide them with the highest level of quality sleep medicine care. To that extent, Dr. Schmidt has received the "Best Doctors in America" recognition in sleep medicine from 2007 to 2019. He is board certified in sleep medicine and neurology, has extensive clinical and research experience, and regularly participates in national and international conferences. Under his leadership, Ohio Sleep Medicine Institute remains the hallmark of excellence in sleep medicine care for Central Ohio where patients can expect to receive compassionate and supportive care. His commitment to sleep medicine began early in life under the leadership of his father, Helmut Schmidt, MD, a pioneer in sleep medicine.
Dr. Markus Schmidt values a customized and coordinated approach to patient care, working in close collaboration with primary care or other health providers as well as patients to ensure successful treatment outcome. Patients can expect to receive a thorough sleep evaluation, diagnosis and treatment as well as ongoing support to maximize treatment adherence. Dr. Schmidt recognizes the importance of providing patients with a positive experience so as to empower them towards better heatlh.
Dr. Markus Schmidt is the current Chairman of the Examination Committee at the World Association of Sleep Medicine. His clinical and research experience has led him to work with some of the most renowned sleep clinicians and researchers in the world. He has participated in numerous collaborative research projects with investigators from Europe, Asia and South America related to clinical sleep medicine and basic neuroscience. He is the author of various chapters, reviews and articles, including among others Current Biology, Principles and Practice of Sleep Medicine, Journal of Neuroscience, American Journal of Physiology, Sleep, Sleep Medicine, and Sleep Medicine Reviews. He recently published several articles on a new theory of sleep function known as the energy allocation hypothesis. He is a reviewing editor for several internationally recognized journals.
Dr. Markus Schmidt is a member of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, European Sleep Research Society, the Society for Neuroscience, Sleep Research Society, American Medical Association, Columbus Medical Association Foundation, Ohio State Medical Association and American Academy of Clinical Urologists. He obtained his undergraduate degree from the University of Toronto and completed an undergraduate thesis on “The evolution of sleep and its implication of function” under the direction of the world renowned Dr. Allan Rechtschaffen from the University of Chicago. He later carried out his doctoral research at the preeminent neurophysiology sleep laboratory in Lyon, France with Professor Michel Jouvet, considered one of the “fathers” of sleep who discovered many of the underlying neural mechanisms of REM sleep. Dr. Schmidt’s basic science research led to the discovery of the neural mechanisms of sleep-related erections, as well as the association between obstructive sleep apnea and erectile dysfunction. His other research interests have focused on restless legs syndrome, REM sleep behavior disorder and narcolepsy.
Dr. Markus Schmidt received his MD and PhD from the Medical College of Ohio, now part of the University of Toledo. He was an intern at Riverside Methodist Hospital in Internal Medicine, and completed his residency in Neurology at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation where he received the Cleveland Clinic's First Prize Neuroscience Investigator Award for an unprecedented three consecutive years! In addition, he is the two-time recipient of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine's (AASM) Young Investigator Award and the Sleep Research Society's (SRS) Young Investigator Award.
