Dr. Pak is a tenured Associate Professor, and completed her undergraduate, graduate (MS, MTR-Master of Science in Translational Research from the Institute of Translational Medicine and Therapeutics), and PhD at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Pak is a native to Philadelphia. She conducted post-doctoral research and was a research associate in Sleep Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Center for Sleep and Circadian Neurobiology at Perelman School of Medicine. During this time, she served as a Principal Investigator, securing NIH and foundation funding to lead multiple clinical and translational research studies conducted in the sleep center. Dr. Pak has expertise in sleep medicine, biomarkers, and translational research. Her work has been published in journals such as the International Journal of Obesity-Nature (London), Metabolomics, and CHEST Pulmonary.  

As Principal Investigator, Dr. Pak has directed over a dozen human research studies and clinical trials, including NIH-funded projects.

Dr. Pak conducted a pioneering candidate gene study, that was the first to identify a variant on the inflammatory PDE4D gene linked to sleepiness in the general population in Brazil, laying the groundwork for future treatments targeting symptoms and reducing cardiovascular and Alzheimer's disease risk. Dr. Pak also conducted the first study to examine metabolomics in the context of sleepiness, identifying metabolite associations with symptoms and cardiovascular disease risk. Her work on examining the genetic and metabolomic mechanisms of sleepiness and the impact of continuous positive airway pressure on cell adhesion molecules in persons with obstructive sleep apnea has garnered recognition from leading organizations such as the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Mayo Clinic.  

The goal of her research is to improve sleep and quality of life of individuals and families.

Service

At Emory, she has served as the Vice-Chair of the research committee, an advisory board member of the Emory University Sleep Consortium and co-conference chair of international conferences.  

Dr. Pak currently serves as an Associate Editor for Sleep and Breathing, an international peer-reviewed journal focused on clinical and translational research in sleep medicine and respiratory health.

Zhou, S., Han, X., Zhenzhen, S., Zhang, Q., Cox, J., Pak, V.M. (In press). Aminoacetone is Associated with Sleep Latency. Sleep Medicine.  

Tellez, D., Cameron, A., Sert-Kuniyoshi, F., Cistulli, P., Pepin, J., Benjafield, A., Malhotra, A., Pak, V.M. (2025). Treatment with Bilevel PAP is Associated with a Reduction in Severe Exacerbations in COPD-OSA Overlap: A Retrospective Claims Analysis. In press. Chest Pulmonary. 

Russell, K.L., Rodman, H.R., Pak, V.M. (2023). Sleep insufficiency, circadian rhythms, and metabolomics: the connection between metabolic and sleep disorders. Sleep and Breathing. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11325-023-02828-x.  

Ezzati, A.M., Pak, V.M. (2023). The effects of time-restricted eating on sleep, cognitive decline, and Alzheimer's disease. Experimental Gerontology. Jan;171. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.exger.2022.112033 

Pak,V. M., Maislin D.G., Keenan B. T., Townsend R. R., Benediktsdottir, B., B., Pack, A., Gislason, T., Kuna, S. (2023).Obesity does not modify the effect of CPAP on insulin resistance in adults with OSA. ERJ Open. Mar 13;9(2):00443-2022.  doi:10.1183/23120541.00443-2022. eCollection2023 Mar.

Pak, V. M., Paul, S., Swieboda, D., Balthazar, M., & Wharton, W. (2022). Sleep duration and biomarkers of inflammation in African American and white participants with a parental history of Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's & Dementia, 8, e12332. https://doi.org/10.1002/trc2.12332  

Johnson, B., Brewster G., Cicero, E., Hepburn K., Clevenger, C., Daniel, G., Pak V. M., Paul, S., & Epps F. (2022). Promoting caregiver mastery in Black American dementia caregivers. The Gerontologist, 62(5), 685-693. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnab147  

Knyazev, S., Chhugani, K., Sarwal, V., Ayyala, R., Singh, H., Karthikeyan, S., Deshpande, D.,  Baykal, P. I., Comarova, Z., Lu, A., Porozov, Y., Vasylyeva, T., Wertheim, J. O., Tierney, B. T., Chiu, C. Y., Sun, R., Wu, A., Abedalthagafi, M. S., Pak, V. M., … & Mangul, S. (2022). Unlocking capacities of genomics for the Covid-19 response and future pandemics. Nature Methods, 19, 374-380. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41592-022-01444-z   

Pak, V. M., Russell, K., Shi, Z., Zhang, Q., Cox, J., Uppal, K., Yu, T., Hertzberg, V., Liu, K., Ioachimescu, O.,Collop, N., Bliwise, D., Kutner, N., Rogers, A., & Dunbar, S. (2022). Sphinganine is associated with 24-hour MAP in the non-sleepy with OSA. Metabolomics, 18(4) 23. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11306-021-01860-w 

Kim, S., Zhang, W., Pak, V. M., Aqua, J., Hertzberg, V.,Spahr, C., Slavich, G., & Bai, J. (2021). How stress, discrimination, acculturation, and the gut microbiome affect depression, anxiety, and sleep among Chinese and Korean immigrants in the USA: a cross-sectional pilot study protocol. BMJ Open, 11(7), e047281. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-047281  

Pak, V.M., Maislin, D.G., Keenan, B.T., Townsend, R., Benediksdottir, B., Dunbar, S., Pack, A.I., Gislason, T., Kuna, S.T. (2021). Sleep and Breathing. Changes in sleepiness and 24-h blood pressure following 4 months of CPAP treatment are not mediated by ICAM-1. PMID: 33404963 DOI:10.1007/s11325-020-02257-0

Pak, V.M., Butts, B., Hertzberg, V., Collop, N., Quyyumi, A., Cox, J., Rogers, A., Dunbar S. (2020). Daytime Sleepiness Predicts Inflammation and Ambulatory Blood Pressure in Sleep Apnea. ERJ Open Research. 6(4). doi: 10.1183/23120541.00310-2019.

Pak, V.M., Onen, H., Bliwise, D., Kutner, N., Russell, K., Onen, F. (2020). Sleep disturbances in MCI and AD: Neuroinflammation as a possible mediating pathway. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2020.00069

Pak, V.M., Mazzoti, D., Keenan, B., Hirotsu, C., Gehrman, P., Bittencourt L., Pack, A.,Tufik, S. Candidate Gene Analysis in the São Paulo Epidemiologic Sleep Study (EPISONO) Shows an Association of Variant in PDE4D and Sleepiness. (2018). Sleep Medicine. 47, 106-112. PMID: 29783161.

Pak, V.M., Dai, F., Keenan, B., Gooneratne, N., Pack, A. (2018) “Lower Plasma Choline Levels are Associated with Sleepiness Symptoms.” Sleep Medicine, 44, 89-96.

Pak, V.M., Onen, S., Gooneratne, N., Fallisard, B., Onen, F. (2017). Observation and Interview-based Diurnal Sleepiness Inventory for measurement of sleepiness in older adults. Nature and Science of Sleep: 9, 241-24.

Pak, VM., Keenan, B. Jackson, N., Grandner, M. et al., Pack, A. (2014). Adhesion Molecule Increases in Sleep Apnea: Beneficial Effect of Positive Airway Pressure and Moderation by Obesity. International Journal of Obesity. Jul 21. 39(3):472-9.

Pak, VM., Grandner, M., Pack, A. (2013). Circulating Adhesion Molecules in Sleep Apnea and Cardiovascular Disease. Sleep Medicine Reviews.18(1):25-34.

Dr. Pak has taught and mentored students at the undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral levels. Prior to joining Emory, she had experience teaching at the University of Pennsylvania and held a tenure-track faculty position at Yale University.