Dr Francois Abel

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Profile

Dr Francois Abel is an internationally experienced Paediatric Respiratory and Sleep Physician with over 15 years of consultant experience in Australia and the United Kingdom. He previously led the Paediatric Sleep and Chronic Ventilation Service at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children in London for approximately a decade, developing one of the hospital's major multidisciplinary specialist services.

A former Honorary Associate Professor at University College London's Institute of Child Health, Dr Abel has played an active role in advancing paediatric sleep medicine internationally. He is a former Co-Chair of the British Paediatric Sleep Society and currently Co-Chairs the European Respiratory Society Task Force on Paediatric Central Sleep Apnoea.

Dr Abel specialises in childhood sleep apnoea, complex sleep-disordered breathing, respiratory conditions in infants and children with neurological, neuromuscular and craniofacial disorders, and non-invasive and long-term ventilation. He brings extensive clinical experience, international expertise and a thoughtful, individualised approach to the care of children with sleep and respiratory disorders.

Research

Dr Abel's academic and research interests focus on paediatric sleep-disordered breathing, central sleep apnoea, respiratory physiology and the management of respiratory complications in children with complex medical conditions. He currently Co-Chairs the European Respiratory Society Task Force on Paediatric Central Sleep Apnoea and has contributed to international ERS statements on obstructive sleep-disordered breathing in infancy and long-term non-invasive respiratory support in children.

His published research encompasses sleep and respiratory dysfunction in neuromuscular disorders, including Duchenne muscular dystrophy and spinal muscular atrophy, sleep-related hypoventilation, complex craniofacial airway disease and paediatric ventilation. Current research activities include investigations into respiratory outcomes in infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia, infant respiratory physiology, and collaborative work on respiratory surveillance in spinal muscular atrophy in the era of disease-modifying therapies.

Dr Abel is particularly interested in improving diagnostic accuracy, translating advances in respiratory physiology into clinical practice, and developing effective multidisciplinary approaches to the management of complex childhood sleep and respiratory disorders.

Hospitals