Integrative Cardiopulmonary Physiology Lab (Domnik Lab)

Founded in 2022, the Interdisciplinary Cardiopulmonary Physiology Lab - aka @LungLab - led by Dr. Nicolle Domnik is part of Queen's Respiratory Investigation Unit, an interdisciplinary team of basic and clinical respiratory physiology researchers with interest in the intersection of respiratory, cardiovascular, exercise, and sleep physiology.

Current foci in the Interdisciplinary Cardiopulmonary Physiology Lab include:

The impact of Obstructive Sleep Apnea on movement behaviours and exercise capacity
How sleep quality and quantity impact physiologic and perceptual responses to exercise
How vaping with nicotine-containing products impacts on cardiovascular parameters in healthy young adults

In keeping with our mandate of providing educational and training excellence, the ICPL additionally investigates questions in the space of Scholarship of Teaching and Learning.

Current inquiry includes:

How student and faculty expectations inform undergraduate research training

For recent publications, check us out on GoogleScholar or PubMed.

~~ Individuals interested in 4th year research opportunities for 2025-2026: we will be reviewing and starting to respond to expressions of interest (email) the last week in January / first week in February. Please also consider checking out the Summer 2025 SWEP website to get an idea of other labs on campus with summer research opportunities that could dovetail with your thesis work (we have x1 posted), and consider whether your interest would lie in doing an individual 4th year project or taking part in the Discovery Labs (DISC598/599 - team-based research theses; expressions of interest will be gathered starting in late January). ~~

Potential opportunities for 4th-year research in the 2024-2025 academic year for Life Sciences or Health Sciences Students (or, in the context of the Discovery Labs, students from other related disciplines, e.g., Biochem, Kinesiology, etc.) may include:

Measuring how responsiveness to respiratory stimuli may vary in conditions of sleep deprivation
Evaluating relationships between sleep architecture and perceptual responses to exercise
Quantifying whether/how CPAP therapy impacts daily physical activity
Other projects, pending interest and funding

If interested, please send an email of interest to n.j.domnik@queensu.ca with subject line: "2025-2026 Honours Thesis Research Project Inquiry" and include your CV/resume and unofficial transcript in your email.

We are...

PI:

Nicolle Domnik, PhD

Current Graduate Students:

Kristin MacLeod (PhD; 2022-ongoing)

Nick Ricci (Msc; 2023-ongoing)

Regan Sinden (MSc AnatSci; 2024-ongoing)

2024-2025 Trainees (alphabetical):

Bhagya Natarajan (Research Volunteer)

Billy Turner (DISC598/599)

Daniel Abdelmalek (DISC598/599)

Dhara Karvat (PHGY499)

Elizabeth Bignell (DISC598/599)

Emma Petschulat (PHGY499)

Nicky Lewis (DISC598/599)

Sarasa Walter (PHGY499)

Stephanie Adeseiye (DISC598/599)

Stephanie Ferreira (PHGY499)

Lab Alumni (by Year and First Name Alphabetical):

2023-2024:

Claerwen Sladen-Dew (DISC598/599)

Izzy Silot (PHGY499)

Margie Pigott (DISC598/599)

Meghan Watson (DISC598/599)

Natalie Domingo (HSCI593/596)

Regan Sinden (LISC Independent Study)

Sara Di Luch (DISC598/599)

Sawsan Haider (DISC598/599)

2022-2023:

Alec Weller (HSCI595/596)

One of the joys of pursuing research is communicating your findings to others!

Not just through publication, but through engagement with the broader community.

Participation in events like Kingston's Science Rendezvous or publication in Frontiers for Young Minds (e.g., 1, 2, 3) are just some of the ways we share our work and passion.

For more information about our ongoing studies, check out our Linktree HERE or our lab Instagram Page!

Welcome!

Welcome to the Interdisciplinary Cardiopulmonary Physiology Lab website!

You can also follow us on Instagram at: @lunglab.qu !

Questions?