Yi Cai, MD

Yi Cai, MD is a Clinical Fellow in Sleep Medicine and Sleep Surgery at the University of Pennsylvania. She is driven by the desire to help patients overcome poor or inadequate sleep in her clinical and research career. Her research interests are in health care delivery, specifically in studying medical decision-making in patients with sleep disorders and the use of emerging technologies to improve longitudinal tracking of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Highlights from her prior work include elucidating patient goals and decisional conflict in patients considering OSA surgery, the feasibility of patient self-captured videoscopic images for telehealth encounters, the use of wearable consumer technology in surgically treated OSA patients, and characterizing postoperative pain and maladaptive behavioral changes after pediatric tonsillectomy. Prior to fellowship, Dr. Cai completed her residency in Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery at the University of California, San Francisco. There, she led quality improvement initiatives as a chief resident, received a Patient Care Fund Award, and served as a Co-Chair of the UCSF Resident and Fellow’s Council.