Lee A Surkin, MD is President and founder of Empire Sleep Medicine and CardioSleep Diagnostics, the American Academy of Cardiovascular Sleep Medicine and a trailblazer in the field of Cardiovascular Disease and Sleep Medicine. He is uniquely triple board-certified in Cardiology, Nuclear Cardiology and Sleep Medicine. He is Chief Medical Officer of VirtuOx, Inc. and Nexus Dental Systems. He has achieved fellowship status in the American College of Cardiology, the College of Chest Physicians, the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.
Dr. Surkin has been a leader in charting interdisciplinary and collaborative platforms with dentists, ENTs and other specialists establishing a framework for comprehensive education and practice standards that optimize care and management of patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea and other sleep disorders. 
With over 26 years of clinical practice, his professional career has evolved from exclusively cardiology to a unique and effective practice model for patient care. Dr. Surkin created a new paradigm in healthcare emphasizing a comprehensive wellness approach by incorporating sleep and cardiovascular medicine with a multi-faceted approach to prevention, early detection and aggressive management. He has forged successful relationships with the wide range of physicians and has demonstrated leadership by introducing new and innovative testing and treatment modalities. 
In Dr. Surkin’s role as chief medical officer of Nexus Dental Systems, he has developed a national network of board-certified sleep physicians who collaborate with sleep dentists in the care of patients with sleep-related breathing disorders. In addition, he is actively involved in the development of a core curriculum through the dental sleep academy called the Academy of Clinical Sleep Disorders Disciplines. This non-profit organization launched the first of its kind elective course in sleep medicine for dental and medical students at the Medical University of South Carolina in 2022 which was renewed for 2023.

Lee Surkin, MD