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.  Dr. Pak conducted post-doctoral research in Sleep Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Center for Sleep and Circadian Neurobiology at Perelman School of Medicine, followed by 2 years as a Research Associate within the same center.  Dr. Pak has expertise in sleep medicine, biomarkers, and translational research. 

As Principal Investigator, Dr. Pak has directed over a dozen human research studies and clinical trials and has also obtained federal funding from NIH. 

She 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-which leads the way for future treatments targeting symptoms and reducing cardiovascular and Alzheimer's disease risk. Dr. Pak conducted the first-ever study examining metabolomics in the context of sleepiness, and identified metabolite associations with symptoms and cardiovascular disease risk. Her work on examining the biological, metabolomic, and genetic 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. 

Dr. Pak's work has been published in journals such as the International Journal of Obesity-Nature (London), Metabolomics, and CHEST Pulmonary. 

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