About Dr. Stanley Liu

In the mid 1980s, techniques developed for the treatment of dentofacial deformity (DFD) were adapted and advanced by Dr. Nelson Powell and Dr. Robert Riley for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Drs. Powell and Riley were community surgeons who operated at Stanford Hospital, and their approach became widely known as the “Stanford Protocol.”

I met Nelson Powell for the first time in 2006 after a year at the National Institutes of Health as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Medical Scholar. We spoke for more than two hours in his Palo Alto office, and I came away inspired to follow his path. Over the next several years I continued to meet with Nelson, and with his support, began my sleep surgery fellowship at Stanford in 2013 after completing my medical degree and residency in oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMFS) at UCSF.

My fellowship year at Stanford was the last in which training was split between community and university surgeons. By this time, Nelson had retired from operating, and I became his Bob Riley’s “right-hand man” - quite literally as Bob is left-handed, and he stands at the patient’s left during maxillomandibular advancement (MMA) surgery while I stand on the right. I operated with Bob, learning MMA true to its original form. I also worked alongside Stanford otolaryngology (ENT) faculty mentors who taught me other sleep surgical procedures including nasal and pharyngeal surgery. I also became certified in performing hypoglossal nerve stimulation (HGNS) surgery, also known as "Inspire."

In 2014, I joined the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery as full-time faculty. My decade-long tenure at Stanford thus spanned from Clinical Instructor to Associate Professor, when I also became the Sleep Surgery Fellowship Director. During the first phase of my academic career, I published over 120 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, introduced distraction osteogenesis maxillary expansion (DOME) surgery, and presented keynote talks at conferences including the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and World Sleep Society.

In 2024, I became Chair of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and Assistant Dean of Hospital Affairs at Nova Southeastern University (NSU). Our program, in transition from a 4 year to a 6 year MD track, is known for strengths in head and neck cancer and facial trauma.

With colleagues from dental medicine and pediatrics, I am building an integrative sleep and wellness center. I believe that innovation in the field of sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) will come from integration of medicine, surgery, dentistry, functional exercises, and digital health technology. It is at NSU that I continue my passion for advancing sleep and airway health with timely interventions during developmental milestones of the face and airway.