Robert Stansbury, MD, Chair
American Board of Internal Medicine
Dr. Stansbury is an Associate Professor of Medicine and Director of the West Virginia University (WVU) Sleep Evaluation Center. He is the Sleep Medicine Fellowship Program Director at WVU. He is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in Internal Medicine, Pulmonary Disease, Critical Care Medicine, and Sleep Medicine.
He is an active member of the American Thoracic Society and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and has served in multiple leadership roles including as committee chair for these societies. He is current President of the West Virginia Sleep Society and an active member of the West Virginia Rural Health Association.
His research has involved team science and collaboration across multiple institutions. His interest and investigations broadly focus on three main areas 1) Rural health inequity 2) Novel approaches to the diagnosis and management of sleep apnea and 3) The physiology of occupational lung disease. Dr. Stansbury has published multiple research and review articles in these domains and multiple books chapters focused on sleep medicine and occupational lung disease.
Dr. Stansbury earned his medical degree at WVU School of Medicine and completed his internal medicine residency at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine in Lexington, Kentucky. He completed his pulmonary and critical care fellowship at WVU and his sleep medicine fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in Pennsylvania.
As of July 2022, Dr. Stansbury reported the following external relationships:
Work as an author or editor for following companies, with compensation as listed:
- Elsevier, Book Chapter in Principles and Practice Sleep Medicine.
Dr. Stansbury serves in significant roles with the following organizations, receiving reimbursement or compensation as listed:
- The American Academy of Sleep Medicine, Program Committee, without compensation.
- The American Thoracic Society, Quality Improvement and Implementation Committee, without compensation.
Ruth Benca, MD, Ph.D.
American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology
Dr. Benca began as Professor and Chair, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist, North Carolina, in July 2021. Previously she was Professor and Chair, Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at the University of California, Irvine. She has been a faculty member at the University of Chicago and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she was Associate Chair of the Psychiatry Department and Director of the UW Center for Sleep Medicine and Sleep Research. She board certified in Psychiatry and Sleep Medicine.
Her research focuses on the interface between sleep and psychiatric disorders across the lifespan, the role of sleep and sleep disorders on Alzheimer’s disease, with emphasis on insomnia and sleep apnea. She has served as principal investigator for studies funded by agencies including the NIH and the DOD. Her work has spanned basic research in animal models to clinical research and clinical trials. She has authored over 150 articles, reviews and book chapters. She has served as President of the Sleep Research Society and on the Board of Directors of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, and currently is Editor-in-chief of Current Sleep Medicine Reports and Insomnia Section Editor of UpToDate©.
She received her undergraduate degree at Harvard University and her medical and doctoral degrees from the University of Chicago. She did her residency training in psychiatry at the University of Chicago.
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As of July 2022, Dr. Benca reported the following external relationships:
Service on a research-related expert panel or advisory board for the following companies, with honoraria:
- Eisai, for consulting on a new hypnotic
- Genomind, for consulting on genetic testing for sleep and psychiatric disorders
- Idorsia, for consulting on a new hypnotic
- Jazz, for consulting on a wake-promoting drug
- Merck, for consulting on a new hypnotic
- Sage, for consulting on an antidepressant
Post-marketing clinical research, with funding provided to Wake Forest University, from the following companies:
- Idorsia, contracted to provide analysis of electroencephalography data collected in a clinical trial and consulting for non-branded education on sleep for health care providers and the public, receiving honoraria and reimbursement for travel expenses
Industry-supported continuing medical education supported by the following, with compensation for travel expenses and honoraria:
- Medscape, receiving honoraria and reimbursement for travel expenses
Work as an author or editor for the following companies, with compensation as listed:
- Springer, Current Sleep Medicine Reports, Editor-in-Chief, receiving compensation
- UpToDate®, Sleep Medicine, Insomnia section, Editor, receiving compensation
Work funded by research grants from nonprofit healthcare-related organizations, paid to Wake Forest University, from the following organizations:
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine, receiving funding for staff and expenses
Sarah McConville, MD
American Board of Anesthesiology
Dr. Sarah McConville is an assistant professor of anesthesiology at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland. She has been on faculty since 2019 and practices as a generalist with the Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine and as a sleep medicine specialist with the Department of Neurology. She is board certified in both Anesthesiology and Sleep Medicine.
With a particular interest in perioperative issues related to sleep medicine, she joined the Society for Anesthesia and Sleep Medicine and has been an active member since 2015. She has served as a co-Chair for the Sleep Medicine Clinical Practice Subcommittee since 2016. Her work has included surveying North American anesthesia trainees about their interest in, and knowledge of, sleep medicine as a subspecialty. Additionally, she enjoys working with residents and fellows in the operating rooms as well as her clinic.
Dr. McConville attended medical school at University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. She spent an extra year completing the Doris Duke Clinical Research Fellowship, working with a gastroenterologist on research related to eosinophilic esophagitis. She graduated from medical school in 2012 and moved to Salt Lake City, Utah, where she completed her residency in anesthesiology in 2016. She served as a chief resident during her PGY-4 year. After finishing her residency, she completed a sleep medicine fellowship through the University of Utah in 2017.
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As of August 2022, Dr. McConville reported the following external relationships:
Dr. McConville serves in significant roles with the following organization, receiving reimbursement or compensation as listed:
- The Society of Anesthesia and Sleep Medicine, Clinical Practice Subcommittee Chair, without compensation.
John Poma, MBA, JD
John Poma has a B.A. and M.B.A. from William & Mary and a Juris Doctor from Emory University. He currently serves as Chief Legal and Compliance Officer for Tidewater Physicians Multispecialty Group, based in Newport News, Virginia, teaches as an adjunct at William & Mary Law School, and is a member of the Board of Trustees of Lifespire of Virginia, a non-profit company operating senior living communities in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Prior roles include serving as Chief Human Resources Officer at William & Mary, General Counsel and President of N1 Health, LLC, Vice President Enterprise Risk Management at Alpha Natural Resources, and Vice President Human Resources and Chief Administrative Officer for a Richmond, Virginia Fortune 500 company. One of the hallmarks of Mr. Poma’s career was the conceptualization, development and operation of the West Virginia Family Wellness Center providing comprehensive primary health care to employees of mining companies in Central Appalachia and their spouses and dependents.
As of December 2022, Mr. Poma reported the following external relationships:
Mr. Poma serves in significant roles with the following organization, receiving reimbursement or compensation as listed:
- LifeSpire of Virginia, Board of Trustees, without compensation
Mr. Poma is also Chief Legal Counsel for Tidewater Physicians Multispecialty Group, P.C. He also serves as an adjunct instructor for the College of William & Mary.
Snigdhasmrithi Pusalavidyasagar, MD
American Board of Internal Medicine
Dr. Pusalavidyasagar (“Sagar”) is an Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine in the Department of Medicine at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. She serves as the University of Minnesota Medial Center Site Director for the Sleep Medicine Fellowship Program. She is board certified in Internal Medicine and Sleep Medicine.
She practices sleep medicine and mentors medical students, residents (internal medicine and dental) and fellows (sleep medicine and pulmonary medicine). Her research interests include the role of sleep in women's health and sleep disordered breathing as it related to cardiovascular disease.
Dr. Sagar joined the Center for Women in Medicine and Science (CWIMS) at the University of Minnesota, in June 2018 as the action group leader for the Mentoring Committee and is passionate about the advancement of CWIMS's mission and addressing all forms of inequity. She is active with the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and was recognized with Fellow status in 2013. With the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, she served on the Lifelong Learning/Maintenance of Certification Committee and an Education Product Subcommittee. She currently serves on the Registered Sleep Technologist's Exam committee for the American Board of Sleep Medicine. She was recently elected to the Board of Directors for the Minnesota Sleep Society.
She completed her internal medicine residency at Howard University, Washington, DC, and sleep medicine fellowship at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. Before her sleep medicine fellowship, she was a research fellow in cardiovascular physiology at the Mayo Clinic.
As of May 2023, Dr. Pusalavidyasagar reported the following ongoing external relationships:
Dr. Pusalavidyasagar serves in significant roles with the following organizations, receiving reimbursement or compensation as listed:
- The American Academy of Sleep Medicine, Registered Sleep Technologist Committee, Member, without compensation
- The Minnesota Sleep Society, Board Member, without compensation
Adam Sorscher, MD
American Board of Family Medicine
Dr. Sorscher was born and raised in Flint, Michigan. He practices family medicine at the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center and directs the Sleep Health Center at Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital, both in Lebanon, New Hampshire.
His research interest focuses on how sleep disorders, especially insomnia, affect overall health and wellbeing and how to incorporate treatment of sleep disorders into the primary care setting. He has published numerous research papers in peer reviewed medical journals and has provided lectures frequently on sleep disorders and healthy sleep to physicians at national regional conferences and the public.
He received his undergraduate degree from Harvard College (1984) and medical degree from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine (1990) in Ohio. He completed a residency in family medicine at St. Paul Ramsey Hospital (1993) in St. Paul, Minnesota and a fellowship in sleep medicine at the Hennepin County Medical Center (2003) in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
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As of May 2023, Dr. Sorscher reported no ongoing external relationships.
Erik St. Louis, MD
American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology
Dr. St. Louis is Director of the Mayo Sleep Behavior and Neurophysiology Research Laboratory and Associate Professor and Consultant in Neurology and Sleep Medicine at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in Rochester, Minnesota.
He also serves as Research Chair for Mayo Clinic Southwest Wisconsin, La Crosse. His research interests include REM sleep behavior disorder and the interfaces between sleep, cognition, and epilepsy.
Together with colleagues and mentees, he has authored over 130 original peer reviewed PubMed articles and is the author of 3 books on the topics of Epilepsy and EEG, and over 30 book chapters.
Dr. St. Louis earned his undergraduate degree from St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota. He received his medical degree from the Medical College of Wisconsin, Wauwatosa. He went on to complete residencies in preliminary medicine, neurology and epilepsy/clinical neurophysiology at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and his master’s degree in clinical investigation from the University of Iowa College of Public Health in Iowa City.
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As of June 2022, Dr. St. Louis reported no ongoing external relationships.
Laura Sterni, MD
American Board of Pediatrics
Dr. Sterni is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and is the Director of the Johns Hopkins Pediatric Sleep Center, both in Baltimore, Maryland. She is board certified in Pediatric Pulmonary and Sleep medicine.
Dr. Sterni’s practice has been focused on the management of children with sleep-disordered breathing. She has published multiple manuscripts in this field and has edited a book on chronic home ventilation in children, Caring for Ventilator Dependent Child: A Clinical Guide. (Sterni LM and Carroll JL (Eds). Humana Press/Springer Science 2016.) Dr. Sterni is regularly recognized as a “Top Doctor” in Baltimore Magazine.
Dr. Sterni received her medical degree from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She also completed her residency in pediatrics and her fellowship in pediatric pulmonary medicine at Johns Hopkins.
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As of July 2022, Dr. Sterni reported the following external relationships:
Work as an author or editor for the following company, with compensation as listed:
- Springer, receiving royalties
Dr. Sterni serves in significant roles with the following organizations, receiving reimbursement or compensation as listed:
- The American Board of Pediatrics, Pediatric Pulmonary Subcommittee, Member, receiving honoraria
- The Maryland Sleep Society, Board of Directors, without compensation
Emerson M. Wickwire, PhD
Emerson M. Wickwire, PhD is a bio-behaviorally trained clinical psychologist and internationally recognized expert in sleep and sleep disorders. He holds the rank of Professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, where he serves as Section Head, Sleep Medicine, and oversees all sleep clinical, educational, and research activities.
Following completion of his advanced training in sleep at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, he co-founded a leading interdisciplinary sleep medicine center that became a model for comprehensive sleep medicine centers throughout the country. Since returning to academia, Dr. Wickwire has developed a broad portfolio of sleep-related research that has been substantially funded by federal, foundation, and private industry partners. He has authored over 100 articles and chapters, is Associate Editor of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, and serves on the editorial boards of SLEEP, Sleep Review, and Behavioral Sleep Medicine.
He is a member of the Board of Directors of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and serves on the Sleep Medicine Advisory Committee. His current research examines health economic aspects of sleep disorders and their treatments, as well as remote monitoring and telehealth for sleep in medical and occupational settings.
As of August 2022, Dr. Wickwire reported the following external relationships:
Consulting on the design of new drugs or devices, clinical trials, the use of specific agents or other research-related activities for the following companies, with honoraria:
- Eisai
- EnsoData
- Idorsia
Post-marketing clinical research, with funding provided to the University of Maryland, Baltimore, from the following companies:
- Merck, for an investigator-initiated research study, receiving reimbursement for travel expenses and honoraria
- The ResMed Foundation, for an investigator-initiated research study, receiving reimbursement for travel expenses and honoraria
Dr. Wickwire serves in significant roles with the following organization, receiving reimbursement or compensation as listed:
- The American Academy of Sleep Medicine, Board of Directors, receiving reimbursement for travel expenses and honoraria
Dr. Wickwire has also authored copyrighted materials, including software code and various patient educational materials related to sleep. These materials are licensed through WellTap LLC, which he owns, and are involved in research studies at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, for which he is a Principal Investigator.
Kathleen Yaremchuk, MD
American Board of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery
Dr. Yaremchuk is board certified in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery and the subspecialty of Sleep Medicine at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan. She is the Department Chair of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Audiology, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and Dentistry. She is a member of the Division of Sleep Medicine at Henry Ford Hospital.
Dr. Yaremchuk has authored multiple papers and book chapters on surgical outcomes and quality of life in patients with obstructive sleep apnea. She is the past Chair of the Sleep Disorders Committee for the American Academy of Otolaryngology/Head & Neck Surgery.
Dr. Yaremchuk has been honored by the Women in Otolaryngology with the Helen F. Krause Trailblazer award which recognizes an individual who has furthered the interests of women in the field of Otolaryngology. Dr. Yaremchuk is the President Elect of the American Academy of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery.
Dr. Yaremchuk completed her residency in otolaryngology at the University of Chicago.
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As of May 2023, Dr. Yaremchuk reported the following external relationships:
Dr. Yaremchuk serves in significant roles with the following organization, receiving reimbursement or compensation as listed:
- The American Academy of Otolaryngology, without compensation