AASM Member Appreciation Week
2023 Member Spotlights
View the full list of discounts and activities happening this week!
What was your “ah-ha” moment when you knew sleep medicine was for you?
My ah-ha moment that led me to sleep medicine was a need for a change from practice from Oncology and I received an opportunity to assist in a Sleep Center by chance. I loved it from the start. That was 5 years ago. Being new to Sleep Medicine, I educated myself through the AASM educational modules and had a great baseline for practice. My collaborating physician Sunil Vaidya educated and invested in me as a mentor.
What is best part of practicing sleep?
The best part about practicing sleep is you can see enhanced quality of life for your patients. I enjoy the coaching aspect as we assist patients in adapting to CPAP usage. I also enjoy the education that must take place as we teach patients about the risks associated with non compliance, as it relates to PAP therapy.
What has been the most enjoyable experience as a member of AASM?
My most enjoyable experience, while oftentimes challenging, has been being the Chair of the AASM APP group for the last two years. This experience has allowed me to network and learn from many APP’s and other professionals across the nation. I look forward to the networking that will take place within this group of providers at SLEEP 2023.
What was your “ah-ha” moment when you knew sleep medicine was for you?
I’ve always been a sports person, so after listening to Dr. Durmers interview in the Talking Sleep podcast, I realized I could apply all the sleep-related information in trying to improve the athlete’s performance
What is the best part of practicing sleep?
Been able to help patients with a problem (ie: insomnia, narcolepsy, parasomnias, etc) that, in the majority of times, has been present for a really long time.
Who/what inspires you?
My wife and my soon-to-be-born daughter.
What has been the most enjoyable experience as a member of AASM?
There are a few so it’s difficult to choose just one. I personally enjoy all the academic content that is available in the web page. All the clinical guidelines, the webinars, the podcast, etc. So just being able to navigate through all this information has been really enjoyable.
Give us a fun fact about you…
I guess I’ve always been involved in Sleep Medicine because for as long as I can remember, I was always worried and always cared about my parents’ sleep. Since I was a child, I was constantly asking them if they slept well the night before.
What was your “ah-ha” moment when you knew sleep medicine was for you?
When I first saw the raw polysomnogram data and realized that its pure physiology at its best
What is the best part of practicing sleep?
I can create a lasting impact. Good sleep is fundamental to good health
What was the best advice you have ever received?
Always remember that there are two sides to the story and learn to put yourself in the other side’s shoes
What has been the most enjoyable experience as a member of AASM?
AASM leadership recognizes and appreciates hard work, irrespective of who you are or where you are.
Three hashtags that describe you: #havekidswilltravel, #breathewellsleepwell #neverstoplearning
Give us a fun fact about you…
I have visited six of the seven new wonders of the world and cant wait to visit the 7th!
What was your “ah-ha” moment when you knew sleep medicine was for you?
During my PGY3 year in Psychiatry Residency in New York, I started to see a pattern while working in the outpatient setting. Many of my patients with mood disorders also struggled with insomnia, so I started to review the literature about insomnia in depression and bipolar disorder. I was about to start PGY4 and apply to Pain Management. Looking back, after spending 5 years in Guadalajara, Mexico, I learned medicine in Spanish and so I have been able to be clinically effective while working with Spanish-only speaking patients. I had a patient in the outpatient setting suffering from Parkinson’s Disease, and she was Spanish – speaking only. I started to ask her questions related to a possible RBD, as she had never had a sleep study or evaluation before. She endorsed dream enactment, but also insomnia with RLS symptoms. Because of her symptoms, she was only sleeping 2.5 hours nightly. Unsure if she was experiencing augmentation from Sinemet, and not wanting to disturb the dopamine pathway, I figured that I could try Mirtazapine 7.5mg with scheduled titration up to 15mg. This helped her sleep 6.5 hours, which was the most sleep she ever had in 22 years. She was tearful and thankful that she finally found a medication that helped her sleep. In Spanish, she said “you are a gift to me and in my life. I have never met a doctor who has helped me to sleep with all of my Parkinson’s problems. You are going to be a great Sleep Doctor and psychiatrist, and the patients at Stanford (I had recently matched) will be lucky to have you – especially the ones that speak Spanish like me.” As my eyes welled up with tears, it was then I had my ah-ha experience, knowing I was going into the field most intuitive for me. I applied for a Sleep Medicine fellowship instead of Pain and matched at Stanford. She changed my life – my entire trajectory.
What is the best part of practicing sleep?
The best part of practicing Sleep Medicine is getting feedback from the patients about how they’re doing at school, at work, and in their personal lives. I especially enjoy updates from parents about how well their child with type 1 Narcolepsy progressing in school with the help of medication and scheduled naps. Seeing that I can contribute to a patient having normalcy in their life despite having a severe sleep disorder is satisfying for me. The other part of Sleep Medicine I like is the opportunities for novelty and growth in the field. I have been able to treat patients with insomnia secondary to centralized pain with a novel VR Neurofeedback therapy, helping them become more resilient, improving insomnia while tapering off opioids, benzodiazepines, and cyclobenzaprine.
Who/what inspires you?
My father is probably the person that inspired me most when he was alive. He had a massive heart attack on March 31, 2014, and he struggled with severe OSA, but mostly from Sleep-Related Eating Disorder and Sleepwalking, before I knew what sleep medicine was. He worked as a Respiratory Therapist at Baylor for 32 years alongside Pulmonologists and he used to help me with my Respiratory Physiology when I was in medical school. Sleep medicine was always in front of me without realizing it.
What was the best advice you have ever received?
“When you make your moves, do them quietly until you are done and successful – then tell people what you already did, and celebrate.” -Mom
What has been the most enjoyable experience as a member of AASM?
The most enjoyable part of being a member of AASM is that I feel seen and acknowledged as a Nigerian/Black male Physician, which is a smaller minority in medicine. I appreciate AASM’s dedication and commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Three hashtags that describe you: #BlackPhysicianScientist, #BlackSleepPsychiatrist, #DiverseAndInclusive
Give us a fun fact about you.
Fun fact about me is that I played basketball overseas in Queensland, Australia in Surfer’s Paradise, before going to college, because I decided against college – until my father talked me into going to college.
What was your “ah-ha” moment when you knew sleep medicine was for you?
I always have believed that a person’s health and well-being are determined by both mental and physical health. A normal sleep status regulates both of these factors. That’s why at the time I pursued my master/ph.D study in health psychology, I also decided to obtain my RPSGT. I have consistently advocated for the combination of sleep clinic practices and clinical research because this combination can be more effective and more accurate in advancing the diagnosis and treatment outcomes for sleep disorders.
What’s the best part about practicing sleep?
As an RPSGT, I have access to first-hand patient information in sleep study and as a researcher, case studies and statistical analysis can open my mind to different perspectives and new ideas. It is because of this I truly love my job.
What has been the most enjoyable experience as a member of AASM?
My most enjoyable experience as a member of AASM is the mentoring program. This has given me excellent guidance on how to advance my career and also as a committee member has provided me with an opportunity to learn from some of the most respected professionals in the field of Sleep Medicine. The AASM annual meetings have given me the opportunity to visit cities I probably would have never seen. My favorite location was the meeting in San Antonio, Texas.
Three hashtags that describe you: #Motivation, #Passion and # Seeking out Feedback
Give us a fun fact about you or tell us what would be the theme song of your life right now?
I love traveling and gardening and enjoying the beauty of nature. My theme song now is “The Happy Wanderer”.
What was your “ah-ha” moment when you knew sleep medicine was for you?
There are many things that attracted me to field of sleep medicine, including the fascinating world of sleep and dreams, the fact that we can help people feel meaningfully better when we treat their sleep disorders, and the encouragement of mentors along the way.
Who/what inspires you?
My patients.
What was the best advice you have ever received?
You’re nobody unless you’re trying to help somebody.
What has been the most enjoyable experience as a member of AASM?
Being a part of committees/groups and working with colleagues from across the country.
What was your “ah-ha” moment when you knew sleep medicine was for you?
The first time I had a patient tell me how much I changed their life for the better and that they didn’t know why they waited so long to start PAP and treat their sleep apnea.
What is the best part of practicing sleep?
For me, the best part of practicing sleep medicine is being able to see the improvement people have after treating their sleep problems. Improvements in health, mood, sleep, and even in their relationships.
What has been the most enjoyable experience as a member of AASM?
So far, the most enjoyable thing about being an AASM member has been the interaction with other sleep medicine providers through things like the Advanced Practice Provider Assembly and the Members’ Forum
Three hashtags that describe you: #Optimistic, #Dependable, #Veteran
Give us a fun fact about you.
I was born on the very first Earth Day (I like to jokingly tell people it was because of me)
What is the best part of practicing sleep?
The best part of practicing sleep is the multidisciplinary nature that drives me to view a given sleep disorder holistically in the context of the whole person. It is a specialty that is not limited to one body system, but rather its dynamic components (respiratory, neurobiologic, psychologic, behavioral, environmental, and more) need to all be considered.
Who/what inspires you?
My dog Teddy inspires me because his loud snoring reminds me why I do this, I strive to sleep as much as he does, and he makes me work longer when I’m at home because he sleeps under my desk and I don’t want to disturb him. 😆
What was the best advice you have ever received?
The best advice I have received is from my dad who encourages me to never stop learning. This advice propels my research career.
What has been the most enjoyable experience as a member of AASM?
The most enjoyable experience as an AASM member was SLEEP 2022. This was my first in-person multi-day conference and it was the first conference back in-person after the pandemic for many attendees. As a clinician scientist coming from a clinical institution, it was incredibly motivating to meet and attend inspiring talks by world-renowned researchers, as well as network with other trainee researchers.
Three hashtags that describe you: #thinker #grateful #beyourself
What would be the theme song of your life right now?
A Western Sun by Goose.