Sleep Medicine Fellowship Program

The University of Florida Sleep Medicine Fellowship is sponsored by the Department of Medicine and is a cooperative effort among the Departments of Medicine, Pediatrics, Neurology, Otolaryngology, Psychiatry, and Clinical/Health Psychology.  The program includes three geographic centers: UF Health Shands Hospital and Clinics, the Malcolm Randall VAMC, and the UF Health Sleep Disorders Center at Magnolia Parke.

Mission Statement

Through commitment to education, scholarship, diversity, inclusion and safe, high quality patient care, we will improve the health and well being of patients by training physicians for the independent practice of high quality sleep medicine including treatment of the full range of sleep disorders in adults and children. 

Introduction

The University of Florida offers a one-year Sleep Medicine Fellowship Program for physicians interested in developing clinical expertise in this exciting growing field of medicine. This training program provides you the opportunity to evaluate and manage a broad variety of sleep disorders in both adult and pediatric patients, including: sleep disordered breathing, sleep related movement disorders, central disorders of hypersomnolence, parasomnias, insomnia. As a fellow, you will develop the clinical acumen and skills for using and interpreting diagnostic tools such as: polysomnography, home sleep tests, oximetry, multiple sleep latency testing, maintenance of wakefulness testing, actigraphy and oximetry.

Our program has a rich history and has been accredited by the ACGME since 2008, and offers a large volume and diversity of clinical material including over 3,000 sleep studies performed yearly at the associated sleep centers including 1000 pediatric sleep studies. Fellows become involved in either basic or clinical research involving sleep disorders. Fellows also participate in the long- term follow-up of patients being treated for sleep disorder breathing with a broad range of treatment modalities, including positive airway pressure, dental appliances, hypoglossal nerve stimulation, phrenic nerve stimulation and other surgical interventions.

Upon completion of the fellowship, trainees will have acquired the knowledge base and skill set necessary to direct a full-service Sleep Medicine clinic and laboratory, and to provide expert evaluation and care for patients with a wide range of both common and rare sleep disorders.

Faculty

Dr. Muhammad Ali Syed is the director of the Sleep Medicine fellowship, Diplomate of the American Board of Sleep Medicine and the American Board of Internal Medicine, and medical director of the University of Florida Sleep Center in Gainesville, FL. The program is co-directed by Dr. Michael Presti, a neurologist and Diplomate in Sleep Medicine and Neurology of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN). 

Other core faculty include: Dr. Richard Berry, Dr. Mary Wagner, Dr. Michael Jaffee, Dr. Susheela Hadigal, Dr. Semiramis Carbajal Mamani, Dr. Megan Lowery, Dr. Emily Beck, and Dr. Sreekala Prabhakaran. All faculty are Board Certified/Board Eligible in Sleep Medicine by their respective boards.  

Fellowship faculty includes members of the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine in the Department of Medicine/VA Hospital, Division of Pediatric Pulmonary medicine in the Department of Pediatrics, Department of Neurology, Department of Otolaryngology, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Department of Psychiatry, the Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, and the Dental School including faculty from the Divisions of Dentistry and Orthodontics.  

All faculty read sleep studies with the fellows and supervise them in sleep clinics. The sleep fellow will rotate through a number of specialty clinics under the direction of core and non-core faculty. These include Neurology clinic, ENT clinic, Cardiology Clinic, Pulmonary Clinic and Craniofacial Clinic. Instruction by specialists in the College of Dentistry will familiarize the fellow with all aspects of oral appliance treatment of sleep apnea. The Department of Clinical and Health Psychology provides faculty Dr. Jessica Payne-Murphy with major interests in insomnia and CBT-I.

Facilities

The UF Health Sleep Disorders Center is a twelve-bed facility accredited by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. The facility has four beds dedicated for monitoring pediatric patients.

UF Health Shands Hospital is the major tertiary referral center for north Florida with teaching hospitals including three towers in close proximity. The weekly Sleep Clinics (adult and pediatric) are located in the clinic facility, which is an integral part of the UF Health Sleep Center at Magnolia Parke.  Didactic lectures, clinical case conferences, and journal club/research conferences occur at the UF Health Sleep Center or at the Malcom Randall VAMC. The Malcom Randall VAMC is a 272-bed full service VA hospital and is a major teaching affiliate. The VA facilities include a four-bed sleep laboratory with state of the art equipment and a busy outpatient clinic.

The UF Health Sleep Disorders Center is a full service sleep lab with clinic facilities. The sleep center is a state of the art 12-bed facility located in the beautiful Magnolia Parke in Northwest Gainesville approximately 5 miles from the UF Health Shands and VA Hospitals. 

Life in Gainesville

Gainesville is a vibrant and growing city located in North Central Florida with a population of about 135,000. Due to the presence of the University of Florida and Santa Fe College, the city offers a great number of activities combining the best aspects of a metropolitan city with the hospitality of a college town. Whether you are looking forward to having a night out in midtown across from the University or spending the day kayaking at Lake Wauburg you are always guaranteed a great time. If you have just recently moved to Florida you will be pleased to know that the winters are mild with average temperatures in the 50-60s° F and summers warming up to average temperatures in the 70-90s° F with beautiful sunny skies year round.

Gainesville isn’t your typical small city as it accommodates two public and three private golf courses and maintains 27 parks featuring tennis, racquetball, swimming and other organized recreation including volleyball and softball leagues. Spend a morning at our newly created Depot Park where walkers and cyclists enjoy the paths, families entertain kids in the play areas, or check it out for a concert of movie under the stars. The University of Florida is home to collegiate teams in football, basketball, baseball, golf, track, tennis, swimming and gymnastics all part of the Gator family. If college football isn’t your preference professional football is within easy reach in Miami, Tampa and Jacksonville. Don’t be afraid to plan spontaneous trips to cities nearby!

Aside from being a great city to enjoy sports, Gainesville is also the perfect spot for individuals who enjoy the outdoors since it is located within 50 miles of at least 40 nature settings. These settings offer a combination of camping, hiking, swimming, picnicking, boating and fishing that accommodates everyone! Several of these areas include some of the clearest springs in the nation, providing excellent snorkeling, scuba diving and world-class cave diving. Gainesville takes pride in being environmentally conscious, setting aside land just outside the city limits for preservation. In order to keep our springs and hiking trails as beautiful as they are we encourage our community to not only take pride in them but to make it a point to be mindful of their actions. Always remember, even if you don’t consider yourself an outdoors person everyone loves a beautiful scenery.

Gainesville also offers many cultural events. We are home to the critically acclaimed Hippodrome Theater and the Florida Players of the University of Florida. The Gainesville Civic Ballet and the Gainesville Ballet Theater produce performances throughout the year. The Curtis M. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts presents the finest in world-class entertainment from Broadway, opera and dance, to the superstars of pop, jazz, classical and country music. The nationally renowned Harn Museum of Art is located next to the Florida’s State Museum of Natural History. The recently opened Cade Museum for Creativity and Invention helps inspire the next generation and has fun for the entire family. Gainesville also offers something for every musical taste, from outdoor rock and jazz concerts to the university-sponsored symphony orchestra, jazz band and marching band. Each year, Santa Fe College sponsors the Spring Arts Festival featuring fine arts, ceramic, leather and fabric art from artisans around the nation.

Aside from great entertainment you can also find fantastic food throughout Gainesville providing delights for the palate as well as the eye. Some local favorites include The Top, Boca Fiesta, Dragon Fly, Lucy’s, and Paramount Grill—just to name a few. Many famous Florida attractions are within easy driving distances of Gainesville for day trips or weekend getaways. Historic St. Augustine, the nation’s oldest settlement, is only 90 minutes from Gainesville; Walt Disney World and EPCOT Center are about two hours away. Within a 100-mile radius are Silver Springs, Sea World, the Daytona International Speedway, the Daytona Museum of Arts and Sciences, the Jacksonville Planetarium and the Atlantic and Gulf beaches. Of course, you can always drive a little further to check out other beautiful destinations like Destin in the Florida panhandle or the Florida Keys for island life. Florida really offers year-round fun for everyone!

Current Fellows

2023-2024

Kevin Kokesh

Residency: University of Florida

Minh Nguyen

Residency: University of Florida

For More Information Contact

Penny Bohannon – Fellowship Program Coordinator
Phone: 352-265-0655