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The Sleep Medicine Fellowship Program at UAB is a one-year fellowship that offers well-balanced education for trainees. Clinical teaching and formal didactics is provided by faculty with diverse backgrounds and expertise, evenly spanning faculty with primary training in adult/pediatric pulmonary medicine, and adult/pediatric neurology. The sleep disorder centers of UAB, as part of the preeminent academic medical center in Alabama, attract patients with a broad spectrum of sleep disorders, from the state and beyond, offering trainees the opportunity of first-hand experience with common and rare disorders. 

Program Mission: 

The mission of the Sleep Medicine Fellowship Program is to train highly qualified sleep medicine physicians who become experts and leaders in this multi-disciplinary subspecialty. The fellows’ educational experience builds on their previous diverse residency or fellowship training (e.g. pediatrics, pulmonary medicine, neurology, internal medicine, psychiatry, family medicine, etc.) and our mission is to provide an inspiring, well-structured, comprehensive training in adult-and pediatric sleep medicine. Besides providing exceptional quality clinical care, our program’s goals also include focused attention on quality improvement and patient safety.

Program Information 

  • Dear Applicant:

    We appreciate your interest in our Sleep Medicine Fellowship Program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham! This website provides introductory information describing our Sleep Medicine Fellowship. Web links are provided here to acquaint you with the facilities we enjoy here at Children's of Alabama and University of Alabama Health System. Also included is web information for our city attractions and general accommodations. We hope that enough information has been provided so that you may get a flavor of what our fellowship, division and city are about. If you are interested in applying to our program, we will be accepting application materials beginning on July 3, 2024. The Sleep Medicine Fellowship Program participates in the Pediatric Subspecialties Fall Match. Interested applicants should apply through the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS). In addition to the application through ERAS, we will need:

    • a personal statement
    • curriculum vitae
    • recent photograph
    • MSPE
    • Med School Transcript
    • USMLE/ COMPLEX Transcript
    • Three letters of recommendation – one of the letters must be from your Department of Pediatrics Chairman or from your Residency Director.

    All of the above information should be sent through ERAS.

    If you must mail any material, please send to:

    Tracy Downey, Program Coordinator
    UAB Pediatric Fellowship Office
    1600 7th Avenue South
    3rd Floor West McWane, Sergio Stagno Center
    Birmingham, AL 35233

    Once we have received the requested completed application along with three letters of recommendation, we will review your application and contact you regarding the possibility of interviewing at our program. We will begin interviewing in September and ending late October for 1 pediatric fellowship position and 1 adult fellowship position. This program participates in the Sleep Medicine Specialty fellowship match through the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) and will abide by the rules established by this group. Each applicant must sign the "Applicant Agreement" with the NRMP. (NRMP's telephone number is 202-828-0676; website: www.nrmp.org.) Rank order lists are due by November 20, 2024 with the official match results for the 2025 appointments announced on December 4, 2024.

    We look forward to hearing from you. If you have any trouble accessing your electronic files or need further assistance, please feel free to call (205-638-6557).

  • Sleep Medicine Core Fellow Conference 

    Topics

    Introduction to Sleep Medicine/Overview of Sleep

    NPSG & Sleep Staging

    Sleep Deprivation

    Neurological Sleep Mechanisms I & II

    MSLT and MWT

    Breathing during Sleep; ventilation and upper airway

    CPAP and BiPAP in Adults

    Pediatric OSA and CPAP

    ENT Surgical Options for Treatment of OSA

    Effects of General Medications and Substances on Sleep

    OSA in Adults

    Psychiatry, Insomnia and Sleep

    Practice Parameters for Sleep Related Breathing Disorders I and II

    Psychophysiological Insomnia/CBT of Insomnia

    Behavioral Insomnia of Childhood

    Circadian Rhythm Research and Methods

    Parasomnias in Adults and in Children

    Idiopathic Hypersomnia and Narcolepsy

    Jet Lag, Shift Work, Adult Circadian Rhythm Disorders

    Sleep Related Movement Disorders I and II

    Endocrine Physiology During Sleep

    Gastrointestinal Physiology and Sleep

    Sleep and Seizures

    Sleep and Medical Disorders in Adults and the Elderly

    Sleep and Medical Disorders in Children

    Sleep in Women

    Sleep and Developmental Disorders

    When

    1st, 2nd and 4th Friday of each month.


    ATS Sleep Medicine Case Conference

    Topics

    Topics Vary. https://www.thoracic.org/members/assemblies/assemblies/peds/ped-case-conference-series/

    When

    3rd Wednesday of each month.


    Sleep Medicine Journal Club

    Topics

    Articles are selected by faculty and fellow presenters. This educational activity has been approved for 1.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™

    When

    3rd Friday of each month.

  • Pediatric Rotation Month

    Monday

    A.M.

    PSG Reading


    A.M.

    Pediatric Sleep Clinic


    P.M.

    Adult Sleep Clinic

    Tuesday

    A.M.

    PSG Reading


    A.M.

    Pediatric Sleep Clinic and/or
    Board Review


    P.M.

    Adult Sleep Clinic

    Wednesday

    A.M.

    PSG Reading


    A.M.

    Adult Sleep Clinic


    P.M.

    Adult Sleep Clinic

    Thursday

    A.M.

    PSG Reading


    A.M.

    Case Review


    P.M.

    Grand Rounds/
    EEG Review

    Friday

    A.M.

    PSG Reading


    A.M.

    Pediatric Sleep Clinic and/or
    Board Review


    P.M.

    Didactics

    Adult Rotation Month

    Monday

    A.M.

    PSG Reading


    A.M.

    Adult Sleep Clinic


    P.M.

    Adult Sleep Clinic

    Tuesday

    A.M.

    PSG Reading


    A.M.

    Pediatric Sleep Clinic and/or
    Board Review


    P.M.

    Adult Sleep Clinic

    Wednesday

    A.M.

    PSG Reading


    A.M.

    Adult Sleep Clinic


    P.M.

    Adult Sleep Clinic

    Thursday

    A.M.

    PSG Reading


    A.M.

    Case Review


    P.M.

    Grand Rounds/
    BSM Clinic and/or
    EEG Review

    Friday

    A.M.

    PSG Reading


    A.M.

    VA Sleep Clinic


    P.M.

    Didactics

    EEG Review

    1st, 2nd, 5th Thursday
    Adult LTM Faculty

    3rd Thursday of the month
    Pediatric Neurology

    4th Thursday of the month
    VA Faculty

    BSM Clinic

    Fellow(s) will rotate in Behavioral Sleep Medicine Clinic for 6 weeks while on Adult rotation month

    Elective Month

    Fellow(s) will have an assigned elective rotation month during the second half of the academic year.

    • Translational approaches to disparities in sleep and circadian rhythms and their impact on a variety of health outcomes (UAB Highlands Sleep/Wake Disorders Center; Dr. Thomas; funding from the AHA, NIH and PCORI)

    • Relationships between nonpharmacological treatments (e.g. vagal nerve stimulator and ketogenic diet) for intractable epilepsy and sleep disordered breathing disorder in children (Retrospective chart review; Dept. of Pediatrics; Division of Neurology; Dr. Harsanyi)

    • Improving work flow efficiency in the Sleep Center; Improving follow-up of narcolepsy patients and OSA patients using CPAP (QI; Sleep Disorder Center at Children’s of Alabama).

    • DREAM & OSPREY Studies – Industry sponsored studies with hypoglossal nerve stimulation (UAB Sleep/Wake Disorders Center)

    • Slow wave sleep as a biomarker of rehabilitation-induced cognitive improvement in Parkinson's disease (Dr. Amara, funded by NIH, NICHD)

    • Relationship between slow wave sleep and cognition in Parkinson's disease (Dr. Amara, funded by NIH NINDS)

    • A Dose Selection Trial of Light Therapy for Impaired Sleep in Parkinson’s Disease (Dr. Amara site investigator for multi-site study sponsored by NIH NINDS)

Our Team 

Program Director
Anis Nourani, M.D.

Anis Nourani, M.D.

pnourani@uabmc.edu

 

Associate Program Director
Krisztina Harsanyi-Jilling, M.D.

Krisztina Harsanyi-Jilling, M.D.

kharsanyi@uabmc.edu

Associate Program Director
Puneet Aulakh, M.D.

Puneet Aulakh, M.D.

paulakh@uabmc.edu

Program Coordinator
Tracy Downey

Tracy Downey

tdowney@uabmc.edu