Meet Our Faculty


James Herdegen

James J. Herdegen, MD
Section Director, Sleep Medicine
Sleep Medicine Fellowship Program Director
  • Professor, Internal Medicine - Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine
Areas of Expertise
  • Sleep-disordered breathing
  • Non-invasive ventilation
  • Cardio-metabolic aspects of sleep-disordered breathing
  • Glycemic control and sleep-disordered breathing
  • Cost-effective health care modeling

Upneet Chawla, MD

Assistant Professor - Internal Medicine 

Areas of expertise
  • Circadian rhythm assessment
  • Circadian rhythm disorders
  • Hypersomnia
  • Insomnia
  • Narcolepsy
  • Parasomnias
  • Polysomnography
  • Sleep apnea
  • Sleep disorders

Assistant Professor - Internal Medicine 

Areas of expertise
  • Circadian rhythm assessment
  • Circadian rhythm disorders
  • Hypersomnia
  • Insomnia
  • Narcolepsy
  • Parasomnias
  • Polysomnography
  • Sleep apnea
  • Sleep disorders

Elizabeth Culnan

Associate Director, Behavioral Sleep Medicine Training Program
  • Behavioral Sciences, Sleep Disorders Service and Research Center
  • Certified in the practice of Behavioral Sleep Medicine, American Academy of Sleep Medicine
  • Licensed in Clinical Psychology
Areas of expertise
  • Insomnia
  • Circadian rhythm sleep-wake disorders
  • Sleep and women’s health
  • Sleep in populations with neurological disorders

Michael Hutz, MD

  • Assistant Professor, Section of Sleep Surgery
  • Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery

  • Internal Medicine – Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine

Areas of expertise
  • Skeletal surgery for obstructive sleep apnea
  • CPAP alternative therapies for obstructive sleep apnea
  • Snoring

Erika Kahan

 
  • Assistant Professor, Internal Medicine - Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine
Areas of expertise
  • Obstructive Sleep Apnea/COPD overlap
  • Sleep disorders in women
  • Hypersomnias

Elizabeth (Lia) T. Kalliath, DMD
  • Adjunct Assistant Professor - Internal Medicine
Areas of expertise
  • Oral appliance therapy for obstructive sleep apnea
  • Snoring
  • Bruxism
  • Temporo-mandibular joint disorders

Sleep Medicine Fellowship Associate Program Director
  • Assistant Professor, Internal Medicine and Sleep Medicine
Areas of expertise
  • Chronic disease management
  • Trainee education- focus on impact​ of sleep quantity and quality on overall health.
  • Narcolepsy

Babak Mokhlesi, MD, MSc

Babak Mokhlesi, MD, MSc
Division Chief, Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine
  • J. Bailey Carter, MD Professor, Internal Medicine - Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine
  • Co-Director, Rush Lung Center
Areas of expertise
  • Circadian rhythm assessment
  • Circadian rhythm disorders
  • Hypersomnia
  • Insomnia
  • Narcolepsy
  • Parasomnias
  • Polysomnography
  • Sleep apnea
  • Sleep disorders

Patwari Pallavi

Pallavi Patwari, MD
Medical Director, Pediatric Sleep Medicine
  • Associate Professor, Pediatrics
  • Medical Director, Pediatric Sleep Medicine, Rush University Children’s Hospital
  • Board certified in Pediatrics, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine
Areas of expertise
  • Pediatric sleep medicine
  • Hypoventilation disorders
  • Sleep in pediatric critical illness

James Wyatt

James K. Wyatt, PhD
Director, Section of Sleep-Wake Disorders and Sleep Research
  • Professor of Behavioral Sciences Rush Medical College (RMC)
  • Director, Section of Sleep Disorders and Sleep-Wake Research - Department of Behavioral Sciences
  • Director, RMC Elective Clerkship in Sleep Medicine
  • Diplomate, American Board of Sleep Medicine
  • Certified in the practice of Behavioral Sleep Medicine, American Academy of Sleep Medicine
  • Licensed in Clinical Psychology
Areas of expertise
  • Diagnosis and treatment of the insomnia disorders
  • Diagnosis and treatment of the circadian rhythm sleep-wake disorders
  • Assessment and remediation of suboptimal treatment adherence
  • Wrist actigraphic assessment of sleep and wakefulness

Tresa Zacharias, MD

  • Assistant Professor - Neurology
Areas of expertise
  • Circadian rhythm assessment
  • Hypersomnia
  • Insomnia
  • Light therapy
  • Narcolepsy
  • Parasomnias
  • Restless legs syndrome (RLS)
  • Sleep apnea
  • Sleep disorders

Health Care Team

Name Background

Colleen Durkin

Colleen Durkin, DNP, APRN

  • Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN-Sleep Medicine)
Areas of expertise
  • Sleep apnea
  • Continuous positive airway (CPAP) and Bilevel positive airway
  • Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
  • Hypersomnia
  • Narcolepsy
  • Parasomnias

Henry Arantes

Henry B. Arantes, RPSGT
Sleep Center Supervisor
 
  • RPSGT – Registered Polysomnography Technologist with the BRPT (Board of Registered Polysomnography Technologists) – June 2022
  • Sleep Center Supervisor
Areas of expertise
  • Sleep testing
  • Database management
  • Portable monitoring
  • Teaching