New York State Society of Sleep Medicine

Board of Directors and Committee Members Biographies:

Michael Thorpy MD: Professor of Neurology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Director of the Sleep-Wake Disorders Center at Montefiore Medical Center, in the Bronx, New York. Dr Thorpy is the founder and past-director of the National Sleep Foundation (NSF)'s National Narcolepsy Registry, which was located at Montefiore. Board certified in sleep disorders medicine, Dr Thorpy served as Chairman of the Sleep Section of the American Academy of Neurology and as Secretary of the NSF. In 1993, he received the Nathaniel Kleitman Award from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (formerly the American Sleep Disorders Association). Dr Thorpy has published extensively on narcolepsy, insomnia, and sleep disorders. His numerous books include the Encyclopedia of Sleep and Sleep Disorders, as well as a comprehensive computerized textbook of sleep, SleepMultiMedia (on DVD-ROM). Dr Thorpy has also authored numerous book chapters, and peer-reviewed articles.

Harly Greenberg MD: Received his medical degree from the New York University School of Medicine, 1982 and was resident in Internal Medicine at North Shore University Hospital-Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center from 1982-1985.  He completed a fellowship in Pulmonary Medicine at New York University-Bellevue Hospital Center, 1985-1987 and a New York Lung Association Research Fellowship in 1988.  Dr. Greenberg is a Diplomat of the American Board of Sleep Medicine and holds board certification in Internal Medicine and Pulmonary Medicine.  He is medical director of the North Shore LIJ Sleep Disorders Center and Program Director of the Sleep Medicine Fellowship at Long Island Jewish Medical Center.  He is a member of the NSLIJ Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine and Associate Professor of Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine.  Dr. Greenberg's academic, teaching and clinical efforts are focused on adult sleep medicine.  His research interests include mechanisms of systemic inflammation and cardiovascular dysfunction in obstructive sleep apnea, outcomes of CPAP therapy for sleep apnea and consequences of sleep disordered breathing.   

Neil B. Kavey, MD: Earned his BA at Princeton University in 1965 and attended medical school at Columbia University, earning his MD in 1969. Following his internship in medicine at St. Luke’s Hospital in New York City, Dr. Kavey completed his residency in psychiatry at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, where he served as chief resident from 1972-3. In 1978 he was awarded a certificate in psychoanalysis from the Columbia University Psychoanalytic Center for Training and Research. For the past 30 years, Dr. Kavey has held a variety of appointments with both the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University and the New York-Presbyterian Hospital. He is currently a clinical professor of psychiatry at Columbia University and attending psychiatrist at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, where he has also served as the director of the Sleep Disorders Center since 1978. Dr. Kavey is a Diplomate of the National Board of Medical Examiners, the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, and the American Board of Sleep Medicine. He was president of the New York State Society of Sleep Medicine from 1999 to 2005.  He has also been an active member of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine since 1975, serving on a variety of committees and on the board of directors from 1994 to 2001. Dr. Kavey has a distinguished record of publications on all aspects of sleep disorders, including insomnia, hypersomnia, restless legs syndrome, sleep apnea, and parasomnias.  He is president of the National Sleep Research Institute and is leading the development of a sleep research laboratory at Rockefeller University with the goal of developing studies on sleep and metabolism and obesity, cancer, immune function, diabetes and other illnesses and medically relevant  topics. 

Gary Zammit, Ph.D: President and CEO of Clinilabs, Inc., a specialty contract research organization he founded in 2001.  He also is the Executive Director of the Sleep Disorders Institute, an accredited sleep disorders center.  The Institute offers fellowships in sleep medicine and behavioral sleep medicine, both accredited by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) and sponsored by the New York Medical College.  Dr. Zammit also is a Clinical Associate Professor of Psychology (in Psychiatry) at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, a member of the voluntary staff at St. Luke’s/Roosevelt Hospital Center, and a Fellow of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.  Dr. Zammit’s research interests are related to clinical pharmacology, drug treatments for sleep disorders, and energy regulation during sleep.  He has authored more than 80 original reports and two books, serves as an editorial consultant to several professional journals, and serves as a scientific advisor to several pharmaceutical companies.

Imran Ahmed, M.D:  Assistant Professor of Neurology at AECOM and Director of the Sleep Medicine Fellowship. He received his M.D. at SUNY Stony Brook and then completed a Neurology residency as well as an Epilepsy and a Sleep Medicine Fellowship at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine/Montefiore Medical Center. Faculty member of the Sleep-Wake Disorders Center at Montefiore Medical Center. In addition to general sleep medicine he has interests in epilepsy and parasomnias.

Heather C. Comora, M.S., RPSGT, B.S.: Technical Director of Pulmonary & Critical Care Services, PC Sleep Disorders Centers, Albany and Troy, New York. Graduated B.S. from the University of New Hampshire, and M.S. from The College of Saint Rose, Albany, New York. Started in the sleep profession in 1997 at St. Clare's Hospital, Albany, NY.

Matthew R. Ebben PhD: Obtained his PhD in Psychology at the City University of New York in 2004. While at the City University, Dr. Ebben completed an internship in sleep medicine at the New York Methodist Hospital. He subsequently came to Weill Medical College of Cornell University to complete a post-doctoral fellowship in sleep medicine in the Department of Neurology and Neuroscience. He is now an Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurology and Neuroscience and the Director of Laboratory Operations at the Center for Sleep Medicine. He is a licensed Psychologist, Diplomate of the American Board of Sleep Medicine, and holds a certification in Behavioral Sleep Medicine. Research interests include insomnia, chronobiology, and behavioral sleep medicine.

Meeta Goswami BDS., MPH, PhD.: Director of the Narcolepsy Institute since its inception in 1985 and is Assistant Professor of Neurology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine. She graduated with a dental degree from Bombay, India and received a PhD in Sociomedical Sciences and a Master in Public Health from Columbia University in New York. Dr. Goswami is a member of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, Sleep Research Society, and the National Sleep Foundation (USA); she is also a member of the medical advisory board of the Narcolepsy Network, the national association for people with narcolepsy; and is the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement award (2008) from the Narcolepsy Network. Dr Goswami has authored or co-authored several articles, books and videos on Narcolepsy. Her interests include psychosocial considerations and quality of life in sleep disorders. 

Shelby Freedman Harris PsyD, CBSM: Director of the Behavioral Sleep Medicine Program at the Sleep-Wake Disorders Center at Montefiore Medical Center and Assistant Professor of Neurology as well as Psychiatry at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. She is board certified in Behavioral Sleep Medicine by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. A graduate of Brown University, Dr. Harris received her doctorate in clinical psychology from Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology, Yeshiva University. Dr. Harris completed her predoctoral internship at Montefiore Medical Center where she trained in the Sleep-Wake Disorders Center, and has received advanced postdoctoral training in Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT). As a licensed clinical psychologist, Dr. Harris specializes in behavioral sleep medicine and CBT for anxiety and depressive disorders. She has published and presented research on the neuropsychological effects of insomnia in older adults as well as authored book chapters on behavioral treatments for insomnia, parasomnias and narcolepsy. Dr. Harris currently supervises students from the Montefiore Psychology Internship and Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology Cognitive Behavior Therapy Program.

Jack Horng MD: Director of the Bon Secour Sleep Disorder Institute in Suffern, NY, and a private practitioner in a multi-specialty group in Rockland County. Completed fellowship training at Winthrop University Hospital in Mineola, NY.  Special interests in sleep medicine are CPAP adherence and compliance monitoring.

Renee Monderer MD: Assistant Professor of Neurology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. She received her M.D. at AECOM and then completed a Neurology residency as well as a Sleep Medicine fellowship at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine/ Montefiore Medical Center. She currently works in the Sleep Center at Montefiore, where she is involved in patient care, fellowship training and clinical research. Her research interests include Parkinson’s disease and Restless Leg Syndrome.  

Jon Freeman, PhD, CBSM, RPSGT: Director of Neuroscience Research. Received his doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the New School for Social Research, Graduate Faculty (New York), his MA from New York University, Graduate School of Arts and Science and completed a Sleep Medicine Fellowship at the North Shore University Hospital/Long Island Jewish Medical Center. Dr. Freeman is currently a licensed Clinical Psychologist in the state of New York and is Director of Neuroscience Research at Clinilabs Inc.  Dr. Freeman serves on the Clinical Faculty for the Sleep Medicine Fellowship at the Sleep Disorders Institute, is certified in Behavioral Sleep Medicine and is a registered Polysomnographic Technologist.  In addition to serving as a principal investigator on numerous phase I - IV protocols, current areas of active research involve combining QEEG, ERP and other neurophysiologic signals with cognitive and affective measures for biomarker development in CNS disorders.

Antonio Culebras, MD: Professor of Neurology, Upstate Medical University, State University of New York at Syracuse, and Consultant, The Sleep Center at Community General Hospital, Syracuse NY. Certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in 1975. Diplomate of the American Board of Sleep Medicine since 1987. Received the doctorate of Medicine (PhD equivalent) from the University of Alicante, Spain, in 1990. Certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, Sleep Medicine, in 2007. Major interests, stroke and sleep disorders. He has published 5 books on sleep disorders, has co-edited 2 books on cerebrovascular disease, has published over 200 articles in professional journals. He is former secretary of the American Academy of Neurology, former director of the American Board of Sleep Medicine, past-chair of the Sleep Section of the American Academy of Neurology, past-president of the World Neurology Foundation, former director of the International Stroke Society, founding president of the World Stroke Federation. Dr. Culebras is currently director of the World Stroke Organization. He is chair of the Sleep Research Group of the World Federation of Neurology and co-chair of the World Sleep Day celebrations. Chair-elect of the Stroke Section of the American Academy of Neurology.

Brendan Duffy, RPSGT: Graduated from SUNY Oswego and is currently the Coordinator of a 6 bed AASM accredited sleep center at St Charles Hospital in Port Jefferson, NY.  Mr. Duffy was the 2007 Allen DeVilbiss Literary Award winner for an article entitled "Dealing with difficult patiebnts" St Charles Sleep Disorders Center was rated as one of two. Honorable Mentions in the national “Best of Sleep” Sleep Centers in 2008 by their peer judges in ADVANCE for SLEEP magazine. An avid sports fan, Mr. Duffy has a keen interest in sleep issues as they relate to athletes and athletic performance. He presents sleep awareness programs often at local Long Island libraries and community events. Prior to his position as a Coordinator at St. Charles, he was a sleep technologist performing several thousand overnight and daytime studies during his sleep diagnostic technician career of nine years.