Education Module Faculty
Course Co-Chairs
Christopher J. Earley, MBBCh, PhD
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Maria Paola Mogavero, MD
Dr. Maria Paola Mogavero is a board-certified Neurologist and Sleep Medicine specialist with a robust background in clinical care and sleep research. She currently serves as a Neurology Researcher at the Sleep Medicine Centre of the “Vita-Salute” San Raffaele University, IRCCS San Raffaele Hospital in Milan, Italy, where she is also pursuing her PhD. Dr. Mogavero earned a Level II Master’s Degree in Sleep Medicine from the Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna.
She holds several academic teaching roles, including the Level II Master in Sleep Medicine at the University of Bologna, the Level II Master in Clinical Sleep Medicine at the University of Foggia, and the Catania High School – University of Catania. She also serves on the Didactic Committee of the Annual Residential Course in Sleep Medicine of the Italian Academy of Sleep Medicine, the most established Italian training program in the field.
Within the International Restless Legs Syndrome Study Group (IRLSSG), Dr. Mogavero co-chairs, alongside Dr. Elias Karroum, a dedicated task force focused on adult RLS phenotyping. She is also an active member of the IRLSSG Website Task Force.
Dr. Mogavero has authored over 85 peer-reviewed publications and contributed to various book chapters. She is a frequent speaker at national and international conferences, including the World Sleep Congress, APSS, ESRS and Italian Academy of Sleep Medicine (AIMS) congresses, where she has presented on topics such as sleep related movement disorders. Her primary research interests focus on Neurology and Sleep Disorders, with a special emphasis on sleep-related movement disorders in both pediatric and adult populations. Her significant contributions to sleep research have been recognized with multiple prestigious awards, including the Wayne Hening Young Investigator Award from the International Restless Legs Syndrome Study Group (2022 and 2023) and the New Investigator Award from the World Sleep Society (2023).
Gulcin Benbir Senel, MD
Gulcin Benbir Senel, MD, is Professor of Neurology at Istanbul University-Cerrahpasa. Her research is concentrated in the field of sleep medicine, with particular expertise in restless legs syndrome (RLS), REM sleep behavior disorder, and narcolepsy.
Professor Benbir Senel earned her medical degree from Marmara University English Faculty of Medicine in Istanbul, Turkey, in 2002. She completed her postdoctoral training and residency in Neurology at Istanbul University, Cerrahpasa Faculty of Medicine, Department of Neurology in 2008. She advanced to the rank of Professor of Neurology at Istanbul University-Cerrahpasa in August 2022.
Professor Benbir Senel has a broad background in Neurology, with specific training and expertise in Sleep Medicine. She has served as principal investigator (PI) or co-investigator on numerous university- and TUBITAK-funded grants, where she has been responsible for developing effective measures of sleep quality and sleep disorders relevant to patients with neurological disorders. Her work has also involved establishing strong ties with community providers to facilitate the recruitment and long-term tracking of research participants. She has demonstrated her ability to administer research projects effectively, including staffing, research protections, and budget management, and has a strong record of peer-reviewed publications.
Professor Benbir Senel’s early publications addressed neurological diseases in addition to sleep disorders in adults. Her clinical work and research studies focus on sleep medicine, and her publications document emerging concerns regarding the consequences of sleep-related disorders. She has also worked to guide primary care providers in recognizing symptoms, assessing sleep and its disorders, and applying appropriate interventions. She is the author of many Turkish book chapters and edited the main textbook of “Sleep” in Turkish literature.
Professor Benbir Senel’s research has also contributed to the understanding of restless sleep disorder, a newly defined disorder, in both children and adults. Her work has explored its association with other sleep disorders and medical conditions.
Professor Benbir Senel is a board member of the International Restless Legs Syndrome Study Group. She is also actively involved in several other professional organizations, including serving as Editor of the Journal of Turkish Sleep Medicine, Executive Member of the Turkish Sleep Medicine Society, Founder President of the Turkish Narcolepsy Network, Member of the International REM Sleep Behavior Disorder Study Group, and Teaching Committee member of the European Narcolepsy Network.
Faculty
Diego Garcia-Borreguero, MD, PhD
Diego García-Borreguero is the Director of the Sleep Research Institute in Madrid, Spain. Until 2005, he was Director of the Sleep Disorders Center at the Department of Neurology of the Fundación Jiménez Díaz (Autonomous University of Madrid). He has completed fellowships in sleep medicine and sleep research at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, USA and underwent residency training at the Max Planck Institute in Munich, Germany. He received his MD from the University of Navarre (Pamplona, Spain) and completed his PhD at the University of Munich.
García-Borreguero’s main area of research is movement disorders in sleep, and restless legs syndrome (RLS) in particular. He has published extensively in this field in international peer-reviewed journals. He is also a member of numerous professional organizations related to the field of sleep science, such as the World Association of Sleep Medicine (WASM) and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (elected fellow).
Ravi Gupta, MD, PhD
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Elias Karroum, MD, PhD
Elias Karroum, MD, PhD, is a neurologist who treats and researches movement-related sleep disorders, including restless legs syndrome (RLS), periodic limb movements, and sleep disorders in neurological conditions.
Dr. Karroum attended medical school at Saint-Joseph University in Beirut, Lebanon, and earned a PhD in neuroscience from Pierre and Marie Curie University in Paris.
He completed a neurological residency at Southern Illinois University, a sleep medicine fellowship at Emory University in Atlanta, and a clinical neurophysiology fellowship at Vanderbilt University in Nashville.
Previously, he was the associate program director for the sleep medicine fellowship at The George Washington University School of Medicine in Washington, DC.
Karem Parejo, MD
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Denise Sharon, MD, PhD
Denise Sharon, MD, PhD, a Fellow of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine is Board Certified in Sleep Medicine by the ABSM, providing sleep medicine care and teaching fellows, residents and students. She specializes in treating a wide range of sleep and sleep related movement disorders, including sleep related breathing disorders, excessive sleepiness, insomnia, restless legs syndrome (RLS), periodic limb movement disorder (PLMD), parasomnias and sleep disorders associated with trauma and other medical conditions. Her research interests center on RLS, PLMD and quality of care in sleep medicine.
Dr. Sharon’s clinical work with adolescents, college students and shift workers further inspired her interest in sleep-wake cycle disorders. Her research has focused on the brain’s impact on sleep patterns in children, adults and the elderly. In addition, her findings on RLS have been featured in multiple peer-reviewed journals, and she has been a presenter at conferences across the United States and internationally.
Dr. Sharon worked with the American Academy of Sleep Medicine on several projects, including most recently, the development of RLS and PLMD treatment guidelines for children and adults. She is also part of the International RLS Study Group and the RLS Foundation’s Scientific and Medical Advisory Board. Throughout her career she worked to promote sleep medicine and combined her clinical and research work with actively engaging in association work. An advocate of education, she serves as a clinical assistant professor of medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC.
Dr. Sharon was born in Romania, was raised in Israel, studied in Italy and completed her medical studies and a psychiatry residency in Israel. She received her PhD in clinical psychology at Temple University in Philadelphia, became interested in neurophysiology and was among the first providers to become Board Certified in Sleep Medicine. For over 25 years she is trying to inspire a new generation of sleep medicine providers. Outside of work, she enjoys entertaining friends and family, reading, attending operas and visiting museums.
Rosalia Silvestri, MD
Professor Rosalia Silvestri is as Associate Professor of Neurology at the Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine of the “G. Martino” University Hospital in Messina. In addition to her academic role, she is the Medical Director of the Regional Center for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Sleep Disorders, which operates within the Neurophysiopathology and Movement Disorders Unit at the same institution.
Her primary research interests and clinical expertise include sleep-related movement disorders, particularly Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS), gender differences in sleep pathologies, epilepsy, parasomnias, and the interplay between sleep dysfunction and neurological disorders.
Professor Silvestri served as President of the European Restless Legs Syndrome Study Group (EURLS-SG) from 2019 to 2023. Currently, she is a board member of the International Restless Legs Syndrome Study Group (IRLSSG).
Ambra Stefani, MD, PhD
Ambra Stefani is senior neurologist and neuroscientist working at the Medical University Innsbruck, Austria. Her main research interests are restless legs syndrome (clinical, laboratory, and imaging-based characterization, and pathogenetic mechanisms), isolated RBD (clinical, video-polysomnographic and biomarker characterization), and the link between sleep and neurodegeneration. I have a broad background in neurology and sleep neurophysiology, with specific training expertise in sleep medicine and 12-year research experience in sleep science.
John Winkelman, MD, PhD
Dr. Winkelman received his PhD in Psychobiology from Harvard University, an MD from Harvard Medical School and completed both a residency in Psychiatry and a fellowship in Sleep Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital.
He is a Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and Chief of the Sleep Disorders Clinical Research Program in the Department of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Dr. Winkelman’s research has primarily focused in two areas: 1) epidemiology, physiology, cardiovascular consequences and treatment of restless legs syndrome, and 2) neurobiology and treatment of insomnia. He has lectured in and directed post-graduate medical education courses in sleep disorders nationally and internationally. He has chaired practice guidelines for RLS for the American Academy of Neurology and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and is currently the Chairman of the International Restless Legs Syndrome Study Group. He has published more than 200 articles, reviews and book chapters.