a
Nalaka S. Gooneratne
Nalaka S. Gooneratne, M.D., M.Sc.
Associate Professor of Medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and the Presbyterian Medical Center of Philadelphia and the Veteran's Administration Medical Center
Department: Medicine
Graduate Group Affiliations
Contact information
Ralston Penn Center, Room 220
3615 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
3615 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Office: (215) 349-5938
Fax: (215) 573-8684
Fax: (215) 573-8684
Email:
ngoonera@mail.med.upenn.edu
ngoonera@mail.med.upenn.edu
Publications
Links
Search PubMed for articles
Division of Geriatric Medicine faculty webpage.
Primary Work Website
Search PubMed for articles
Division of Geriatric Medicine faculty webpage.
Primary Work Website
Education:
Cert. (French)
Ecole de Français Moderne, Université de Lausanne, Switzerland, 1989.
B.S. (Medical Education)
Northwestern University (Honors Program) (Graduated with Distinction), 1991.
M.D. (Medicine)
Northwestern University School of Medicine (Graduated with Distinction), 1993.
M.Sc. (Clinical Epidemiology)
Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Pennsylvania, 2002.
Permanent linkCert. (French)
Ecole de Français Moderne, Université de Lausanne, Switzerland, 1989.
B.S. (Medical Education)
Northwestern University (Honors Program) (Graduated with Distinction), 1991.
M.D. (Medicine)
Northwestern University School of Medicine (Graduated with Distinction), 1993.
M.Sc. (Clinical Epidemiology)
Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Pennsylvania, 2002.
Description of Research Expertise
Research Interests:Aging, sleep, complementary/alternative medicine, melatonin, patient-oriented research, translational research, categorical data, clinical trials, multivariate analysis, time series.
Description of Research:
Dr. Gooneratne’s research interests are centered around studying the nature of sleep disorders in the elderly. While many older adults complain of difficulties with sleep, it is an area about which modern medicine has only a limited understanding. Funded initially by a National Institute on Aging Mentored Research Career Development Award (K23) and a National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine Research Award (R01), he is pursuing research examining the role of melatonin, a hormone secreted by the pineal gland, in sleep in the elderly. Dr. Gooneratne also has a strong interest in the attitudes of senior citizens towards their sleep problems and how their background/ethnicity informs their decisions. This project has been funded by a Hartford foundation/Penn Center for Excellence pilot grant. Dr.Gooneratne also runs a Sleep Disorders Clinic for Seniors in an effort to address the medical needs of older patients with sleep disorders. In addition, Dr. Gooneratne is the Associate Program Director of the Clinical and Translational Research Center of the University of Pennsylvania's Clinical and Translational Science Award, which assists in the conduct of over 190 clinical research studies. He also helps to coordinate the research activities of the Geriatric fellows in the Division of Geriatric Medicine and mentors research fellows in the Division of Sleep Medicine.
Description of Clinical Expertise
Dr. Gooneratne's clinical focus is in the area of sleep disorders in older adults. He has been invited to lecture on this topic at national conferences, such as those hosted by the American Association of Sleep Medicine, the American Thoracic Society as well as the National Institutes of Health State-of-the-Science conference on Chronic Insomnia. Dr. Gooneratne runs a Sleep Disorders Clinic for Seniors which is tailored to the unique needs of older adults as they seek to address their sleep disturbances.Selected Publications
Grandner, M.A., Jackson, N., Gooneratne, N.S., Patel, N.P. : The Development of a Questionnaire to Assess Sleep-Related Practices, Beliefs, and Attitudes. Behavioral Sleep Medicine 11: 1-20, April 2013.Gooneratne, N.S.: Respiratory Diseases: Questions and Critique. Geriatrics Review Syllabus, 8th ed. Sullivan, G.M., Gazewood, J.D., Kennedy, G.J., Soriano, R.P. (eds.). American Geriatrics Society, New City, NY, March 2013.
Gooneratne, N.S., Pien, G.W., Gurubhagavatula, I.: Sleep-related breathing disorders in the elderly. Encyclopedia of Sleep. Kushida, C.A. (eds.). Elsevier, Inc, 3: 547-54, Feb 2013.
Grandner, M.A., Patel, N.P., Jean-Louis, G., Jackson, N.J., Gehrman, P.R., Perlis, M.L., and Gooneratne, N.S.: Sleep-related behaviors and beliefs associated with race/ethnicity in women. Journal of the National Medical Association in press 2013.
Maislin G., Ahmed M.M., Gooneratne N.S., Thorne-Fitzgerald M., Victor U., Teff K., Arnardottir E. S., Benediktsdottir B., Einarsdottir H., Juliusson S., Pack A.I., Gislason T., Schwab R.J.: Single Slice vs Volumetric MR Assessment of Visceral Adipose Tissue – Reliability and Validity in overweight and obese males and females. Obesity 20(10): 2124-32, October 2012.
Grandner, M.A., Hale, L., Jackson, N., Patel, N.P., Gooneratne, N.S., Troxel, W.M.: Perceived Racial Discrimination as an Independent Predictor of Sleep Disturbance and Daytime Fatigue. Behavioral Sleep Medicine 10: 235-249, September 2012.
Gooneratne, N.S.: Sleep apnea in older adults. Sleep Apnea: Pathogenesis, Diagnosis and Treatment (2nd ed.). Pack, A.I. (eds.). Taylor and Francis Group, LLC, Page: 399-417, August 2012.
Gooneratne, N.S., Patil, S., Rosen, I.: Sleep-related breathing disorders. Review of Sleep Medicine (3rd ed.). Barkoukis, T. and Avidan, A. (eds.). Elsevier Saunders, Inc, Page: 387-416, August 2012.
Grandner, M.A., Patel, N.P., Gooneratne, N.S.: Difficulties sleeping: A natural part of growing older? Aging Health 8(3): 219-21, August 2012.
Gooneratne NS, Gehrman P, Gurubhagavatula I, Schwab R: Commentary on: Effectiveness of Ramelteon for Insomnia Symptoms in Older Adults with Obstructive Sleep Apnea: A Randomized Placebo- Controlled Pilot Study. Best of Sleep Medicine 2012. Lee-Chiong, T. (eds.). Page: 47-49, June 2012.
