Nalaka S. Gooneratne, M.D., MSCE
Assistant 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:
BS (Medical Education)
Northwestern University, 1988.
Cert. (French)
Ecole de Français Moderne, Université de Lausanne, Switzerland, 1989.
MD
Northwestern University, 1993.
MSCE (Clinical Epidemiology)
Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Pennyslvania, 2002.
Permanent linkBS (Medical Education)
Northwestern University, 1988.
Cert. (French)
Ecole de Français Moderne, Université de Lausanne, Switzerland, 1989.
MD
Northwestern University, 1993.
MSCE (Clinical Epidemiology)
Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Pennyslvania, 2002.
Description of Research Expertise
Research Interests:Aging, sleep, complementary/alternative medicine, melatonin, cancer epidemiology, 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
Marie E., Patel N., Gooneratne N.S.: Understanding and Managing Sleep Disorders in Older Adults Patients in the Intensive Care Unit. Critical care nursing of older adults: Best Practices (Third Edition).New York. Foreman M., Milisen, K., Fulmer, T.T. (eds.). Springer Publishing Company, 2009.Gooneratne N.S.: Sleep-Related Breathing Disorders in Aging Geriatric Sleep Medicine. Avidan A., Alessi C. (eds.). Informa Healthcare, December 2008.
Hanisch L.J., Palmer S.C., Gehrman P.R., Gooneratne N.S., Vaughn D.J., Coyne J.C. : Predictors of fatigue among prostate cancer patients on androgen deprivation therapy. Annals of Behavioral Medicine 35(abstract supplement): S89, Nov 2008.
Patel N.P, Gooneratne N.S., Xie D., Branas C.C.: Poverty effects on population sleep. Sleep 31(abstract supplement): A353, June 2008.
Dean G.E., Gooneratne N.S., Rogers A.E.: Poor sleep quality and mood disturbances in patients with advanced lung cancer. Sleep 31(abstract supplement): A308, June 2008.
Gooneratne N.S., Patel N.P.: Health Disparities in Sleep in Older Adults. Resource Centers for Minority Aging Research 2008 National Conference May 2008.
Gooneratne N.S.: Complementary and alternative medicine for sleep disturbances in older adults. Clinics in Geriatric Medicine 24: 121-138, February 2008.
Sarin J., Balasubramaniam R., Corcoran A., Laudenbach J.M., Stoopler E.T.: Reducing the Risk of Aspiration Pneumonia among Elderly Patients in Long-Term Care Facilities through Oral Health Intervention. J Am Med Dir Assoc 9: 128-135, February 2008.
Gooneratne NS, Rogers AE, Nkwuo JE, Coyne JC, Kaiser LR: Sleep and quality of life in long-term lung cancer survivors. Lung Cancer 58(3): 403-10, Dec 2007.
Patel N., Gooneratne N.S.: An elderly man with a lung mass and neurological symptoms. J Respiratory Disease 28: 558-564, December 2007.