Faculty

Rashmi Nisha Aurora, MD, MHS is Associate Professor of Medicine.  A sleep clinician and researcher with an interest in sleep apnea and its association with cardiovascular and metabolic health. In particular, she has an interest in the effect of sleep apnea in women and how the symptoms and effects of sleep apnea may be different in women versus men. Additionally, she is collaborating with scientists across the institution to examine the association between sleep and addiction.  She is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and an Associate Editor to the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine. Her clinical practice is devoted to patients with sleep disorders.

Ilya Berim, MD is Associate Professor of Medicine. He specializes in Interventional Pulmonology, including advanced bronchoscopy and pleural procedures. His clinical practice is devoted to patients with lung cancer, pleural diseases and interstitial lung disease with a special focus on diagnostic and therapeutic intervention and care of patients in the medical intensive care unit. 

Ibrahim El Husseini, MD is Assistant Professor of Medicine. His areas of interest are physiology in the critically ill patient and point of care ultrasound. His clinical practice is devoted to the care of the patients admitted to the Medical Intensive Care Unit and in the education of residents and fellows on Critical Care Ultrasonography. 

Sabiha Hussain, MD is Associate Professor of Medicine. She is the program director for the pulmonary and critical care fellowship, and Director of the Adult Cystic Fibrosis program.  She has an interest in innovation in teaching methods and has a focus on global health research as well as development of global Health initiatives for the pulmonary and critical care fellowship. Her research interest is in the social determinants of health for patients in the intensive care unit. Her clinical practice is devoted to patients with general pulmonary diseases as well as in the care of patients admitted to the Medical Intensive Care Unit. 

Sugeet Jagpal, MD is Assistant Professor of Medicine.  She is the Co-Director of 4th year medical student critical care rotation and is the associate program director of the pulmonary critical care fellowship as well as the Adult Cystic Fibrosis program.  

Her clinical practice is devoted to patients with general pulmonary diseases as well as to the care of patients admitted to the Medical Intensive Care unit. Her special focus is on patients with bronchiectasis and cystic fibrosis. 

Aesha Jobanputra, MD is Assistant Professor of Medicine.  Her research interest is in sleep disordered breathing in patients with advanced heart failure and in cystic fibrosis patients.  She is currently also researching sleep disturbances in commercial vehicle operators and on obstructive sleep apnea as a risk factor for developing diabetes in South Asian population.  Her clinical practice is devoted to patients with sleep disorders and to the care of patients admitted to the medical intensive care unit.

Deborah Kim, MD is Assistant Professor of Medicine.  She is interested in education and curriculum development for students and house staff. She is also the M3 Medicine Clerkship site director at RWJUH.  Her clinical interests include advanced COPD and post-Intensive Care unit care.  Her clinical practice is devoted to patients with general pulmonary diseases as well as care of the patients admitted to the medical intensive care unit. 

Judith A. Neubauer, PhD. Is Professor Medicine. She is Associate Editor for the Journal of Applied Physiology. She has had a longstanding interest in research on the neurobiology of respiratory control particularly as it relates to Sleep Apnea Syndrome. Her work has focused on understanding how hypoxia modulates the central respiratory and sympathetic pattern generators at the integrative, as well as cellular and molecular level. Her laboratory discovered that the pacemaker region of the respiratory network, the pre-Bötzinger Complex, serves as a central oxygen sensor and, together with the C1 sympathoexcitory region, may coordinate the sympathetic and sigh responses to both acute and chronic exposure to hypoxia.  Her studies are directed at understanding the mechanism of hypoxic transduction of these medullary regions with a particular focus on heme oxygenase as the critical oxygen sensor in these neurons. 

Reynold A. Panettieri, Jr., MD is Professor of Medicine, Vice Chancellor for Translational Medicine and Science, Director of the Rutgers Institute for Translational Medicine and Science, and the PI of New Jersey’s only CTSA Hub, NJ ACTS.  He is an accomplished cell and molecular biologist focused on the role of airway smooth muscle function in complex severe airways diseases such as asthma and COPD.  His laboratory pioneered human cell and tissue models to identify novel therapeutic targets to promote bronchodilation and to ameliorate airway inflammation.  Additionally, his lab studies the manner in which toxicants mediate airway hyper-responsiveness and steroid insensitivity in lung disease.  His clinical practice is devoted to patients with severe airways disease.

Jared Radbel, MD Jared Radbel, MD is Assistant Professor of Medicine. His research interests include inflammatory mechanisms of air pollution-induced ARDS, World Trade Center dust-induced lung disease, and COVID-19. He has received multiple career development awards from the Society of Toxicology and the NIH NIEHS CEED Pilot Program and has recently been awarded an NIH K08 award. His clinical interests include acute and chronic interstitial lung diseases and methods of mechanical ventilation. His clinical practice is in the care of patients admitted to the medical intensive care unit.

Matthew Scharf, MD, PHD is Assistant Professor of Medicine and Neurology. He is currently Medical Director, Robert Wood Johnson Sleep Laboratory.   His research interests include the impact of sleep and sleep disorders on patients with epilepsy.  He is also interested in the biological consequences of sleep disorders including the significance of sleepiness and sleep disruption.  Dr. Scharf is committed to the education of medical students, residents and fellows on the importance of sleep and sleep disorders. His clinical practice is devoted to patients with sleep disorders.

Jag Sunderram, MD is Professor of Medicine. He is currently the Interim Division Chief of the Pulmonary and Critical Care Division and is the Medical Director of the Medical ICU of Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital. His research interest is the pathogenesis, epidemiology and consequences of Obstructive Sleep Apnea. He is currently the Co-Principal Investigator of a NIOSH funded grant examining the mechanism of Obstructive Sleep Apnea in World Trade Center Responders. His clinical practice is devoted to patients with general pulmonary diseases as well as sleep disorders and care of patients in the medical intensive care unit.