Conference Faculty

Jerald H. Simmons, M.D. is the Founding-Director of: The Sleep Education Consortium, the Sadler Clinic Sleep Disorders Center, REST Technologies Inc. and Comprehensive Sleep Medicine Associates, Inc. He is Triple-Board Certified in Neurology, Epilepsy and Sleep Disorders. He trained in Sleep Medicine at Stanford University, then co-directed the UCLA Sleep Disorders Centers for six years, prior to establishing his Houston area programs. He continues to conduct research studies relating to sleep disorders and developing methods to enhance the assessment and treatment of patients with sleep disturbances. Currently, he is researching the relationship between Clenching and Bruxism/TMJ Disorder at night with Obstructive Sleep Apnea, as well as the relationship between ADHD and disturbances of sleep. Education is an important aspect of his career, having trained medical students, residents and a number of fellows in sleep medicine. This has been the motivation to establish the Sleep Education Consortium, Inc.

Todd J. Swick M.D. is the Medical Director of The Houston Sleep Center. Dr. Swick has been involved in the field of sleep and wake disorders for more than 25 years. He is board certified in both Neurology and Sleep Medicine and is Assistant Clinical Professor of Neurology at University of Texas School of Medicine, Houston and is a Diplomate of the American Board of Sleep Medicine. In addition to clinical practice he is principal investigator on numerous FDA approved clinical drug trials including sleep related pain syndromes. He is on the international advisory board of a major pharmaceutical company investigating the relationship between sleep and fibromyalgia.

Eric A. Bell, Psy.D. is a Clinical Psychologist who is board certified in clinical sleep disorders by the American Board of Sleep Medicine. He has been treating patients with sleep disturbances for over 20 years and has written extensively on the topic of sleep disorders. He has been in the field of Sleep Medicine since the early 1980s, first as a Technologist then receiving a Psy. D. in Psychology with specialization in Sleep Disorders. His training includes time spent at the Sleep and Wake Disorders Center of Montefiore Hospital and Medical Center in New York and the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Chicago. He is currently in clinical practice at the Houston Sleep Center with Dr. Swick in Houston and Katy, Texas. He specializes in the treatment of patients with insomnia and behavioral issues that can impede the treatment of all other sleep/wake issues such as CPAP compliance and narcolepsy.

Robert W. Fayle, M.D. is a Baytown, Texas native and has been a practicing neurologist in the Houston area for more than 25 years. He earned an M.D. degree from the University of Texas Medical School at Houston in 1976 and completed a neurology residency at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston in 1980. In addition he is board certified in sleep medicine and serves as the Medical Director of the Sleep Center at Park Plaza Hospital. He has published a number of studies relating to sleep and recently edited the Neurologic Clinics volume entitled "Sleep Disorders."

Ronald S. Prehn. DDS. focuses his practice on the cusp between medicine and dentistry, providing care for patients with sleep related breathing disturbances as well as headaches and TMJ. He is a board certified Diplomate of both the American Board of Orofacial Pain and the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine. He earned his DDS at the Marquette School of Dentistry in 1981. His postgraduate work was accomplished at the Parker Mahan Facial Pain Center at the University of Florida in 1993. His limited practice, Center for Facial Pain and Dental Sleep Medicine, is in The Woodlands, Texas. He teaches at the University of Texas, Dental branch in Houston, as well as giving many seminars and conferences to other Dentists, Physicians and health care professionals around the state and nation.

Rosalia C. Burke, M.D. is an Otolaryngologist with the Sadler Clinic in The Woodlands, TX. She graduated from Washington University School of Medicine and trained in Otolaryngology at the University of Washington. She has had formal training and has implemented in her practice the latest techniques for the surgical management of Obstructive Sleep Apnea. These include base of tongue suspension, radiofrequency tongue reduction and hyoid suspension.

Stephen N. Brooks, M.D. has an extensive career in Neurology and Sleep Medicine. After finishing his training in Sleep Medicine at Stanford University in 2001 he stayed on to become a Clinical Associate Professor at Stanford Sleep Disorders Clinic, from 2001-2008. Dr. Brooks has published extensively in the field of Sleep Medicine with multiple publications on a variety of topics including Narcolepsy and syndromes of primary excessive daytime somnolence. He trained in Neurology at UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas and practiced general Neurology for a number of years prior to obtaining his training in Sleep Medicine at Stanford University. He recently transitioned back to Texas and is currently becoming established in Austin, TX.

Michael S. Simmons D.D.S. has formalized post doctoral medical and dental school training in Orofacial pain and dysfunction conditions. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Orofacial Pain and a Fellow in the American Academy of Orofacial Pain amongst many other awards and professional positions. Dr. Simmons has taught at UCLA’s medical school, pain management center and continues to teach every year at UCLA’s dental school since 1987. In 2008 Dr. Simmons also started teaching dentists at USC dental school. Dr. Simmons is on several committees such as the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine and is Director of the Pre Doctoral program in Dental Sleep Medicine at UCLA. Dr. Simmons has published original research, book chapters and is a frequent expert speaker in Dental and Orofacial maladies including TMJ, Orofacial Pain, Snoring and Sleep Apnea.