About Me
Dr. Fernandez-Mendoza is a scientist-clinician who devotes his time to sleep research and clinical care at our sleep center. He is a professor and clinical psychologist board certified in behavioral sleep medicine. His patient population expands the whole spectrum of sleep disorders, from sleeplessness, to nightmares and excessive sleepiness, but has a special focus on insomnia disorder and its first-line, guideline-recommended therapy: cognitive behavioral treatment of insomnia (CBT-I). He provides care both in English and Spanish. Dr. Fernandez-Mendoza's research focuses on the relationship between disturbed and insufficient sleep with cardiometabolic, neurocognitive and psychopathologic morbidity and mortality, a relationship that he is examining in population-based cohorts of adults, adolescents and young children. Specific sleep phenotypes of focus are insomnia, short sleep, sleep disordered breathing and circadian misalignment. He also has an interest on testing the relative efficacy and phenotype-matching of CBT-I vs. sleep medications. His research has been funded by the National Heart Blood and Lung Institute (NHLBI), National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), American Heart Association (AHA) and Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI). He has received awards from Complutense University, Penn State University, and Society of Behavioral Sleep Medicine.
Locations
Accepted Insurances
We accept a variety of health insurance plans and will submit claims on your behalf. Certain coverage restrictions may apply based on your individual benefit package.
Professional Education
- Education
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Post-Doctoral Fellow, Sleep Medicine Milton S. Hershey Medical Center - 2013
Professional School, University Complutense Of Madrid - 2010
- Fellowship
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Fellowship, Sleep Medicine Milton S. Hershey Medical Center - 2013
Research Interests
- Biomarkers and objective sleep measures
- Course and outcomes of sleep disordered breathing
- Insomnia phenotyping
- Longitudinal, life-course designs
- Patient-reported clinical outcome measures
- Sleep EEG developmental trajectories
- Sleep-related adverse cardiovascular and metabolic outcomes
- Sleep-related adverse neurocognitive outcomes
- Sleep-related adverse psychopathologic outcomes
Academic Interests
- Behavioral sleep medicine training
- Cognitive neuroscience
- Sleep disorders
Awards
- 2013 - Bond and Bradley Outstanding Postdoctoral Scholar, Penn State Hershey Postdoctoral Society
- 2015 - Outstanding Contribution to Research, Department of Psychiatry, Penn State Hershey
- 2016 - Early Career Distinguished Achievement Award, Society of Behavioral Sleep Medicine
- 2019 - Outstanding Contribution to Research, Department of Psychiatry, Penn State Hershey
Honors
- 2010 - Doctor Sobresaliente Cum Laude, Complutense University
- 2012 - Extraordinary Doctorate Award, Complutense University
- 2018-Present - Psychologist Reviewer, Associated Professional Sleep Societies Program Committee
- 2019-Present - President, Board of Behavioral Sleep Medicine