Raghu Upender, MD, MBA

Global Health Research Interests: Clinical Trials, Community Health, Mental Health, Mobile Health, Neurology, Sleep Medicine

Country: Nigeria

Dr. Upender is an Associate Professor of Neurology and the Medical Director of Vanderbilt Sleep Disorders Center. His clinical, scholarly, and administrative efforts have been centered on practicing and promoting sleep medicine and sleep health. He has served a 5-year term on the U.S. Coast Guard Medical Advisory Committee. He has advocated for sleep health by serving a 3-year term in the American Academy of Sleep Medicine Public Safety Committee. He is currently a Defense Health Board Neurological/Behavioral Health Subcommittee member.

He graduated summa cum laude from the University of Connecticut in 1990 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Physiology and Neurobiology. He earned his medical degree from the University of Connecticut in 1995. During medical school, he received the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Research Scholarship to conduct research at the NIH. He completed a medical internship at the Long Island Jewish Medical Center in 1996. He then completed a neurology residency and fellowship in neuromuscular diseases and electromyography at Washington University in 2000. Upon completing training, he joined a general neurology practice in Connecticut and later in middle Tennessee. During this time, he pursued his interests in sleep medicine and clinical research and completed numerous clinical trials in treating diabetic neuropathy, post-herpetic neuralgia, headache, and insomnia. He joined the Vanderbilt Neurology faculty in January 2011 to focus his efforts on sleep medicine. He received his Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management in 2016.

Dr. Upender is a diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and holds certification in Neurology and Sleep Medicine. He is also a diplomate of the American Board of Electromyography.