Executive Committee

The University of Chicago
Program Director Sleep Medicine Fellowship
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Section of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine
Vice-American Academy of Sleep Medicine Education Committee

Alejandra C. Lastra, MD, is the director of the Sleep Medicine Fellowship, and assistant professor in the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine at The University of Chicago. She is a recognized member of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM), serving as Vice-Chair of the AASM Educational Committee.

As President of the Illinois Sleep Society, she is currently leading the development of a multidisciplinary/multi-center educational platform in the region for healthcare providers and patients. Dr. Lastra is passionate about technology’s role in medical education and is a graduate of the Online Teaching and Course Design class from Rush Center for Teaching Excellence and Innovation. She developed the continuous medical education program at the Rush Sleep Disorders Service & Research Center, and is collaborating for curricula development for sleep medicine education for trainees locally and internationally with organizations such as the World Sleep Society and the Venezuelan Sleep Society.

Her clinical and research interests involve home sleep testing, COPD-OSA overlap syndrome, non-invasive positive pressure ventilation in cardiopulmonary conditions and central sleep apnea disorders. She leads clinical programs involving inpatient sleep screening with portable monitors and hypoglossal nerve stimulation in collaboration with otolaryngology.

Rush University Medical Center

Mr. Arantes has been interested in the field of sleep on a clinical, academic, and research level since his undergraduate work at Rutgers University. Mr. Arantes focused his post graduate training in neuroanatomy and electrophysiology at Penn State University Medical Center as well as four years of sleep research at Brown University’s E.P. Bradley Sleep Research laboratory. During his academic years, Mr. Arantes has also collaborated on abstracts and publications in sleep medicine. His greatest passion resides in academic education of sleep methodology and has extensive experience in sleep lab management. 

University of Illinois Health and Hospital System

Dr. Ashima Sahni practices in the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, Sleep, and Allergy at UI Health. Dr. Sahni specializes in sleep medicine, and she has a special interest in non-invasive ventilation, neuromuscular disease, and complex sleep-related breathing disorders. She also has a focus on the transition of inpatient/outpatient care for patients with sleep-related disorders.

Loyola University Medical Center
Associate Professor of Medicine
Department of Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine
Sleep Medicine

Dr. Undevia is Associate Professor of Medicine at Loyola University Medical Center where she has been a member of the Pulmonary & Critical Care division since 2004. She completed her medical training at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University and subsequently completed her Internal Medicine residency, Pulmonary & Critical Care fellowship as well as Sleep Medicine fellowship at University of Chicago Hospitals. Her particular clinical interests include sleep medicine, chronic respiratory failure and home mechanical ventilation.