Faculty | Professors

Clinical & Research Interests

Steven Brass is the Director of the Neurology Sleep Clinical Program at UC Davis Medical Center. He has special expertise in the treatment of sleep apnea, as well as narcolepsy, restless leg syndrome, parasomnias, REM sleep behavior disorders, and other sleep disorders.  Dr. Brass’ primary research interest relates to the influence of sleep stage on the prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea. He also is interested in sleep disorders in patients with multiple sclerosis and other neurological disorders. 

He is currently leading an international research study exploring the sleep characteristics of patients with restless leg syndrome.  He has also published on the effect of certain medications on the sleep cycle and his work on the association between headache and obstructive sleep apnea was featured in the New England Journal of Medicine.  Dr. Brass has received specialized training in the study of clinical effectiveness from the Harvard School of Public Health where he obtained a Masters of Public Health.  He currently serves as section editor for Sleep Medicine for Neurology International.

Education

McGill University Faculty of Medicine
Montreal, Quebec
Canada
M.D. 1998

Harvard University
Boston, Massachusetts
M.P.H. 2008

Internship

McGill University
Montreal, Quebec
Canada
1999
Medicine

Residency

McGill University/Montreal Neurological Institute
Montreal, Quebec
Canada
2003
Neurology

Fellowships

Boston University, Boston Medical Center
Boston, Massachusetts
2009
Sleep Medicine

Harvard University, Brigham and Women's Hospital
Boston, Massachusetts
2005
Multiple Sclerosis

Board Certifications

American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, 2004
Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, Neurology, 1998

Professional Memberships

American Academy of Neurology
American Academy of Sleep Medicine
American College of Chest Physicians
American Thoracic Society
Canadian Neurological Sciences Federation
Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada

Select Recent Publications

Brass SD, Smith EE, Arboleda-Velasquez JF, Copen WA, Frosch MP. Case records of the Massachusetts General Hospital. Case 12-2009. A 46-year-old man with migraine, aphasia, and hemiparesis and similarly affected family members.  N Engl J Med. 2009 Apr 16;360(16):1656-65.

Brass SD, Durand ML, Stone JH, Chen JW, Stone JR. Case records of the Massachusetts General Hospital. Case 36-2008. A 59-year-old man with chronic daily headache. N Engl J Med. 2008 Nov 20;359(21):2267-78

Brass SD, Zivadinov R, Bakshi R. Acute demyelinating optic neuritis: a review. Front Biosci. 2008 Jan 1;13:2376-90.

Brass SD, Copen WA. Neurological disorders in pregnancy from a neuroimaging perspective. Semin Neurol. 2007 Nov;27(5):411-24.

Brass SD, Benedict RH, Weinstock-Guttman B, Munschauer F, Bakshi R.  Cognitive impairment is associated with subcortical magnetic resonance imaging grey matter T2 hypointensity in multiple sclerosis.  Mult Scler. 2006 Aug;12(4):437-44