Gabriele M. Barthlen, MD, PhD

Dr. Gabriele M. Barthlen, a German native, is ABMS board-certified in both Sleep Medicine and Neurology. During her academic career, she directed sleep centers at prestigious institutions such as New York Hospital (Cornell) and Mount Sinai in New York City, as well as at the Freiburg and Munich Universities in Germany. She has published widely resulting in 3 books, 15 peer reviewed articles, 33 scientific abstracts, and over 250 invited lectures. She has dedicated 20 years of her professional career to enhance the diagnosis and treatment of patients with sleep disorders, and excels in sleep study interpretations. She has been a Fellow of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine since 1988, and is a former President of the Hawaii Sleep Society. Dr. Barthlen was also elected to “America’s Top Physicians” by the Consumers Research Council of America in 2004, 2010, and again in 2012.

Shih Hao Lin, MD

Dr. Shih Hao Lin is an internist and also an expert in sleep disorders. Dr. Lin is skilled at incorporating internal medicine and sleep medicine. He is a member of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) and also board certified in internal medicine (ABIM). Dr. Lin completed his residency at St. Joseph Hospital in Chicago and his sleep medicine fellowship training in the prestigious Boston Medical Center. His specialty includes sleep study interpretation, diagnosis, and treatment of sleep disorder (including sleep apnea, insomnia, restless leg syndrome, narcolepsy, and circadian rhythm disorders).  Dr. Lin is dedicated to patient care and offers the best quality of care possible, with the application of evidence-based treatment. His current research is based on the screening for sleep apnea in acute stroke patients with the publication in Journal of Clinic Sleep Medicine(JCSM). 

Brian Panganiban, D.Sc, MPAS, PA-C

Brian Panganiban is a board-certified Physician Associate who brings over 18 years of clinical experience. He graduated from the Interservice Physician Assistant Program at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in 2007 and completed the U.S. Army Flight Surgeon Course in 2008 where he specialized in Aviation Medicine. Brian served with distinction on two combat tours and went on to complete the Army Baylor Emergency Medicine PA Residency in 2013, earning a Doctorate of Science in Emergency Medicine.

Following his retirement from the U.S. Army in 2017, Brian served as the lead Physician Associate for trauma and acute care surgery at The Queen’s Medical Center in Honolulu until 2024. He is now proud to serve the local community as a Physician Associate with Sleep Center Hawaii, where he is committed to delivering compassionate, evidence-based care.

Michael Choi, PA-C

Michael Choi is the Physician Assistant at the Sleep Center Hawaii office in Aiea. He obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Andrews University, after which he graduated from University of Central Florida with a Master of Science degree in Industrial/Organization Psychology. He then worked in data analytics for a health care company in Orlando, Florida, but eventually decided to change careers and pursue becoming a Physician Assistant. With the support of his wife, he realized his goal and graduated from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. It was there he also conducted research at Texas Children’s Hospital and wrote a thesis exploring the relationship between mental health and health outcomes among children with heart failure, heart transplant, and on ventricular assist device. When not seeing patients, Michael spends his time at church, playing basketball and tennis, rock climbing, and hiking/camping with his wife and two dogs.