Our Staff

Jeffrey R. Polito, M.D.

Medical Director
Board Certified Sleep Specialist

Dr. Polito has extensive training and experience in the treatment and diagnosis of sleep disorders. He received his initial training from the Stanford School of Sleep Medicine. Dr. Polito is Board Certified in Sleep Medicine as well as Internal Medicine.

Born and raised in Southern California, Dr Polito attended Santa Clara University. Continuing his education he earned his MD at Creighton University School of Medicine in Omaha, NE. Here he was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha medical honor society and honored with the Deans Academic Scholarship , He also did his residency in Internal Medicine at Creighton University Medical Center. Following his residency Dr Polito moved back to Southern California and practiced for 4 years in a multi-specialty group, Valley Medical Group, in Lompoc, CA. In 2003, Dr. Polito moved out on his own, starting a solo private practice in beautiful Santa Barbara, CA. It was here that Dr Polito realized the important, yet often overlooked, effect of sleep on the general health of his patients, and recognized what a profound impact treatment of sleep disorders would have in people’s lives. In an effort to pursue this newfound passion further, he attended courses at Stanford University’s School of Sleep Medicine. Now prepared to fully realize the important contribution he could make to the heath and wellbeing of our Santa Barbara Community, Dr Polito became the medical director of the Santa Barbara Sleep Clinic, while also continuing to practice general outpatient internal medicine. Dr Polito’s passion lies in addressing and correcting sleep problems so that patients and their families all enjoy a good nights’ sleep.

Dr Polito is happily married to Teresa Polito, and together they are busy raising four energetic children, one boy and three girls. As a family they enjoy music, hiking, traveling, and going to the beach.

Andrew S. Binder, M.D.

Board Certified Sleep Specialist

Andrew S. Binder, MD has been practicing sleep medicine since 1989. He was the founder and medical director of The Sleep Disorders Center of Santa Barbara, which in 1992, was the 17th accredited free standing sleep center in the country.  After practicing Pulmonary and Critical Care medicine from 1978 through 1998, he focused his practice on sleep medicine.  He has served on the volunteer clinical teaching faculty affiliated with University of Southern California School of Medicine as an Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine.
Dr. Binder graduated Magna Cum Laude from Williams College, Massachusetts in 1967 where he majored in English literature and went on to get his MD degree from Harvard Medical School in 1971.  He did his Internal Medicine training at the University of Washington, Seattle and his Pulmonary Medicine training at UC San Francisco.  After practicing in Berkeley for several years, he travelled to Santa Barbara, California in 1980, where he continued to practice until 2007.  He is a diplomate of the ABIM in Internal Medicine, Pulmonary Diseases, and Sleep Medicine, and the American Board of Sleep Medicine, and is a fellow of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the American College of Chest Physicians.

He has published scientific articles related to the pathophysiology of pulmonary edema and has authored several related patents related to technology for evaluating exercise physiology.  He introduced the first oximeter to the Santa Barbara community and gave the very first “Sleep Apnea” lecture to his colleagues in Santa Barbara in 1982.

Charles J. Curatalo, M.D.

Board Certfied Sleep Specialist

Dr. Curatalo is Board Certified in Sleep Medicine with 22 years experience treating sleep disorders. He is also Board Certified in Internal Medicine, Psychiatry and Neurology. Dr. Curatalo earned his medical degree from the University of California, San Diego. He served as Chief Resident of Neurology and completed fellowships in Sleep Medicine, Polysomnography, Neurophysiology and Clinical Neurology at Massachusetts General at Harvard University. Dr. Curatalo provided sleep disorders medicine at the Southern California Neurological Medical Group at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles before taking a position as a Physician in the Neurology Department of Sansum-Santa Barbara Medical Clinic, specializing in Sleep Disorders Medicine. He is now in private practice in Santa Barbara specializing in adult neurology, clinical neurophysiology and sleep disorders medicine and remains a member of the Medical Executive Committee at the Rehabilitation Institute at Santa Barbara, where he was previously Chief of Staff. Dr. Curatalo is also a Neurology Teaching Attending at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital and Assistant Clinical Professor of Neurology at University of Southern California, School of Medicine

Laurie Frick, RPSGT, RST, CCSH

Clinical Coordinator / Certified in Clinical Sleep Health

Laurie has over 28 years of clinical experience as a Registered Polysomnographic Technologist (RPSGT) and Registered Sleep Technologist (RST). Laurie graduated cum laude from Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with an Associate in Science Degree in Medical Administrative Management. After college, Laurie worked as an EEG and Evoked Potential technician at West Penn Hospital, Bloomfield, PA.

In 1989, Laurie attended Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa and graduated with a certificate in Polysomnography. She worked full time as Chief Polysomnographic Technologist at Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center in Pomona, CA. In 1990, she passed the registry exam to become the 641st Registered Polysomnographic Technologist worldwide.  In 2012, Laurie became certified as a Clinical Sleep Educator through the Board of Registered Polysomnographic Technologists (BRPT).

In 1991, she was hired as Clinical Coordinator for The Sleep Disorders Center of Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA and was instrumental in getting this center accredited by The American Board of Sleep Medicine, making it the 17th accredited freestanding center in the country.  Between 1991-1995, Laurie served on the Membership Board of the Board of Polysomnographic Technologists, served as Examiner for the BRPT registry exams, and in 1993 taught a course at the Stanford School of Sleep Medicine. Laurie developed the center’s Durable Medical Equipment Program in 2001 and later became Operations Manager for the Center.

In 2007, Laurie began working with Dr. Jeffrey Polito to develop the Santa Barbara Sleep Clinic, Santa Barbara, CA.   In 2009, the Clinic was granted accreditation by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM).  In 2008, Laurie and her husband started a durable medical equipment company specializing in PAP equipment supplies and education and operated this accredited DME until 2012.  In 2011, Laurie was boarded by the American Board of Sleep Medicine as a Registered Sleep Technologist.   In 2012, Laurie was certified by the California Medical Board and entitled to practice Polysomnography in the State of California.  In May 2017, Laurie passed the board exam to become Certified in Clinical Sleep Health.

Milan Das, RPSGT, RST

Milan “Das” was educated at the University of the Pacific and Aoyama Gakuin University in Tokyo. He worked in medical research at Franklin Institute Research Labs, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and the College of Physician’s of Philadelphia. In 2000, Das began working as a polysomnographic technologist at The Sleep Disorders Center of Santa Barbara and successfully passed the Board of Registered Polysomnographic Technologist exam in 2005.

In 2007, Das was hired as Chief Technologist by Dr. Jeffrey Polito of the Santa Barbara Sleep Clinic, Santa Barbara, CA.   In 2012, Das was boarded by the American Board of Sleep Medicine as a Registered Sleep Technologist.  In addition, Das was certified by the California Medical Board and entitled to practice Polysomnography in the State of California.