Pulmonology & Sleep Medicine
Asefa J. Mekonnen, MD, FCCP, FAASM
Premier Sleep Center — Rockville Internal Medicine Group
Dr. Asefa J. Mekonnen is a pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine physician who directs the Premier Sleep Center in Rockville, MD, and is a partner with the Rockville Internal Medicine Group. He cares for patients in both English and Amharic, making him a trusted choice for the area’s Ethiopian community as well as anyone managing breathing, lung, or sleep conditions.
Background and training
Dr. Mekonnen earned his Doctor of Medicine degree from Addis Ababa University Faculty of Medicine in Ethiopia. He completed his internal medicine internship and residency at the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Chicago, then a pulmonary and critical care fellowship at McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University, followed by a sleep medicine fellowship at Stanford University. He also holds a certificate in clinical research from Harvard Medical School’s Global Clinical Scholars Research Training Program.
Why patients choose Dr. Mekonnen
Dr. Mekonnen brings unusually deep training to lung and sleep care, with board certification spanning internal medicine, pulmonary disease, sleep medicine, and obesity medicine. He previously served as Chief of Pulmonary Medicine at Suburban Hospital / Johns Hopkins Medicine, is an Associate Professor at Georgetown University, and works as a Principal Investigator with Velocity Clinical Research. He is a Fellow of the American College of Chest Physicians (FCCP) and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (FAASM).
Beyond the clinic, he is a recognized advocate for health equity and diversity in clinical trials, has mentored students from underserved backgrounds, and has written and spoken in the media about minority health.
Practice focus
Asthma, COPD, chronic cough, and other lung conditions; critical care; and the full range of sleep medicine, including obstructive sleep apnea and insomnia. As director of the Premier Sleep Center, he combines pulmonary expertise with dedicated sleep diagnostics and treatment.
Languages and access
Dr. Mekonnen speaks English and Amharic, accepts new patients, and offers virtual visits alongside in-person appointments at his Rockville office. To book, call (301) 762-5020 or confirm availability with the office.
Profile last fact-checked June 30, 2026. Information reflects publicly available sources and may change. Confirm details directly with the practice before booking.
How Dr. Mekonnen compares
Context from the 139 providers we track across Bethesda and Montgomery County.
The only one we list in Rockville
The only pulmonology & sleep medicine provider in our registry serving Rockville.
The only provider we list offering sleep apnea
1 of the 130 providers who list their focus areas name sleep apnea.
1 of 8 Amharic-speaking doctors
8 of the 139 providers in our registry (6%) practise in Amharic, across 5 specialties.
Trained in Ethiopia
7 of the 107 doctors whose medical school we record trained in Ethiopia. 24 trained outside the United States altogether.
Medical school: Addis Ababa University College of Health Sciences — Addis Ababa, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Figures describe the 139 providers currently in the MyBethesdaDoctor registry as of August 2026 — a curated directory, not a census of every doctor in Montgomery County. How we build this list.
Where Dr. Mekonnen sits by experience
Dr. Mekonnen finished medical school in 1991, 35 years ago. Of the 135 providers in our registry whose graduation year we could verify, 33 finished earlier, 98 finished later, and 3 finished the same year.
1965–69
1 provider finished 1965–19691970–74
2 providers finished 1970–19741975–79
4 providers finished 1975–19791980–84
13 providers finished 1980–19841985–89
12 providers finished 1985–1989Dr. Mekonnen1991
1990–94
14 providers finished 1990–19941995–99
27 providers finished 1995–19992000–04
20 providers finished 2000–20042005–09
19 providers finished 2005–20092010–14
17 providers finished 2010–20142015–19
4 providers finished 2015–20192020–24
2 providers finished 2020–2024Among the 110 physicians we list, 30 finished medical school earlier — the median for that group is 1998.
All 12 bands
| Graduated | Providers |
|---|---|
| 1965–1969 | 1 |
| 1970–1974 | 2 |
| 1975–1979 | 4 |
| 1980–1984 | 13 |
| 1985–1989 | 12 |
| 1990–1994 — Dr. Mekonnen | 14 |
| 1995–1999 | 27 |
| 2000–2004 | 20 |
| 2005–2009 | 19 |
| 2010–2014 | 17 |
| 2015–2019 | 4 |
| 2020–2024 | 2 |
Figures describe the 139 providers currently in the MyBethesdaDoctor registry as of August 2026 — a curated directory, not a census of every doctor in Montgomery County. Based on the 135 of 139 profiles with a graduation year we could verify against a primary source; the remaining 4 are left out rather than estimated. How we build this list.
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