A Stillwater native, Dr. Emde is Board-certified in Internal Medicine and Sleep Medicine by the American Board of Internal Medicine. He received his undergraduate degree in physiology from Oklahoma State University in1978 and his medical degree from the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine in 1982. In 1983, he completed an internship at the University of Texas in Houston and completed his residency at the University of Kansas in Wichita in 1985. 

He has practiced medicine in Stillwater for 32 years. He specializes in both Internal Medicine and Sleep Medicine, which involves the diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders, including sleep apnea, insomnia, hypersomnia, and narcolepsy. 

Dr. Emde has served on the Admissions Committee for the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine for over 15 years. He previously served on the Stillwater Medical Center Board of Trustees and as Chief of Staff.