DARIEN, IL – Five individuals have been selected as the 2024 American Academy of Sleep Medicine award recipients for their outstanding contributions to the field of sleep medicine. They will be recognized Monday, June 3, during the plenary session of the SLEEP 2024 annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies in Houston.
“I applaud this year’s award recipients for their significant contributions to the field of sleep medicine,” said AASM President Dr. James A. Rowley. “Their leadership and remarkable accomplishments in research, education, advocacy, and clinical care are an inspiration to all who share the AASM vision that sleep and circadian care is fundamental to health care.”
The 2024 AASM award recipients were nominated by a colleague, recommended by the Awards Advisory Panel, and approved by the board of directors.
Michael Littner, M.D.
Distinguished Leadership Award
Dr. Michael Littner developed and was chair of the AASM Board Review Course, was chair of the AASM Standards of Practice Committee, was an accreditation site visitor, and served on various other committees within the AASM. Littner was a visionary who recognized the potential of home sleep apnea test devices, behavioral sleep medicine, and oral appliance therapy, incorporating them in his practice at the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, where he also co-founded the UCLA sleep medicine training program. He graduated from the University of Toronto Medical School and trained in pulmonary medicine at UCLA, where he is professor emeritus of medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine.
Shahrokh Javaheri, M.D.
Excellence in Research Award
Dr. Shahrokh Javaheri is internationally known for his research on various sleep disorders, especially his studies exploring sleep apnea and its relationship to cardiovascular disease. His areas of focus include heart failure, opioids-associated sleep apnea, and treatment-emergent central sleep apnea. Much of his research was conducted in the sleep lab that he founded at the VA Medical Center in Cincinnati. He is a sleep physician in the division of pulmonary and sleep medicine at Bethesda North Hospital in Cincinnati, professor emeritus of medicine in the division of pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine at University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, and adjunct professor of medicine in the division of cardiology at The Ohio State University.
Iris Perez, M.D.
Excellence in Education Award
Dr. Iris Perez is the program director of the sleep medicine fellowship training program at the University of Southern California and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. She is renowned for her research and teaching about ventilatory control disorders, particularly congenital central hypoventilation syndrome, which is a rare genetic disorder. Perez has mentored 23 undergraduate premedical students and medical students, 14 pediatric pulmonology and sleep medicine fellows, and eight junior faculty members. She is an associate professor of clinical pediatrics at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California and a pediatric pulmonologist and sleep medicine specialist at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, where she also serves as the director of the Congenital Central Hypoventilation Syndrome and Diaphragm Pacing Program.
Lynne Lamberg, M.A.
Sleep Health Advocate Award
Lynne Lamberg is a medical journalist and science writer who has written five books and hundreds of articles about sleep, biological rhythms, dreams, and mental health. Spanning nearly five decades, her publications have described for both professional and public audiences the findings of sleep and circadian researchers. She frequently writes about sleep, insomnia, and mood disorders for Psychiatric News, which is published by the American Psychiatric Association. Her contributions have earned awards including the Communications Career Leadership Award from the National Sleep Foundation and an outstanding book award from the American Society of Journalists and Authors. Lamberg is also a book editor for the National Association of Science Writers.
Lisa Wolfe, M.D.
Clinical Achievement Award
Dr. Lisa Wolfe is the inaugural recipient of this new award, which recognizes a sleep clinician who has made transformative contributions to clinical sleep care. Wolfe is a world-renowned expert in advanced home ventilation for the management of patients with complex sleep and neuromuscular disorders including sleep apnea, chronic respiratory failure, obesity hypoventilation, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. She attended medical school at The Ohio State University and trained in internal medicine, pulmonary diseases, critical care medicine, and sleep medicine at Northwestern University, where she now serves as a professor of medicine and neurology. She also is the medical director of respiratory care at the Shirley Ryan Ability Lab.
More information about the AASM awards is available online.
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Photos are available upon request. For more information, please contact media@aasm.org.
About the American Academy of Sleep Medicine
Established in 1975, the AASM advances sleep care and enhances sleep health to improve lives. The AASM has a combined membership of 12,000 accredited sleep centers and individuals, including physicians, scientists and other health care professionals who care for patients with sleep disorders. As the leader in the sleep field, the AASM sets standards and promotes excellence in sleep medicine health care, education and research.
