The American Academy of Sleep Medicine regrets to announce the death of Howard Roffwarg, MD, a founding member of the AASM and a pioneer in the fields of clinical sleep medicine and sleep and circadian research. He was a professor of psychiatry for many years at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and then for many more at University of Mississippi Medical Center. He was born June 9, 1932, and died Oct. 17, 2022.
Dr. Roffwarg, who was known to his friends and colleagues as “Howie,” helped establish the AASM in 1975. He then served as chair of the Sleep Disorders Classification Committee, which published the first classification of sleep disorders in the journal Sleep in 1979. In recognition of his early contributions to the field of sleep medicine, Dr. Roffwarg was co-recipient of the first AASM Nathaniel Kleitman Distinguished Service Award in 1981. He served as AASM president from 1989 – 1990.
Dr. Roffwarg was also an early investigator in the research area of ontogenetic changes in sleep architecture. He served as president of the Sleep Research Society from 1985 – 1987.
You can read his obituary or watch a video conversation on the SRS website to learn more about the career of Dr. Roffwarg. Read AASM memorial tributes to other sleep medicine leaders.
