The AASM regrets to announce the passing of longtime AASM member and sleep medicine pioneer Helio Lemmi, MD. In 1998 he was a co-recipient of the AASM Nathaniel Kleitman Distinguished Service Award, which honors individuals who have made significant contributions to the sleep field.
Born in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Dr. Lemmi trained as a neurologist at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and became a global leader in sleep medicine and sleep research. In 1977 he founded and directed the Sleep Disorders Center at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, which was one of the first sleep medicine facilities in the nation. In the early years of the AASM, he served on a steering committee that recruited physicians to become members, as described in the History of the Development of Sleep Medicine in the United States.
Dr. Lemmi also played an important role in the establishment and growth of the Southern Sleep Society, organizing some of its first meetings and serving as president from 1984-1986.
Donations in Dr. Lemmi’s honor can be given to the Baptist Memorial Health Care Foundation or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Read the complete obituary for Dr. Helio Lemmi.
Read more membership news from the AASM.
