WESTCHESTER, Ill. – Neil B. Kavey, MD, received the American Academy of Sleep Medicine’s (AASM) Mark O. Hatfield Public Policy Award for 2008.
 
“Dr. Kavey is an accomplished sleep scientist whose dedication to seeking appropriate solutions for people suffering from sleep disorders makes him a true patient advocate,” said Mary Susan Esther, MD, AASM president. “His commitment to expanding research into some of the most complex sleep disorders has enhanced the public’s understanding of the importance of sleep and of consulting with a sleep specialist for a suspected sleep problem. I congratulate Dr. Kavey, a fine sleep professional, on receiving the Mark O. Hatfield Public Policy Award, and I commend him for his many years of service to the field of sleep medicine.”
 
Dr. Kavey received the award on June 9 in Baltimore, Md., at SLEEP 2008, the 22nd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS).
 
Dr. Kavey is a clinical professor of psychiatry at Columbia University in New York, and is the founding director of The Sleep Disorders Center at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, which has become one of the leading sleep disorders centers in the country. He is one of a very small number of physicians to be certified in psychoanalysis. Recently he opened the sleep research laboratory at Rockefeller University and started its first project, a study of sleep in breast-cancer survivors. Dr. Kavey was also instrumental in organizing the New York State Society of Sleep Medicine (NYSSSM), serving as president from 1999 through 2005. Under his leadership, the NYSSSM successfully opposed state legislation that would have hindered the practice of sleep medicine by restricting the profession of sleep technology.
 
Dr. Kavey received a medical degree from the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. He completed an internship in straight medicine at St. Luke’s Hospital Center in New York and a residency in psychiatry at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, where he was chief resident. Dr. Kavey also completed psychoanalytic training at The Columbia University Psychoanalytic Institute.
 
The Mark O. Hatfield Public Policy Award, established in 1996, acknowledges an individual who has developed public policy that positively affects the healthy sleep of all Americans. This contribution is unique, yet vital, to the advancement of the field. Retired United States Senator Mark O. Hatfield (R-Ore.) has continually supported sleep medicine initiatives and policy. His work on behalf of the field has been instrumental in increasing NIH funding for sleep, increasing public awareness of sudden infant death syndrome, establishing the National Center on Sleep Disorders Research, and supporting the nationally recognized sleep disorders research at the Oregon Health Science University. Senator Hatfield also chaired the transportation appropriations subcommittee, and in that capacity he introduced the driver fatigue initiative, which passed in 1995. 
 
SLEEP 2008 is a four-day scientific meeting featuring an international body of more than 5,000 leading researchers and clinicians in the field of sleep medicine. 
 
AASM is a professional membership organization dedicated to the advancement of sleep medicine and sleep-related research.

 

 

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