FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: AASM Director of Communications Kathleen McCann
630-737-9700
 
DARIEN, IL – The American Academy of Sleep Medicine presented the 2010 Excellence in Education Award to University of Florida professor Richard B. Berry, MD, June 7, 2010, in San Antonio, Texas, at SLEEP 2010, the 24th Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies LLC (APSS).
 
Berry served on the AASM board of directors from 2005 to 2008 and has been a leader in the AASM’s initiatives to provide educational opportunities for sleep medicine professionals. He was chair of the AASM National Sleep Medicine course from 2003 to 2005, served on the faculty of a postgraduate course at each SLEEP meeting from 2006 to 2009, and taught at the 2009 AASM Interpreting Sleep Studies Course. He also has served on numerous AASM committees including the Education Committee, National Sleep Courses Committee and Academic Affairs Committee.
 
“Dr. Berry is recognized as one of the leading educators in the field of sleep medicine,” said AASM President Patrick J. Strollo Jr., MD. “His commitment and dedication to the education of health care professionals has helped the AASM promote excellence in the provision of sleep-related medical care.”
 
At the University of Florida in Gainesville, Fla., Berry is a professor of medicine and medical director of the UF and Shands Sleep Disorders Center. He is also the program director of the UF Sleep Medicine Fellowship and chief of the Pulmonary Section at the Malcom Randall Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC).
 
Berry received a medical degree from the University of Florida before completing a residency in internal medicine at the University of California-Irvine Medical Center and a fellowship in pulmonary medicine at the University of Florida School of Medicine. He became an AASM member in 1988 and earned board certification in sleep medicine in 1989.
 
Established in 2002, the annual Excellence in Education Award is presented to an individual who has made outstanding contributions in the teaching of sleep medicine. 
 
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine is a professional membership society that is the leader in setting standards and promoting excellence in sleep medicine health care, education and research. Across the U.S. more than 2,000 AASM-accredited sleep disorders centers and laboratories for sleep-related breathing disorders provide the highest quality of medical care for patients with sleep disorders.
 
A joint venture of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society, SLEEP 2010 brought together an international body of more than 5,000 sleep medicine specialists, sleep researchers, sleep technologists, allied health professionals and other health care professionals.
 
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