Dr. William C. Dement, MD, PhD

Center for Excellence in the field of sleep medicine

William C. Dement, M.D., Ph.D., is the Lowell W. and Josephine Q. Berry Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Stanford University School of Medicine, and Director of the Stanford Sleep Disorders Clinic and Research Center.

Dr. Dement received his medical degree and Ph.D. degree in neurophysiology from the University of Chicago. During that time, he helped discover and describe REM sleep and its relationship with dreaming. Dr. Dement started the world's first sleep disorders clinic in 1970 and with his colleagues introduced the all-night polysomnographic examination of patients with sleep-related complaints and the Multiple Sleep Latency Test. His group helped define the sleep apnea syndromes and carried out the first treatments in the United States. He has conducted numerous studies on sleep, sleep deprivation, insomnia, narcolepsy, and circadian rhythms, and sleep hygiene.

Dr. Dement was cofounder of the Sleep Research Society and founder of the Association of Sleep Disorders Centers, now the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, and president for the first twelve years. He has strongly advocated public policy in applying sleep knowledge for families, workplaces, and safer transportation throughout American and was Chairman of the National Commission on Sleep Disorders, which was created by the U.S. Congress.

Throughout his career, Dr. Dement has provided courses and lectures for undergraduates, medical students, primary care physicians and the general public. He received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Sleep Foundation in 2001. Dr. Dement is co-editor of the definitive textbook, Principles and Practice of Sleep Medicine, and has also written several books for the lay public, most recently The Promise of Sleep.

• Dr. William C. Dement, MD, PhD

  Center for Excellence in the field of sleep medicine

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  Center for Excellence in the field of sleep medicine

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