2021 - Society of Behavioral Sleep Medicine Awards & Recognitions

2021 PETER HAURI CAREER DISTINGUISHED ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

The Peter Hauri Career Distinguished Achievement Award is awarded to a member of SBSM who has made significant, sustained scientific contributions to behavioral sleep medicine or who has made significant, sustained clinical contributions to behavioral sleep medicine as exemplified by innovations in service delivery, dissemination, and public policy. 

Colin Espie, PhD, DSc, CPsychol, CSci, FBPsS

"I am hugely honoured and humbled to receive this award from the Society of Behavioral Sleep Medicine. Peter Hauri was a giant in our field, influencing so many across his career, and still doing so through the legacy of his books and papers. I am grateful to have been one of those who benefited from his wisdom and his many insights, and if I have played some small part in following his example then I am very satisfied.

A career award does not really belong to an individual. It reflects a journey (still ongoing I should add!!) during which there have been many fellow travellers, but few passengers. Behavioural sleep medicine is a field known for its dedicated hard work, for leadership across multiple world centres, and for its students and fellows who feel at home with, and inspired by, some wonderful folks.

My travelling companions have included famous names like Dick Bootzin, Art Spielman, Charles Morin, Jack Edinger, Ken Lichstein, Rachel Manber, Dan Buysse, Ed Stepanski, Allison Harvey, Michael Perlis, Dieter Riemann, Eus van Someren, Bjorn Bjorvatn and Leon Lack ..., to name just some. Thank you all for your collaboration and for your friendship.

At the heart of my work though has been my own team, first at the University of Glasgow Sleep Centre, and over the past 8 years at the University of Oxford. It is impossible to mention all those who have worked with me as PhD students, as early and mid-career researchers, and as academic, technical, and administrative staff members. I cannot bring myself to select just a few names and to leave others out, so let me just say that you know who you are. You have been, and still are, the lifeblood of my work and my greatest joy. I could never thank you enough.

Finally, it gives me enormous pleasure to see the SBSM thriving. I have listened in to this year's conference symposia and abstract discussion sessions. If we have been in good hands in years past, I am confident that we remain so. There is so much fresh and emerging talent. I wish you all well in your careers as you research sleep and its disorders, as you treat your patients and as you advocate for sleep through your work. Likewise, my best wishes to the SBSM board, committees and membership. You are doing such great work. Let's keep it up!"

Additional Awards

2- Arthur Spielman Early Career Distinguished Scientific Achievement Award - Ivan Vargas, PhD
3 - Bootzin Mid-Career Distinguished Scientific Achievement Award - Carmela Alcantara, PhD
4 - Research Excellence in BSM – Poster Presentation - Andrew Tubbs – U of Arizona
5 - Innovation in BSM Advocacy – Poster Presentation - Hailey Meaklim, BSc, CPsychol, DBSM – Monash University
6 - Excellence in Sleep Disparities Research – Poster Presentation - Pablo Soto - VCU
7 - Outstanding Leader in Altruistic Delivery of BSM Award - Melanie Leggett, PhD, DBSM
8 - Outstanding Innovation in BSM Service Delivery - Michelle Drerup, PsyD, DBSM
9 - Champion BSM Advocate Award - Wendy Troxel, PhD
10 - Fellow Rising Star Award - Hannah Scott, PhD
11 - Pre-Intern Graduate Project Award - Hailey Meaklim, BSc (Hon), CPsychol, DBSM

2020 - Society of Behavioral Sleep Medicine Awards & Recognitions

2020 PETER HAURI CAREER DISTINGUISHED ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

The Peter Hauri Career Distinguished Achievement Award is awarded to a member of SBSM who has made significant, sustained scientific contributions to behavioral sleep medicine or who has made significant, sustained clinical contributions to behavioral sleep medicine as exemplified by innovations in service delivery, dissemination, and public policy. 

Charles Morin, PhD, DBSM

Professor of Psychology, Director
Sleep Research Centre at Université Laval
Quebec City (Canada)

It is with great pride and modesty that I receive this award from the Society of Behavioral Sleep Medicine. It is particularly a propos that this award is named after Peter Hauri because he was a great influence to me (and many others) in the early stage of my career.

His research in the early 1980’s on biofeedback treatment for insomnia was particularly relevant to personalized medicine. By trying to match subtypes of insomnia with different forms of biofeedback, he was already a visionary of today’s personalized medicine.

In addition to Peter Hauri, I am also very grateful to several other people who have influenced the course of my career. I wish to acknowledge two other brilliant scholars and psychologists whom, although I have never worked with directly, have been role models and inspired me as a junior investigator – Dick Bootzin, and Art Spielman. They have been leaders of our field in insomnia research.

I am greatly indebted to several esteemed colleagues, and friends, whom I have had the great pleasure to collaborate with and share research ideas on CBT-I over the years – Ken Lichstein, Colin Espie, Jack Edinger, and Allison Harvey.

No one can lead a successful research program in solo. So, I share this award with the 60+ graduate students and postdoc fellows who trained in my lab; they have been a great source of inspiration. I also share this award with many colleagues at Laval U. in Quebec City who have been instrumental to the success of our research program – Hans Ivers, Lynda Bélanger, Mélanie LeBlanc, Josée Savard and Célyne Bastien.

Thank you also to my family, my children (Geneviève, Sebastien), and their mother (Paule), for their love and support throughout my career.

I want to encourage students and young investigators to pursue their dreams in a sleep research career, not always easy but extremely rewarding. Still so much to do to move the field forward.

I am deeply honored and grateful to the Behavioral Sleep Medicine Society and its board of directors for this Distinguished Career Award. 

2020 ARTHUR J. SPIELMAN EARLY CAREER DISTINGUISHED ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

The Art Spielmann Early Career Distinguished Achievement Award is awarded to a member who has made significant scientific or clinical contributions to behavioral sleep medicine as exemplified by innovations in service delivery, dissemination, and public policy.

S. Justin Thomas, PhD, DBSM

Director, Behavioral Sleep Medicine Program
Co-Director, Sleep and Circadian Research Core
Department of Psychiatry
The University of Alabama at Birmingham 

2020 STUDENT DISSERTATION AND THESIS AWARD

The Student Dissertation and Thesis Award is awarded to a student member who has provided evidence of outstanding work on his or her thesis or dissertation project by summarizing the theoretical background supporting the project, the methodological rigor, and the significance of the findings to the field of BSM.

Andrew Tubbs, MS

University of Arizona
PhD Program:  Neuroscience Graduate Interdisciplinary Program
Thesis Research: Sleep and circadian rhythm disturbances in suicide and psychotic disorders 

2019 - Society of Behavioral Sleep Medicine Awards & Recognitions

2019 SPECIAL RECOGNITION

Thank you to Dr. Donna Arand

Dr Donna Arand, 2019 Immediate Past President is recognized for her service an leadership to the SBSM by 2019 President, Dr Don Townsend.

Pictured in photo from left to right – Don Townsend, PhD and Donna Arand, PhD. 

Thank you to Allison Wilkerson, PhD and Melissa Milanak, PhD

Pictured in photo from left to right: Allison Wilkerson, PhD and Melissa Milanak, PhD

Thank you to Allison Wilkerson, PhD and Melissa Milanak, PhD co-chairs of the Membership Committee for their leadership. The committee planned and organized the Bootzin Awards and Recognition event, a special time to recognize our members who volunteer to make the event a special time.

2019 PETER HAURI CAREER DISTINGUISHED ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

The Peter Hauri Career Distinguished Achievement Award is awarded to a member of SBSM who has made significant, sustained scientific contributions to behavioral sleep medicine or who has made significant, sustained clinical contributions to behavioral sleep medicine as exemplified by innovations in service delivery, dissemination, and public policy.     

Daniel Buysse, MD

The Peter Hauri Career Distinguished Achievement Award is awarded to a member of SBSM who has made significant, sustained scientific contributions to behavioral sleep medicine or who has made significant, sustained clinical contributions to behavioral sleep medicine as exemplified by innovations in service delivery, dissemination, and public policy. This year Dr Daniel Buysse was honored as the recipient of the 2019 Peter Hauri Career Distinguished Achievement Award.

Daniel Buysse, MD is Professor of Psychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic and Co-director of the UPMC Sleep Medicine Center.

In 2000, he served as AASM President, and during his tenure, he was responsible for establishing Behavioral Sleep Medicine, and integral in developing a BSM certification exam.  He identified the standards for accreditation of BSM training programs, and worked to create the Behavioral Sleep Medicine journal.

Dr Buysse has published extensive scholarly contributions:  books, chapters, articles, and in 2014 he was awarded the UPMC Endowed chair in Sleep Medicine.  He is first author of the publication defining the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index.  He has been a leader in developing diagnostic criteria for insomnia, novel treatment approaches (BBTI), sleep and depression, sleep and aging.

Dr Buysse promoted sleep health as a distinct discipline.

Congratulations to Dr Daniel Buysse for the award and for his contributions to the Society of Behavioral Sleep Medicine and the Behavioral Sleep Medicine as a discipline.

2019 ARTHUR J. SPIELMAN EARLY CAREER DISTINGUISHED ACHIEVEMENT AWARD      

The Arthur J. Spielman Early Career Distinguished Achievement Award is awarded to a member who has made significant scientific or clinical contributions to behavioral sleep medicine as exemplified by innovations in service delivery, dissemination, and public policy.

Dr Sara Nowakowski

This year Dr Sara Nowakowski was honored as the recipient of the 2019 Arthur J. Spielman Early Career Distinghished Achievement Award.

Dr Nowakowski is a Research Health Scientist with the Center for Innovation in Quality, Effectiveness, and Safety at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center in Houston, Texas.  She has been licensed in BSM since 2015 and received her Diplomate in Behavioral Sleep Medicine in 2019.

She has served for three years with the SBSM Board of Directors as a Director at Large and Chair and Board Liaison to the Membership Committee.

Dr Nowakowski serves on the SRS Scientific Review and Pipeline Development Committee, the Editorial Boards with the Journal of Behavioral Sleep Medicine and Sleep Health.  She has published 26 peer-reviewed articles, 9 book chapters, 50+ abstracts. And for her work with the editorial boards, in 2018 she received the Editor’s Choice in SLEEP award. 

Her grant awards include:  K23 Career Development Award; Examine feasibility of CBTi for insomnia and hotflashs in midlife women.

She serves as a mentor to:  3 undergraduate, 2 master’s, 5 doctoral, and 3 medical students

In 2017 she directed her passion through advocating for the Houston Area Chapter for Start School Later times.

Congratulations to Dr Nowakowski for the award and her contributions to Behavioral Sleep Medicine and support of the Society of Behavioral Sleep Medicine.

2019 SBSM TRAVEL AWARD WINNERS

Alicia Chung, PhD

As a recipient of the Society of Behavioral Sleep Medicine (SBSM) Travel Award, I am able to network with leading researchers in the area of pediatric sleep health that will allow me to broaden my collaborations in the spirit of team science. The meeting was an invaluable opportunity to receive direct feedback from NIH officers on grant submission ideas, brainstorm research ideas with colleagues, and learn about the latest in sleep health technology. Most importantly, special thank you to my fellow panelist Dr. Alcantara, Dr. Williams and Mrs. Aird for the opportunity to share our work on the importance of sleep research in the community, and close the gap on sleep health disparities among people of color. The SBSM conference was the perfect size to foster interpersonal relationship building and develop collegial bonds.

Dr. Chung has extensive training in public health and health education with her BA/MPH from Tufts University and Doctorate of Education from Columbia University. She is published in several high-impact peer-reviewed journals, to share the significance of her work with the scientific community.  

Marrisa Bowman, PhD

I was honored to receive a trainee travel award to attend the Society of Behavioral Sleep Medicine’s Conference in Birmingham, Alabama. At this conference, I had the opportunity to chair and present in a symposium titled, “Sleep interventions for racial/ethnic health disparities.” I was excited to present to this unique audience of clinically-oriented sleep researchers and sleep medicine clinicians, and I was pleased to see that there were other symposia with a focus on the role of racial/ethnic diversity in our research and clinical work.

At the SBSM conference in Birmingham, I especially enjoyed the symposium on “insomnia identity” with speakers Kenny Lichstein, Jessee Dietch, Michael Perlis, and Dan Buysse. They focused on subjective-objective sleep discrepancy, e.g. individuals with insomnia identity but have good polysomnography-assessed sleep, or individuals who deny sleep problems but have poor polysomnography-assessed sleep.

Across several datasets, approximately 40% of the sample experienced a discrepancy between their subjective and objective sleep. Michael Perlis proffered that perhaps this seeming discrepancy is due to a difference in sleep need among these groups. Dan Buysse presented data showing that there were neurophysiological differences during NREM sleep that may explain the subjective-objective sleep discrepancy.

I have spent some time in my own research work interpreting results that are inconsistent across sleep assessment methods. I believe that subjective and objective sleep measures may differ because they capture fundamentally different constructs. While subjective assessments involve the individual's perception of their habitual sleep pattern in their usual sleep environment, polysomnography is assessed for a limited number of nights in a novel environment.

Thank you for the opportunity to attend this meeting. I hope to see you all next year at the SBSM meeting in Nashville!

Allyson Gilles, PhD

Attending the first annual SBSM scientific conference was an unparalleled opportunity to become immersed in the world of behavioral sleep medicine, as well as understand its impact on population health through a variety of topics and through the honed lenses of renowned scientists. The well-regarded speakers brought forth a “call to arms” for the SBSM community to join together in addressing important areas of research and clinical practice. 

Such areas include examining the:

• objective effects of CBTi;
• intersection of sleep ability, sleep opportunity, and sleep need in patients;
• role of network dysregulation across the wake-sleep state in insomnia;
• supply and demand imbalance of CBTi providers;
• development of CBT- circadian insomnia subtypes;
• importance of building a reviewer pool of experts in Behavioral Sleep Medicine;
• importance of embracing diverse and collaborative relationships to create translational science that is standardized; and
• need to advocate for untapped research funding as a professional community by connecting to other areas of science.

Not only did I learn about the current state of behavioral sleep medicine from a variety of perspectives, but I was able to glimpse a future that the leaders and experts envision for SBSM as a scientific community. Imagining where I fit with this future vision and how I could contribute in a meaningful way had a great impact on me. As the importance of the SBSM conference was clear, I embraced the networking and collaborative opportunities amongst colleagues.

Meeting individuals and making connections was enjoyable, as the conference atmosphere was relaxed and the shared camaraderie was evident.

Alicia Roth, PhD

As the SBSM celebrated its 10th anniversary at the SBSM Scientific Meeting, I realized I am also celebrating my 10th anniversary in behavioral sleep medicine.

In 2009, I was the clinical trial coordinator for a small RCT examining trazodone’s effects on sleep and cognition. I had recently graduated with a Master’s degree in experimental psychology, and had zero knowledge of sleep. But I was the only staff member for the study, so I had to catch up quickly on PSGs, MSLTs, sleep diaries, pharmacology, and the ins-and-outs of the sleep literature. Knowledge and sleep deprivation ensued.

The PI of the study brought me to Sleep in 2009. Michael Perlis presented about the future of behavioral sleep medicine, in which he said (possibly yelled) “We need to build the sleep psychology army!” I leaned over to my boss and whispered, “I wanna be part of the army.”

10 years, a Ph.D., and a lot of coffee, rejected manuscripts, and CBTI cases later, I am part of the Sleep Army. And this year’s SBSM Scientific Meeting validated my continued excitement and commitment to BSM. The SBSM Student Travel Award also allowed me to attend the additional DBSM prep course. I've never been more excited to study for an exam.

A particularly special aspect of the SBSM meeting was reconvening the group of BSM colleagues that I “grew up” with in grad school. We all saw each other once a year at Sleep, which we dubbed the “family reunion.” We started together as baby trainees from different programs, having large group dinners, discussing our latest research, and filling each other in on what’s next – practicuum, internship, post-doc, and faculty positions. And now we are SBSM committee members, speakers at the Scientific Meeting, published authors, awesome clinicians, and on the cusp of taking the DBSM. We are the Sleep Army the SBSM founders envisioned (I hope!) when they dedicated themselves to this society 10 years ago.

As an attendee, presenter, DBSM prepper, networker, resort pool aficionado, and too-excited enthusiast of all things sleep, thank you to the SBSM for an amazing meeting – and continuing to thrive!

2018 - Society of Behavioral Sleep Medicine Awards & Recognitions

PETER HAURI CAREER DISTINGUISHED ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

The Peter Hauri Career Distinguished Achievement Award is awarded to a member of SBSM who has made significant, sustained scientific contributions to behavioral sleep medicine or who has made significant, sustained clinical contributions to behavioral sleep medicine as exemplified by innovations in service delivery, dissemination, and public policy.

Michael Perlis, PhD

Michael’s scientific contributions in behavioral sleep medicine have often been foundational. I will only list a few, here. He was the first to propose the neurocognitive model of insomnia as a means to unify the daytime and nocturnal cognitive experiences of insomnia and help address the perplexing objective-subjective discrepancy related to cognitive function in insomnia. He followed this up with a series of data and review articles investigating hyperarousal in insomnia, several of which have been cited over 100 times each. Michael’s original ideas also led to a series of studies conducted by multiple labs to better characterize and explain the neuropathology underpinning insomnia.

Michael has also made seminal contributions in the area of insomnia and depression. Michael’s 1997 paper showing that sleep was the earliest symptom of depression to elevate prior to a relapse helped solidify the causal role of insomnia in depression.

A third example of Michael’s scientific influence has been in understanding the efficacy of CBT for Insomnia. He has written several articles showing CBT-I to be equally or more efficacious than medications, including one of the earliest and best cited meta-analyses on the topic. In doing so, he has contributed substantially to the clear and universally accepted idea that CBT-I is the front-line treatment for insomnia. 

There are multiple generations of scientists and clinicians who have benefited from his mentoring, and his mentees have gone on to make significant contributions to the field.

2018 ARTHUR J. SPIELMAN EARLY CAREER DISTINGUISHED ACHIEVEMENT AWARD   

The Arthur J. Spielman Early Career Distinguished Achievement Award is awarded to a member who has made significant scientific or clinical contributions to behavioral sleep medicine as exemplified by innovations in service delivery, dissemination, and public policy.

Sheila Garland PhD

Dr Garland is in her third year as an Assistant Professor at Memorial University of Newfoundland after having completed a 3-year post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania and graduating from the doctoral program in clinical psychology at the University of Calgary. 

She has worked diligently to build a solid program of research in the area of behavioral sleep medicine with a particular focus on understanding and treating sleep disturbances in individuals diagnosed with cancer. Since starting her academic position at Memorial University, Sheila founded the Sleep, Health, & Wellness Laboratory.

Dr Garland was awarded a PCORI grant to fund a comparative effectiveness trial comparing acupuncture to CBT-I for insomnia in cancer survivors. 

STUDENT DISSERTATION AND THESIS AWARD

The Student Dissertation and Thesis Award is awarded to a student member who has provided evidence of outstanding work on his or her thesis or dissertation project by summarizing the theoretical background supporting the project, the methodological rigor, and the significance of the findings to the field of BSM.

Spencer Dawson PhD

Spencer’s research interests focus on translational science that has the potential to improve our understanding of and treatment of insomnia and sleep disorders.  His Master’s study was an analysis of an intervention trial for the Treatment of Insomnia in the Context of Comorbid Sleep Disturbance using CBTI.  He conducted a comprehensive analysis of an existing dataset from a study conducted by his mentor, Dick Bootzin.  His dissertation research, that he successfully defended last year, was a project he designed from the ground up, using diverse measures including self-report, interview, psychophysiological responses, and polysomnography, to assess empirically the relationship between arousal and sleep misperception.  His research thus integrates easily with this RDoC paradigm and should place Spencer in a strong position to compete for NIMH funding to continue this line of research in the future.  Dr Dawson currently is completing his post-doctoral training at Northwestern University with Dr Ong.

2017 - Society of Behavioral Sleep Medicine Awards & Recognitions

PETER HAURI CAREER DISTINGUISHED ACHIEVEMENT AWARD 

The Peter Hauri Career Distinguished Achievement Award is awarded to a member of SBSM who has made significant, sustained scientific contributions to behavioral sleep medicine or who has made significant, sustained clinical contributions to behavioral sleep medicine as exemplified by innovations in service delivery, dissemination, and public policy.

Kenneth Lichstein PhD

Dr Lichstein is one of the world leaders in research relating to behavioral sleep medicine. His program of research extends over a period of more than 30 years during which time his research output has been both prolific and of the very highest quality. He is not only an international leader, but he has independently shaped the field in very important ways. For example, he was a (or the) main driver for the flagship journal in our field. He has an outstanding track record of building and maintaining a world-class research groups that has attracted research and infrastructure funding. Importantly, Dr Lichstein is an excellent mentor who has successfully mentored countless PhDs, many of whom have become highly successful contributors to the field. He is committed to developing their knowledge and expertise and to facilitating them as they establish independent research careers. These individuals are already making important contributions to the field and are surfacing as internationally recognized leaders in their own right.   Dr Lichstein continues to support the SBSM as Director at Large on the Board of Directors and will serve as the board liaison to the new Credentials Committee.

EARLY CAREER DISTINGUISHED ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

The Art Spielmann Early Career Distinguished Achievement Award is awarded to a member who has made significant scientific or clinical contributions to behavioral sleep medicine as exemplified by innovations in service delivery, dissemination, and public policy.

Michael Nadorff PH.D

Michael is Assistant Professor and Director of Clinical Training at Mississippi State University.  He received his PhD in Clinical Psychology from West Virginia University in 2012.  His research program focuses on the impact of insomnia symptoms and nightmares on suicidal behavior across the lifespan. 

STUDENT DISSERTATION AND THESIS AWARD

The Student Dissertation and Thesis Award is awarded to a student member who has provided evidence of outstanding work on his or her thesis or dissertation project by summarizing the theoretical background supporting the project, the methodological rigor, and the significance of the findings to the field of BSM.

Jennifer Cowie MA

Jennifer successfully defended her dissertation proposal titled, “Does post-exposure napping augment fear reduction in dog phobic children?” in June of 2016. This novel study is ongoing and represents Jennifer’s independent idea and project.  Candice Alfano, Director of the Sleep and Anxiety Center of Houston has been Jennifer’s mentor for the past five years.  This project is the first of its kind (that we are aware of) in a clinical child sample and will make a significant contribution to the research literature.

2016 - Society of Behavioral Sleep Medicine Awards & Recognitions

Each year the SBSM is honored to acknowledge individuals, who have made outstanding contributions to the field of Behavioral Sleep Medicine.

PETER HAURI CAREER DISTINGUISHED ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

The Peter Hauri Career Distinguished Achievement Award is awarded to a member of SBSM, who has made significant, sustained scientific contributions to behavioral sleep medicine or who has made significant, sustained clinical contributions to behavioral sleep medicine as exemplified by innovations in service delivery, dissemination, and public policy. This year Candice Alfano, PhD was honored with this award.

Candice Alfano, PhD

Candice Alfano, Ph.D. is Associate Professor of Psychology, Director of the Sleep and Anxiety Center of Houston (SACH)at the University of Houston, and a licensed clinical psychologist. She has been conducting sleep-focused research and providing evidence-based treatment for behavioral sleep disorders for more than a decade.

In her current role as Director of SACH, Dr. Alfano provides hands-on training to post- doctoral fellows, doctoral students, and undergraduates in sleep medicine through both the provision of evidence-based clinical services and participation in large research projects.

Dr. Alfano has published over 60 empirical papers, articles, books chapters, and books to date, many of which provide important scientific contribution to the field of sleep medicine. Recent work has focused on sleep and emotional outcomes more broadly, including a recent comprehensive review paper that utilized an organizing, theoretical framework for better understanding the impact of sleep disruption on various aspects of emotional experience (Palmer & Alfano, 2016).

Early Career Distinguished Achievement Award

The Early Career Distinguished Achievement Award is awarded to a member who has made significant scientific or clinical contributions to behavioral sleep medicine as exemplified by innovations in service delivery, dissemination, and public policy. This year the award was presented to Julio Fernandez-Mendoza PhD.

Julio Fernandez-Mendoza, PhD

Dr. Julio Fernandez-Mendoza pursued his postdoctoral fellowship at the Sleep Research & Treatment Center (SRTC) at Penn State and currently serves as Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Clinical Psychologist in the Division of Sleep Medicine.

He has been involved in groundbreaking research projects investigating the impact of disturbed sleep on the development of adverse health outcomes. Many of his studies have involved the Penn State Adult Cohort and the Penn State Child Cohort (PSCC), two of the most detailed population- based, random samples in the sleep field.

Dr. Fernandez-Mendoza currently serves as Principal Investigator in a study funded by the American Heart Association that bridges three areas traditionally kept in disconnect: sleep, cardiovascular, and cognitive health and is a key investigator in an ongoing pilot clinical trial comparing the efficacy of cognitive behavioral treatment of insomnia (CBT-I) vs. a sedative anti-depressant (trazodone) and its effects on cardiometabolic outcomes.

STUDENT DISSERTATION AND THESIS AWARD

The Student Dissertation and Thesis Award is awarded to a student member who has provided evidence of outstanding work on his or her thesis or dissertation project by summarizing the theoretical background supporting the project, the methodological rigor, and the significance of the findings to the field of BSM. 

Wai Sze Chan, PhD

Dr Wai Szw (Trista) Chan is a postdoctoral Fellow with the Department of Health Psychology in the School of Health Professions at the University of Missouri.

As a graduate student at Indiana University, Dr Trista Chan’s programmatic interest focuses on eating problems in relation to sleep deficits and self-regulation deficits. She systematically addressed questions about eating problems in relation to sleep deficits and individual differences in reward sensitivity. Both chronic sleep deficits and overeating are at epidemic levels in American society.

Dr Chan is pursuing this topic in her postdoctoral fellowship, which further increases the likelihood that she will have an outstanding career as a clinical scientist, with major contributions especially in the areas of sleep and eating.

2015 - Society of Behavioral Sleep Medicine Awards & Recognitions

PETER HAURI CAREER DISTINGUISHED ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Arthur J. Spielman, Ph.D.

The Lifetime Achievement Award is to acknowledge nominees who have distinguished themselves based on professional productivity and demonstrated leadership in the sleep medicine and/or sleep research fields.

Arthur J. Spielman, Ph.D. is currently a Professor of Psychology at The City College of the City University of New York (CUNY) in the Cognitive Neuroscience doctoral subprogram. In addition, he is an Adjunct Clinical Professor of Psychology in Neurology at the Weill Cornell Medical College in New York where he serves as a Co-Director, with Ana Krieger, of the Center for Sleep Medicine. Professor Spielman received his PhD in clinical psychology at CUNY and has a subspecialty in Sleep Medicine. He is a diplomate, American Board of Sleep Medicine (ABSM; certificate #26), and certified in Behavioral Sleep Medicine (certificate #3), American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM). He was on the committees that constructed the exams for these specialty qualifications. He was a founding staff member, and later the Co-Director, of the Sleep-Wake Disorders Center at Montefiore Hospital, Bronx, New York, which was the first Sleep Disorders Center certified in the United States by the Association of Sleep Disorders Centers in 1977. He also worked in the Laboratory of Chronobiology at Montefiore under the direction of Elliot Weitzman and Charles Czeisler.

Professor Spielman has served on ten NIH review committees, was on the Board of Directors of both the AASM as well as the ABSM. He has participated with his colleagues on the editorial boards of the journals Sleep and Journal of Behavioral Sleep Medicine and on task forces and committees such as fellowship training, individual and center accreditation, examination, nosology, and non-pharmacological treatment of insomnia. He was the chair of the Institutional Review Board at City College for 15 years. Professor Spielman has received a number of awards including the Distinguished Service Award, AASM and the Helmut Schmidt Award, ABSM.

Professor Spielman has published on a wide range of sleep disorders topics with a primary focus on insomnia assessment and treatment. He co-authored a popular book on insomnia with the senior author and long time collaborator Paul Glovinsky (The Insomnia Answer, 2006). He devised a popular model of insomnia (called the 3P model which stands for Predisposing, Precipitating and Perpetuating Factors, 1986, and with colleagues in 1987) and on a widely used treatment for insomnia called Sleep Restriction Therapy (with colleagues in 1987). Ongoing work includes validation of consumer sleep monitoring devices, tongue strengthening for snoring and sleep apnea and a theoretical paper on the function of REM sleep.  

Early Career Distinguished Achievement

Awarded to a member of SBSM who is less than 8 years post PhD/MD degree and who has made significant scientific contributions to behavioral sleep medicine or who has made significant clinical contributions to behavioral sleep medicine as exemplified by innovations in service delivery, dissemination, and public policy.

Sarah Honaker, PhD, HSPP, CBSM

Dr. Sarah Honaker is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at the Indiana University School of Medicine. Currently, she works with children and families at the Riley Sleep Disorders Center, and conducts research on incorporating behavioral sleep into pediatric primary care. While her current position includes both a research and clinical focus, her previous work at The University of Louisville School of Medicine was almost solely focused on clinical care. As such, her primary contributions to date, have been in the area of clinical care and education.

STUDENT DISSERTATION AND THESIS AWARD

The Student Dissertation and Thesis Award is awarded to a student member who has provided evidence of outstanding work on his or her thesis or dissertation project by summarizing the theoretical background supporting the project, the methodological rigor, and the significance of the findings to the field of BSM.

Jessica Dietch MS

Jessica Dietch is currently a graduate student at the University of North Texas and received a Bachelor of Arts from Chapman University. Jessica’s clinical experiences include working with children, college students, and adults covering a wide range of sleep related topics. Jessica was a student member on 2013-2014 SBSM Board of Directors and is currently serving as a valued member of the SBSM Accreditation Committee.

APSS First Time Travel Award

Cynthia Fellman-Couture, RN, BSN, PhD - Henry Ford Sleep Center, Detroit, MI 
Scott Rower, PhD - Portland Psychotherapy, Portland, OR

Awarded to individuals in the first or second year of SBSM membership (full membership only, students are not eligible) who attended APSS for the first time. First time travel awardees were required to attend a BSM postgrad workshop at APSS and received a $500 award to help offset the traveling expense of attending.

2014 - Society of Behavioral Sleep Medicine Awards & Recognitions

Young Investigator Award

The Young Investigator Award is awarded to a member who has made significant scientific contributions to behavioral sleep medicine or who has made significant clinical contributions to behavioral sleep medicine as exemplified by innovations in service delivery, dissemination, and public policy.

Dr. Kelly Baron

Dr. Kelly Baron is an Assistant Professor of Neurology at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University. Dr. Baron’s research interests include the role of circadian timing and alignment in obesity risk, use of exercise in the treatment of sleep disorders and treatment of comorbid insomnia and circadian rhythm sleep disorders. The emphasis of her research is to determine the biological and behavior links between circadian alignment and weight regulation and then translate her findings to the clinical setting in novel weight loss interventions. Dr. Baron is also founder and director of the Behavioral Sleep Medicine Program at Northwestern, where she mentors clinical psychology graduate students and sleep medicine fellows and provides Behavioral Sleep Medicine interventions in a multidisciplinary setting. 

STUDENT DISSERTATION AND THESIS AWARD

The Student Dissertation and Thesis Award is awarded to a student member who has displayed outstanding work meeting the criteria of theoretical background supporting the project, methodological rigor, and significance of the findings to the field of BSM.

Ali Wilkerson

Ali Wilkerson is a Licensed Psychological Associate and a graduate student in the Clinical Health Psychology program at University of North Texas. She received a Bachelor of Arts from Texas A&M University and a Masters of Education from the University of North Texas. She recently completed her fourth year of doctoral training, and in August she will begin the Charleston Consortium Psychology Internship at Medical University of South Carolina and VA Medical Center. Ali’s research focuses on the impact of sleep disturbance on daytime performance, particularly in the perinatal period. She is currently completing her dissertation, examining sleep fragmentation and neurobehavioral functioning in the transition from late pregnancy to early postpartum.

SBSM Merit Awards

The SBSM Merit Awards recognized outstanding research of clinical presentation in behavioral sleep medicine at the SLEEP 2014 meeting. The awards were based on 2 award categories; Oral Presentation of a Poster and Symposium, Clinical Workshop, and Discussion Groups.

1. The first recipient is Dr. Christina McCrae for her team’s submission of “Neuroplasticity in Comorbid Chronic Pain and Chronic Insomnia: Impact of Improved Sleep on Central Sensitization”.
2. The second recipient is Dr. Rebecca Bernert and Dr. Vaughn McCall (SBSM Member) for their team’s submission of “Disturbed Sleep as a Suicide Risk Factor and Novel Treatment Target: An Opportunity for Prevention”.
3. The third recipient is Dr. Kelly Baron, for her team’s submission of “Exercise as a Behavioral Sleep Medicine Intervention”.
4. The final recipient is Dr. Daniel Taylor for his team’s submission of “Cognitive and Behavioral Interventions for Insomnia in Military Populations”.

2013 - Society of Behavioral Sleep Medicine Awards & Recognitions

PETER HAURI CAREER DISTINGUISHED ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

The Peter Hauri Career Distinguished Achievement Award is awarded to a member of SBSM who has made significant, sustained scientific contributions to behavioral sleep medicine or who has made significant, sustained clinical contributions to behavioral sleep medicine as exemplified by innovations in service delivery, dissemination, and public policy. 

Don Posner, PhD, CBSM

Dr. Posner is a Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at the Alpert School of Medicine at Brown University. He is the Director of Clinical Behavioral Medicine for the Department of Psychiatry at Rhode Island and Miriam Hospitals, and also the Director of the Behavioral Sleep Medicine Program for the Sleep Disorders Center of Lifespan Hospitals in Providence Rhode Island. He has been actively engaged in the treatment of sleep-disordered patients for the past twenty-five years. For twenty of those years he has served as the lead supervisor and mentor for a sleep medicine rotation in the behavioral medicine track of the Brown clinical psychology internship. He also mentors post-doctoral fellows and lectures on Behavioral Sleep Medicine and Anxiety Disorders to interns, fellows, and residents in internal medicine and psychiatry. In addition, he is currently a consultant for the Veteran's Administration roll out of CBT-I and is training VA clinicians across the country in the implementation of this treatment.

Dr. Posner is a member of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and is one of the first certified behavioral sleep medicine specialists recognized by that group. He is also a founding member of the Society of Behavioral Sleep Medicine. Dr. Posner is a co-author on the Cognitive Behavioral Treatment of Insomnia: A Session by Session Guide (2005/2008).

ARTHUR J. SPIELMAN EARLY CAREER DISTINGUISHED ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

The Arthur J. Spielman Early Career Distinguished Achievement Award is awarded to a member who has made significant scientific or clinical contributions to behavioral sleep medicine as exemplified by innovations in service delivery, dissemination, and public policy.

Michael Grandner, PhD

Dr. Grandner is an Instructor in the Department of Psychiatry and Member of the Center for Sleep and Circadian Neurobiology at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Grandner' s research interests include (1) adverse cardiovascular, metabolic, and behavioral health outcomes associated with short sleep and/or insufficient sleep, (2) biopsychosocial determinants of short sleep, insufficient sleep, and poor sleep quality, and (3) behavioral interventions for sleep as a domain of health behavior. In summary, his research aims to better understand the downstream adverse outcomes of insufficient or poor quality sleep, the upstream determinants of sleep and sleep behaviors, and how knowledge of sleep determinants can inform behavioral interventions for adverse outcomes. 

STUDENT DISSERTATION AND THESIS AWARD

The Student Dissertation and Thesis Award is awarded to a student member who has displayed outstanding work meeting the criteria of theoretical background supporting the project, methodological rigor, and significance of the findings to the field of BSM.

Denise Jarrin, PhD

Denise C. Jarrin received her Ph.D. in Psychology from Concordia University in August 2012. Her doctoral dissertation was comprised of four studies that examined one possible pathogenic pathway in which poor sleep contributes to the etiology of childhood obesity. She is trained in psychophysiology, specifically on autonomic dysfunction as measured by heart rate variability. She is also a co-investigator on a Canadian Institute of Health Research grant investigating the pathways between sleep and childhood obesity totaling over $4 million. Dr. Jarrin has been awarded numerous fellowships from both federal and provincial agencies for her excellence as a graduate student. Her interests in sleep have expanded to include socioeconomic status, and based on scientific merit and relevance was the recipient of the 2012 American Academy of Sleep Medicine Young Investigator Award. More recently, she was awarded the prestigious Canadian Institute of Health Research Post-doctoral Fellowship to examine the pathogenic association between autonomic dysfunction and insomnia. Currently, she is a post-doctoral fellow at Université Laval under the mentorship of Dr. Charles Morin.

2012 - Society of Behavioral Sleep Medicine Awards & Recognitions

PETER HAURI CAREER DISTINGUISHED ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

The Peter Hauri Career Distinguished Achievement Award is awarded to a member of SBSM who has made significant, sustained scientific contributions to behavioral sleep medicine or who has made significant, sustained clinical contributions to behavioral sleep medicine as exemplified by innovations in service delivery, dissemination, and public policy. 

Dr. Sonia Ancoli-Israel

The Career Distinguished Achievement Award is presented to Dr. Sonia Ancoli-Israel in recognition of significant scientific or clinical contributions to Behavioral Sleep Medicine as exemplified by innovations in service delivery, dissemination and public policy.

Sonia Ancoli-Israel, Ph.D., is a Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry and Professor of Research at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine. Dr. Ancoli-Israel received her Bachelor’s Degree from the State University of New York, Stony Brook, a Master’s Degree from California State University, Long Beach and a Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of California, San Francisco. She is certified in sleep medicine and in behavioral sleep medicine and is a fellow of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and of the Gerontological Society of America. Dr. Ancoli-Israel is Past-President of the Sleep Research Society (SRS), Past-President of the Society for Light Treatment and Biological Rhythms, and was on the founding Executive Board of the National Sleep Foundation.

ARTHUR J. SPIELMAN EARLY CAREER DISTINGUISHED ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

The Arthur J. Spielman Early Career Distinguished Achievement Award is awarded to a member who has made significant scientific or clinical contributions to behavioral sleep medicine as exemplified by innovations in service delivery, dissemination, and public policy.

Dr. Jason Ong 

The Early Career Distinguished Achievement Award is presented to Dr. Jason Ong in recognition of significant scientific or clinical contributions to Behavioral Sleep Medicine as exemplified by innovations in service delivery, dissemination and public policy.

Jason Ong, PhD is an associate professor in the department of neurology at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Dr. Ong developed mindfulness-based therapy for insomnia (MBTi) as an innovative group intervention for treating chronic insomnia.

STUDENT DISSERTATION AND THESIS AWARD

Maggie Hood Bromberg

Maggie Hood Bromberg is recognized as recipient of Student Dissertation/Thesis Award. The SBSM presents this award to students that have demonstrated outstanding efforts in theoretical research, methodological rigor, and significance of their findings to the field of BSM.

Maggie Hood Bromberg is affiliated with the College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, at the University of North Carolina.

2011 - Society of Behavioral Sleep Medicine Awards & Recognitions

MEMBER RESEARCH AWARD

Dr. Kelly Glazer Baron, PhD, MPH, CBSM

The Member Research Award is presented to Dr. Kelly Glazer Baron, PhD, MPH, CBSM in recognition of excellence in research as evidenced by a first author publication in the society’s Journal of Behavioral Sleep Medicine.

Dr. Baron is Associate Professor at Rush University Medical Center.  The goal of Dr. Baron’s research program is to understand the links between the biological and behavioral aspects of circadian desynchrony to weight regulation and then translate her findings to the clinical setting in novel weight loss interventions.  Dr Baron was awarded a K23 grant for the project in 2011 entitled “Circadian timing, sleep, and adiposity” from the NHLBI, which aims to test the associations between circadian timing and desynchrony with body composition, diet, and exercise behaviors.

STUDENT MEMBER RESEARCH AWARD

Megan Ruiter, MA

The Student Member Research Award is presented to Megan Ruiter, MA in recognition of excellence in research as evidenced by a first author publication in the society’s Journal of Behavioral Sleep Medicine.

FRIENDS OF SOCIETY AWARD

Thomas Roth, PhD

The Friends of Society Award is presented to Thomas Roth, PhD in recognition of contributions made to the development of the future of the society. 

Thomas Roth, PhD, has been the Director of the Sleep Disorders and Research Center at the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan, USA, since 1978. Dr Roth is also a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Wayne State University, School of Medicine in Detroit, Michigan, and serves as a Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Michigan, College of Medicine in Ann Arbor.

After serving as president of the Sleep Research Society, and the founding president of the National Sleep Foundation (NSF), Dr Roth became chairman of the National Center on Sleep Disorders Research advisory board. In addition, he was a member of the board of directors of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS), chaired the Association's Scientific Program Committee and the governing board of the World Federation of Sleep Research Societies.  

Frank Andrasik, PhD

The Friends of Society Award is presented to Frank Andrasik, PhD in recognition of contributions made to the development of the future of the society.

Frank Andrasik, PhD, is Distinguished Professor and Chair of Psychology at the University of Memphis. He is Editor-in-Chief of Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback, Associate Editor of Cephalalgia, and past Editor-in-Chief of Behavior Therapy.