WESTCHESTER, Ill. –Michael J. Sateia, MD, received the 2009 Nathaniel Kleitman Distinguished Service Award from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM).

“Dr. Sateia is a true pioneer in the field of sleep medicine, having devoted his professional career to its development and advancement," said Clete Kushida, AASM president.  "Dr. Sateia’s leadership has greatly contributed to the formal recognition of sleep medicine as an independent medical subspecialty. His commitment has always been to ensure the highest quality of care for patients treated at AASM-accredited sleep disorders centers, and Dr. Sateia’s leadership and initiative makes him a deserving recipient of the Nathaniel Kleitman Distinguished Service Award."
 
Dr. Sateia received the award on June 8 in Seattle, Wash., at SLEEP 2009, the 23rd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS).
 
Dr. Sateia is a professor of psychiatry at Dartmouth Medical School and chief of the section of sleep medicine at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Hanover, N.H. Dr. Sateia is a past president of the AASM and has held numerous other leadership positions in the field, including associate editor for the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine and Program Committee chair for the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS) – a joint venture of the AASM and the Sleep Research Society. He served as editor of The International Classification of Sleep Disorders, 2nd Edition, which the AASM published in 2005. Dr. Sateia currently sits on the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Advisory Committee for Sleep Medicine and the American Board of Internal Medicine Policy and Test Committee for Sleep Medicine.
 
Dr. Sateia received a medical degree from Duke University, and an undergraduate degree from Darmouth College. He first earned board certification in sleep medicine from the American Board of Sleep Medicine in 1981.
 
Established in 1981, the Nathaniel Kleitman Distinguished Service Award honors individuals dedicated to the sleep field who have made significant contributions in the areas of administration, public relations and government affairs.
 
The research of Nathaniel Kleitman, one of the world’s eminent sleep scientists, formed the foundation for many areas of current sleep medicine, including REM sleep, circadian rhythms and the effect of drugs on sleep. Through his inventiveness and achievement, Dr. Kleitman has left a vast impression on the sleep medicine field.   

SLEEP 2009 is a four-day scientific meeting featuring an international body of more than 5,500 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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