Sleep Research Society announces 2024 award recipients

DARIEN, IL – Four individuals have been selected as the 2024 Sleep Research Society award recipients for their outstanding contributions to the SRS, sleep and circadian science, and public health. They will be recognized Monday, June 3, during the plenary session of the SLEEP 2024 annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies in Houston.

“The SRS awards honor the exceptional accomplishments of sleep and circadian scientists, illuminating their dedication to advancing knowledge and fostering health and well-being,” said SRS President Namni Goel, Ph.D. “I congratulate the 2024 recipients for their remarkable contributions, which underscore their commitment to research, education and public service, and which propel our mission forward.”

The 2024 SRS award recipients were nominated by a colleague, recommended by the SRS Awards Nominating Committee, and approved by the SRS board of directors.

Elizabeth Klerman, M.D., Ph.D. – “Distinguished Scientist Award”

Dr. Elizabeth Klerman is a professor of neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, and also serves as a physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Her research focuses on applying circadian and sleep principles to normal and pathophysiologic states, mathematical analysis, and modeling of human circadian rhythms and sleep. She led the National Space Biomedical Research Institute Human Factors and Performance Team and has received continuous funding from the National Institutes of Health and other organizations. Klerman mentors a diverse group of researchers who have received prestigious grants and hold faculty positions worldwide, and she is dedicated to mentoring women in science and engineering. As the director of student engagement in clinical and translational research at Harvard Catalyst, she fosters the next generation of medical researchers.

David M. Raizen, M.D., Ph.D. – “Outstanding Scientific Achievement Award”

Dr. David Raizen is a professor of neurology, medicine, and genetics and the associate director of the Chronobiology and Sleep Institute at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. His research focuses on the fundamental mechanisms regulating sleep and fatigue. Raizen established a C. elegans (nematode) model for sleep research, demonstrating that C. elegans sleep is similar to mammalian sleep at the molecular level, indicating that sleep evolved about a half billion years earlier than previously thought. Additionally, his work in nematodes inspired sleep identification in phyla ranging from flatworms to jellyfish. He is the senior author of the “Nature” publication, “Lethargus is a Caenorhabditis elegans sleep-like state.” His findings have inspired the development of new models, allowed researchers to move beyond a strict circadian definition of sleep, and provided a platform for the discovery of new genes regulating sleep.

Michael L. Perlis, Ph.D. – “Mary A. Carskadon Outstanding Educator Award”

Michael Perlis is internationally known for his work in behavioral sleep medicine. He is co-author of the first textbook in this particular field and is the senior author of a published cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia treatment manual and a comprehensive text summarizing all behavioral sleep medicine treatments. He conducts two CBT‐I training workshops annually and offers mini-fellowship training in behavioral sleep medicine and supervision at the University of Pennsylvania. His workshops have attracted more than 3,000 clinicians and trainees worldwide, with sessions held in multiple countries and manuals translated into various languages. His commitment to education is evident through his service on the editorial boards of the journals “SLEEP,” “Journal of Sleep Research,” “Sleep Medicine Research,” and “Behavioral Sleep Medicine.” He has served on committees and task forces for the Sleep Research Society and American Academy of Sleep Medicine, and he was a founding member and the first president of the Society of Behavioral Sleep Medicine.

Julie Flygare, J.D. – “Public Service Award”

Julie Flygare is the president and CEO of Project Sleep, and she is recognized globally as a patient perspective leader and a prominent voice in sleep advocacy. She is the award-winning author of “Wide Awake and Dreaming: A Memoir of Narcolepsy.” Her TEDx Talk, “What Can You Learn from a Professional Dreamer?” underscores her influence in advocacy. Since her diagnosis of narcolepsy with cataplexy in 2007, Flygare has championed awareness through speaking engagements, publications, collaborations, and awareness initiatives. She has served as president of Project Sleep’s board of directors and on the NIH Sleep Disorders Research Advisory Board. She also has held roles at the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network and the City of Hope. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Brown University and her Juris Doctor from Boston College Law School, focusing on health law, policy, and rare disease drug development. Flygare’s impactful work amplifies patient voices worldwide and raises awareness of sleep disorders.

More information about the SRS awards is available online.

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About the Sleep Research Society 

The SRS is a professional membership society that advances sleep and circadian science. The SRS serves its members and the field of sleep and circadian research through training and education, and by providing forums for the collaboration and exchange of ideas. The SRS facilitates its goals through scientific meetings and trainee specific programming, and by advocating for federal sleep and circadian research funding. The SRS also publishes the peer-reviewed, scientific journals “SLEEP” and “SLEEP Advances” (sleepresearchsociety.org).