Martica Hall, PhD, and Daniel Buysse, MD, Honored by the American Psychosomatic Society
We are delighted to announce that two Department of Psychiatry faculty members have been honored by the American Psychosomatic Society (APS).
Martica Hall, PhD (Professor of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Clinical and Translational Science), is the recipient of the APS Distinguished Scientist Award. The Society’s highest honor, the Distinguished Scientist Award recognizes senior scientists and physicians who have made important and continued contributions to the scientific study of biological, psychological, behavioral, and social factors in health and disease.
Dr. Hall is widely recognized as having substantially impacted the field of sleep medicine. Her research focus lies at the intersection of behavioral medicine and sleep medicine, and she has been a leading force in the integration of these two fields. She has introduced sleep and circadian rhythms as mechanisms and moderators of health in their own right, as well as in combination with other behavioral factors. Her pioneering work examining heart rate variability during both sleep and wakefulness serves as one of many of her invaluable contributions to the field. Dr. Hall’s research has contributed to the recognition that other characteristics of sleep (such as duration and timing) could play a comparably important role in health outcomes.
Daniel Buysse, MD (UPMC Endowed Chair in Sleep Medicine and Professor of Psychiatry and Clinical and Translational Science), is the inaugural recipient of the first annual APS Martica Hall Award in Sleep Medicine. This award recognizes an exceptional individual in the field of sleep medicine.
Dr. Buysse’s research focuses on the assessment, pathophysiology, and treatment of insomnia; the interactions between sleep and circadian rhythms; behavioral interventions for sleep disturbances; and the impact of multidimensional sleep health on other health outcomes. He is internationally recognized for his pioneering research in field of sleep medicine. His pivotal work on sleep disorders has set national and international practice standards for the diagnosis, assessment, pathophysiology, and treatment of insomnia. Dr. Buysse’s work has addressed the role of sleep in the development of depression, obesity, cardiovascular disease, and metabolic syndrome, and he has collaborated on studies in pregnancy, chronic renal failure, and asthma.
Dr. Hall and Dr. Buysse co-direct the University of Pittsburgh Center for Sleep and Circadian Science and co-lead the Sleep and Circadian Workshop on Indispensable Methods (SWIM), an intensive training program addressing state-of-the-art methodologies in human and animal research on sleep and circadian science.
Please join us in congratulating Dr. Hall and Dr. Buysse!