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Allan Pack: Inaugural John L. Miclot Professor of Medicine
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September 16, 2008 , Volume 55, No. 4

 

Pack
Miclot

Leading sleep scientist Dr. Allan I. Pack, has been named the first John L. Miclot Professor of Medicine. The Miclot chair is the first dedicated to the study of sleep disorders at Penn and will support Dr. Pack’s efforts as director of the Center for Sleep and Respiratory Neurobiology.

Funded through a generous gift from Philips Respironics, a global provider of sleep and respiratory products, which became part of Philips Healthcare in March 2008, the Miclot Professorship is named for the company’s former president and CEO who now serves as CEO of Philips Home Healthcare Solutions. Philips Respironics has established endowed chairs in sleep science at Penn, Stanford, Harvard, and the University of Wisconsin. Together, the chair holders will form a new academic sleep research alliance dedicated to advancing the study of sleep disorders.

This endowed chair represents a major step forward for sleep science at Penn, according to Dr. Richard P. Shannon, chair of the department of medicine. “Dr. Pack’s leadership has been essential to advancing sleep research at Penn,” he said. “The Miclot Professorship will provide crucial support for his efforts as director of the Center, and for his own investigations.”

“It is a great honor to be part of this innovative undertaking, which will link Penn to sleep researchers at three other universities. The Miclot chair will provide me and my colleagues with significant opportunities for collaboration,” said Dr. Pack.

Dr. Pack’s laboratory studies the functions of sleep at a molecular level and the genetics of sleep and its disorders. In addition to his research activities, he treats patients with sleep apnea and other sleep disorders at the Penn Sleep Center. Dr. Pack has beennamed a Top Doc by Philadelphia magazine every year since 2004, and is entered in America’s Top Doctors.

Penn’s Center for Sleep and Respiratory Neurobiology (CSRN) is a multidisciplinary center dedicated to exploring and understanding the basic mechanism of sleep and circadian rhythm, the pathogenesis of sleep disorders, and the outcomes of therapy. The CSRN also educates outstanding sleep medicine researchers, and its fellows come from many different disciplines to receive training in all aspects of sleep medicine.

The Division of Sleep Medicine was the first independent sleep division to be established in the country. Based in Penn’s department of medicine, the division’s membership reflects the multidisciplinary nature of sleep medicine at Penn, draws its faculty members from various academic departments and specialties, and provides the highest level of care to patients with a range of sleep disorders.

Philips Respironics is passionate about improving the quality of people’s lives with sleep solutions that are designed around the needs of their customers and patients. It offers solutions for sleep apnea and is exploring opportunities in other sleep disorders such as insomnia, circadian rhythm disorders and restless legs syndrome.

 

 

Almanac - September 16, 2008, Volume 55, No. 4