
Dr Allan Pack
Institute for Translational Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania
Speaker's biography
Dr Allan Pack is the John Miclot Professor of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn). He graduated from medical school in Glasgow and worked at the Royal Infirmary in Glasgow before relocating to the United States. He has been on the faculty at the University of Pennsylvania since 1976. He directed an NIH-funded Specialized Center of Research on sleep apnea from 1988 to 2008. He directs a Center grant—“Individual Differences in Obstructive Sleep Apnea”. Dr. Pack was the Founding Director of the Center for Sleep and Circadian Neurobiology and the Division of Sleep Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. These are the first multidisciplinary independent sleep research and clinical sleep medicine programs to be established at any medical school in the United States.
Dr Pack’s current main area of focus is on functional genomic approaches to sleep and its disorders. He uses mouse models in his work and translates findings to humans. A major component of his research relates to the pathogenesis and consequences of the common disorder, obstructive sleep apnea, and to the effects of sleep loss. He is engaged in genetic studies and has established international consortia. Research training is also a major commitment of Dr. Pack. He currently directs three T32 grants from NIH to support research training. He has received a number of awards for his activities including the Nathaniel Kleitman Lifetime Achievement Award and the William C. Dement Academic Achievement