[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 123 (Friday, July 25, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1569]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               TRIBUTE TO WILLIAM C. DEMENT, M.D., PH.D.

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. ANNA G. ESHOO

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 24, 2008

  Ms. ESHOO. Madam Speaker, I rise to honor Dr. William Charles Dement, 
Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Stanford 
University School of Medicine, and the Division Chief of the Stanford 
University Division of Sleep, on the momentous occasion of his 80th 
birthday and his 45 years of service to Stanford.
  Born in 1928 in the State of Washington, Dr. Dement attended the 
University of Chicago, where he earned his M.D. in 1955 and his Ph.D. 
in Neurophysiology in 1957.
  A pioneer in the scientific study of sleep and sleep disorders, Dr. 
Dement began his career in sleep research as a medical student in the 
1950's when he joined the lab of Dr. Nathaniel Kleitman. There, from 
1954 through 1957, he helped discover and describe Rapid Eye Movement 
(REM) sleep and established the sleep patterns of humans as well as the 
relationship between REM sleep and dreaming. In doing so, he launched a 
new field of scientific discovery.
  Dr. Dement joined the Psychiatry Department at Stanford University in 
1963, where for the past forty-five years he has continued his studies 
on the neurochemistry of sleep and the functional significance of the 
different sleep states, and has become one of the world's foremost 
experts on sleep disorders. Among his many major accomplishments, he 
established the world's first Sleep Disorders Clinic in 1970, started 
the publication Sleep Reviews, has written hundreds of scientific 
papers on sleep and dreaming, and developed the Multiple Sleep Latency 
Test which remains the standard diagnostic measure of daytime 
sleepiness. He has established an extraordinary human research program 
at Stanford which has led to the discovery and understanding of 
countless sleep-related disorders as well their clinical implications 
and the development of effective treatment strategies.
  Dr. Dement co-founded the Sleep Research Society in 1961 and the 
American Sleep Disorders Association (ASDA) in 1975, where he served as 
President for 12 years. During his Presidency, the ASDA grew from five 
sleep disorder centers with twenty individual members to 140 accredited 
centers with over 2,000 members. In recent years, Dr. Dement has 
shifted his focus from research to public education about sleep 
disorders and the health dangers of persistent sleep deprivation. At 
the age of 80, Dr. Dement still works at least 40 hours a week and 
continues to direct the Sleep Disorders Clinic and Research Center. He 
is legendary for his research on dreams and is one of the most popular 
lecturers ever on the Stanford campus.
  Madam Speaker, I ask the entire House of Representatives to join me 
in honoring this distinguished American on the occasion of his 80th 
birthday and his 45th anniversary at Stanford University. As Dr. Dement 
celebrates this important milestone, the gratitude and respect of the 
entire House of Representatives are extended to him for his decades of 
contributions to academic research which have illuminated the 
significance of sleep and for his work which has formed the basis for 
the diagnosis and treatment of millions of people affected by sleep-
related disorders. How privileged I am to know him, to represent him 
and to have him as my friend. America is immeasurably better because of 
him.

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