Sleep Medicine Fellowship Program

Research Training

The University of Pittsburgh has been at the forefront of sleep research and sleep medicine for 50 years. Pittsburgh leaders such as David Kupfer, Charles (Chip) Reynolds, and Mark Sanders helped organize the early national efforts that evolved into today’s American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) and Sleep Research Society (SRS). Pitt faculty have held prominent roles across AASM, SRS, and American Thoracic Society (ATS) —including two AASM presidents (Daniel Buysse, 2000–2001; Patrick Strollo, 2010–2011), two SRS presidents (Eric Nofzinger; Daniel Buysse) and recent leadership such as the APSS Program Committee Chair (Anne Germain). Our investigators have also driven field-defining innovations.

Key Points

• Scale & Funding:More than 75 active NIH-funded studies spanning basic, translational, epidemiologic, and patient-oriented outcomes research.

• T32 Research Fellowship (up to 3 years): Post-fellowship research training in sleep and circadian medicine available through multi-disciplinary University of Pittsburgh Sleep T32 program.

• Mentored Scholarly Development: Fellows learn to design studies, collect and analyze high-quality data, and write for publication; faculty actively mentor grant preparation and new research questions.

• Formal Coursework & Degrees: Supported access to the School of Public Health and the Institute for Clinical Research Education (ICRE) for certificate or degree programs to build robust research skills as physician-scientists.

• Collaborative Ecosystem: Close collaboration with Psychiatry’s Center for Sleep & Circadian Science, the Center for Sleep and Cardiovascular Outcomes Research, the Neuroscience Clinical & Translational Research Center, the Pittsburgh Mind–Body Center, and other University of Pittsburgh research programs.

• Expectations & Outputs: All trainees are expected to submit an abstract to the annual SLEEP meeting and encouraged to submit this work for peer-reviewed publication. An annual Quality Improvement project is required by ACGME, and faculty support dissemination (posters, manuscripts, talks).

• Education Pathway Option: Trainees interested in academic teaching may pursue the Master of Science in Medical Education at Pitt to enhance curriculum design, assessment, feedback skills, and education scholarship.