Members of the Department of Psychiatry at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Penn State College of Medicine, will name the department's sleep laboratory in honor of Anthony Kales, professor emeritus. Colleagues will recognize Kales at the Penn State Sleep Disorders Medicine Symposium and reception held on Friday, Oct. 21 at the Medical Center.
"Dr. Kales is a founder in the field of sleep disorders medicine and his incomparable dedication to research continues to shape our College of Medicine and the study of sleep disorders worldwide," said Thomas W. Uhde, chair of the Department of Psychiatry. "For his groundbreaking work and his ongoing notable contributions, we thank Dr. Kales and are pleased to acknowledge him in this small way."
Kales is known regionally, nationally and internationally for his support of education, research and development of professionals in the field. He has published extensively in the field of sleep medicine. Notably, he was a co-author with Alan Rechtschaffen of the sleep stage scoring manual in 1968, which remains the criteria used by all sleep laboratories today.
Kales established the Sleep Research and Treatment Center at UCLA in 1963 and moved it to Penn State College of Medicine in 1971. Kales served as a professor at the College of Medicine and chair of the Medical Center's Department of Psychiatry from 1971 to 1997. He also initiated the psychiatry residency program at the College of Medicine in 1971.
Additionally, Kales served in numerous support roles for faculty and students, including membership on the Medical Policy Board, Executive Committee, and the Medical Student Promotion Committees. Kales founded the Central Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute in 1986 and served as its director until 2001.
Kales has been chair and co-chair of the World Psychiatric Association's Section on Psychiatry and Sleep-Wakefulness Disorders since 1988. In 2003, an international symposium, "Advances in Insomnia," was held in Kales' honor in Madrid, Spain. At the annual sleep meeting, also in 2003, he was honored as one of the founders in the field of modern sleep research.
The two-day symposium, which begins at noon Friday, Oct. 21, and ends at 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 22, includes presentations by national and international researchers in the treatment of insomnia. For cost information and registration, call (717) 531-4107 or visit http://www.pennstateehsord.com online.