The content created by the Sleep and Health Education Program is based on our belief that, as Harvard sleep experts and publishers, we have an unwavering obligation to build and maintain the public's trust in the validity of the information we present. This obligation extends to our choice of funders, partners, and the individuals who write, edit, design, program, and review the program's content, or whose involvement with the program creates an opportunity, however indirect, to influence the information we publish.
A conflict of interest is a situation in which someone in a position of trust has competing professional or personal interests. Such competing interests can make it difficult to fulfill his or her duties impartially. A conflict of interest may exist even if no unethical or improper act results from it. Conflicts of interest can create an appearance of impropriety that can undermine confidence in an institution, product, or public or personal interaction. On this page, the Division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School is disclosing relationships between contributors and reviewers of editorial content to this Web site and relevant outside entities1. We believe that this disclosure fosters an environment of openness and transparency related to the content of this Web site, in which relevant commercial or noncommercial interests are disclosed. It is our intention that site visitors will be able to form their own judgments about potential conflicts based on disclosure information2 and determine whether any of the listed relationships have unduly influenced the content presented.
Funding for this site is provided by the Harvard Medical School Division of Sleep Medicine through the use of unrestricted educational grants from the following corporations:
- Cephalon, Inc.
- Sanofi-aventis, Inc.
- Sepracor, Inc.
- Takeda Pharmaceuticals North America, Inc.
Additional support provided by:
- Apria Healthcare
- Philips Respironics
- ResMed Foundation
The following is the disclosure information for the Web site editors:
Sleep and Health Education Program Editor and Apnea Module Editor:
Stuart F. Quan, MD, Harvard Division of Sleep Medicine, is employed by Sleep HealthCenters, LLC, the National Institutes of Health, and the University of Arizona; receives research support from the National Institutes of Health; and currently is the editor in chief of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, the official journal of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, for whom he also speaks. He also serves as a member of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education Residency Review Committee for Internal Medicine and is the Chairman of the Sleep Medicine Test Writing Committee for the American Board of Internal Medicine.
Healthy Sleep Module Editor: Steven Shea, PhD, Harvard Division of Sleep Medicine, was employed by Sleep Health Centers (affiliated with Brigham & Women's Hospital), LLC, receives research support from the National Institutes of Health and serves on committees for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society.
The following is the disclosure information for all Web site contributors:
Stephen A. Amira, PhD, Harvard Division of Sleep Medicine, no conflicts of interest to disclose
Orfeu M. Buxton, PhD., Harvard Division of Sleep Medicine, receives research support from Cephalon Inc. and Sepracor Inc., has been a speaker sponsored by Takeda Inc. and Health Excellence, and is an expert witness for Dinsmore, LLC.
Anne-Marie Chang, PhD, Harvard Division of Sleep Medicine, receives research support from Cephalon Inc. and Sepracor Inc., has been a speaker sponsored by Takeda Inc. and Health Excellence, and is an expert witness for Dinsmore, LLC.
Charles Czeisler, PhD, MD, Harvard Division of Sleep Medicine, receives consulting or lecture fees from: Actelion, Ltd.; Cephalon, Inc.; Delta Airlines; Eli Lilly and Co.; Garda Siochana Inspectorate; Johnson & Johnson; Koninklijke Philips Electronics, N.V.; Portland Trail Blazers; Respironics, Inc.; Sanofi-aventis, Inc.; Sepracor, Inc.; Sleep Multimedia, Inc.; Somnus Therapeutics, Inc.; Vanda Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; and Zeo, Inc. Dr. Czeisler owns an equity interest in Life Trac, Inc.; Somnus Therapeutics, Inc.; Vanda Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; and Zeo, Inc. Dr. Czeisler has received research support from Cephalon, Inc.; ResMed, Inc.; and Tempur-Pedic, Inc. He is the incumbent of an endowed professorship provided to Harvard University by Cephalon, Inc. He holds a number of process patents in the field of sleep/circadian rhythms (e.g., photic resetting of the human circadian pacemaker). He is also serving as an expert witness for Atlee, Hall & Brookhart, LLP; Avera & Smith, LLP; Delta Airlines, Inc.; Global Ground Support, Inc.; Lanny Vines & Associates, LLC; and Marshall, Dennehey, Warner, Coleman & Goggin, PC.
Dennis A. Dean, MA, Harvard Division of Sleep Medicine, no conflicts of interest to disclose
Jeanne Duffy, PhD, Harvard Division of Sleep Medicine, receives material products from Philips Lighting.
Lawrence Epstein, MD, Harvard Division of Sleep Medicine, is employed by Sleep HealthCenters, LLC.
Richard Ferber, MD, Harvard Division of Sleep Medicine, no conflicts of interest to disclose
Michael Laker, Harvard Division of Sleep Medicine, is writing his Master's Dissertation under the mentorship of David White, MD, Professor of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Chief Medical Officer of Respironics, Inc.
Janet Mullington, PhD, Harvard Division of Sleep Medicine, receives research support from Sepracor Inc. and is a scientific advisor to Jazz Pharmaceuticals.
Thomas Scammell, MD, Harvard Division of Sleep Medicine, has received research support from Takeda Pharmaceuticals and the Sleep Research Society, and serves as a committee member for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, Sleep Research Society and the Klein-Levin Syndrome Foundation.
The following is the disclosure information for the Sleep and Health Education Program's Editorial Board:
Janis L. Anderson, PhD, Harvard Division of Sleep Medicine, receives research support from Apollo Health, Inc., and serves as a consultant for VPG Integrated Media.
Ronald E. Becker, MD, Harvard Division of Sleep Medicine, no conflicts to disclose.
Sanjiv Chopra, MB, BS, Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, is an editor for UpToDate.
Anthony L. Komaroff, MD, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women?s Hospital, no conflicts to disclose
Christopher P. Landrigan, MD, MPH, Harvard Division of Sleep Medicine, no conflicts to disclose
Steven W. Lockley, PhD, Harvard Division of Sleep Medicine, has received research support and material goods from ResMed Corporation and Foundation.
Atul Malhotra, MD, Harvard Division of Sleep Medicine, is a consultant for Respironics, Inc., NMT Medical, Inspiration Medical, Restore Medical and Pfizer, receives research support from Respironics, Inc., and Restore Medical, and is a speaker for Sepracor.
Stuart F. Quan, MD, Harvard Division of Sleep Medicine, see above disclosure.
Thomas E. Scammell, MD, Harvard Division of Sleep Medicine, is a consultant for Merck, Cephalon, and Transcept Pharmaceuticals.
Arthur R. Smith, Executive Producer, WGBH Interactive, WGBH Educational Foundation, no conflicts to disclose.
Robert Stickgold, PhD, Harvard Division of Sleep Medicine, no conflicts to disclose.
The following is the disclosure information for the External Review Board:
Clete Kushida, MD, PhD, Stanford University, no conflicts to disclose.
Mark R. Opp, PhD, University of Washington, serves as a consultant for Sepracor, Inc.
Michael H. Silber, MBChB, Mayo Clinic, no conflicts to disclose.
1 Any for-profit business, nonprofit organization, or government agency whose products or services could benefit from sleep program content, with the exception of WGBH, Harvard University and its schools, and Harvard-affiliated hospitals and research institutes.
2 Conflict-of-interest information for the 12 months immediately preceding January 1, 2011, is provided.
(Elements of the definition of "conflict of interest" are adapted from Wikipedia.)