Disclosures
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. Conflict of interests can create an appearance of impropriety that can undermine confidence in an institution, product, 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 website and relevant outside entities1. We believe that this disclosure fosters an environment of openness and transparency related to the content of this website, in which relevant commercial or non-commercial 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.
The following is the disclosure information for the Web site editors:
Sleep and Health Education Program Editor:
Stuart F. Quan, MD, Harvard Division of Sleep Medicine, is employed by Sleep Health Centers, 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.
Get Sleep Module Editor:
Christopher P. Landrigan, MD, MPH, Harvard Division of Sleep Medicine, no conflicts to disclose.
The following is the disclosure information for all Web site contributors:
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; Sanofi-Aventis, Inc.; Sleep Multimedia, Inc.; Respironics, Inc; Sanofi-Aventis, Inc.; Sepracor, Inc.; Somnus Therapeutics, Inc.; Vanda Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Zeo, Inc. Dr. Czeisler owns an equity interest in Zeo Inc.; Lifetrac, Inc.; Somnus Therapeutics, Inc.; and Vanda Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Dr. Czeisler has received research support from Cephalon, Inc., Tempur-Pedic, Inc., Resmed, Inc. Dr. Czeisler is the incumbent of an endowed professorship provided to Harvard University by Cephalon, Inc., holds a number of process patents in the field of sleep/circadian rhythms (e.g., photic resetting of the human circadian pacemaker) and is 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.
Lawrence Epstein, MD, Harvard Division of Sleep Medicine, is employed by Sleep Health Centers, LLC.
Christopher P. Landrigan, MD, MPH, Harvard Division of Sleep Medicine, no conflicts to disclose.
Ann E. Rogers, PhD, RN, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, no conflicts to disclose.
Robert Stickgold, PhD, Harvard Division of Sleep Medicine, no conflicts to disclose.
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, M.B., B.S, 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, see above disclosure.
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.
Robert Stickgold, PhD, Harvard Division of Sleep Medicine, see above disclosure
Arthur R. Smith, Executive Producer, WGBH Interactive, WGBH Educational Foundation, no conflicts of interest to disclose.
The following is the disclosure information for the External Review Board:
Conrad Iber, MD, University of Minnesota, no conflicts of interest to disclose
Clete Kushida, MD, PhD, Stanford University, no conflicts of interest to disclose
Mark R. Opp, PhD, University of Michigan, serves as a consultant for Sepracor, Inc.
Michael H. Silber, M.B.Ch.B., Mayo Clinic, no conflicts of interest to disclose
1Any for-profit business, nonprofit, 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.
2Conflict of Interest Information for the 12 months immediately preceding January 1, 2009 is provided.
(Elements of the definition of "conflict of interest" are adapted from Wikipedia.)