2016 Distinguished Achievement Award
Professor Leon Lack, Flinders University

Dr Leon Lack has played a pivotal role in the field of sleep, both nationally and internationally. He was a founding member of the ASA, the 3rd President of the association from 1992 to 1994, and has been actively involved in the association since its inception.  Dr Lack has made a substantial contribution to sleep research in the fields of insomnia and circadian rhythms, obtaining over $20 million in major grant funding. He has authored 84 refereed journal articles, 14 book chapters and 4 books and made 18 keynote speeches and 300 presentations at national and international conferences and scientific meetings. Dr Lack has trained 14 doctoral students, 82 honours students, and has taught “Psychophysiology of Sleep” to undergraduate students at Flinders University for more than 20 years. Dr Lack is active in clinical sleep medicine. He has been the Director of the Insomnia Clinic at the Adelaide Institute for Sleep Health, Repatriation General Hospital. In this clinic he has treated hundreds of people with insomnia and circadian rhythms disorders and trained 15 clinical. Together with Dr Helen Wright, Dr Lack invented the Re Timer portable light device.  He is active in the community, giving frequent public lectures, media interviews, and providing sleep education to GPs.