Safwan Badr, M.D., M.B.A., takes the helm of the 12,000-member American Academy of Sleep Medicine as president beginning in June.

Dr. Badr is chief of the Wayne State University School of Medicine's Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, professor of Medicine and the WSU Sleep Fellowship's program director.

The AASM, established in 1975 as the Association of Sleep Disorders Centers, sets standards and promotes excellence in health care, education and research.

A native of Syria, Dr. Badr earned his medical degree from Damascus University Medical School. He received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Syrian American Medical Society at the SAMS 12th annual international meeting in 2012 for his accomplished research, medical practice and education.

He also serves as a clinical researcher and staff physician at the John D. Dingell Veteran Affairs Medical Center and chief of Service, Pulmonary and Critical Care at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute.

Dr. Badr has said he plans to focus his term on the future of Sleep Medicine, a subspecialty recognized by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Poor sleep contributes to obesity, heart disease, airway disease and depression, he said, and is a leading cause of car accidents and subsequent deaths.

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine is the only professional society dedicated exclusively to the medical subspecialty of sleep medicine. As the leading voice in the sleep field, the AASM sets standards and promotes excellence in health care, education and research.