Mourning the Loss of a True Leader in the Sleep Medicine Profession
By Vikas Jain, MD, CCSH
The world of sleep medicine lost an extraordinary leader when Christian Guilleminault passed away earlier this month. Much has been written about CG and his countless contributions to the field through his groundbreaking work as a clinician, scientist, teacher and writer.
One of my greatest blessings was having the privilege of training under CG from 2011-2012 at Stanford University’s Sleep Disorders Clinic. What I admired most about him was his unwavering passion for sleep medicine. Simply put, he lived and breathed Sleep. He was always the first person at the sleep center, and the last to leave. He was always eager to see as many patients as possible even if it meant staying late into the evening. His stamina and insatiable desire to truly help patients was contagious.
His standard for the field was always high and he never compromised. To this day, I cherish every moment I got to spend with him. It’s amazing how much of a visionary he was as many of the treatments he was talking about more than a decade ago are becoming mainstream today.
CG is absolutely the reason I’m in the field of sleep medicine. I’ve been an adjunct faculty member at Stanford University’s Sleep Disorders Clinic since 2013 which gave me the opportunity to work with and see him several times a year. I hope to honor his legacy by continuing to carry the values and principles that he has instilled within me. He was a remarkable gift and will be sorely missed.
Vikas Jain, MD, CCSH is a board certified sleep medicine physician practicing with Northwestern Medicine. He also serves as an Adjunct Clinical Instructor for Stanford University’s Sleep Medicine Fellowship Program as well as a Health System Clinician at Northwestern University. In addition to his passion for sleep medicine, Dr. Jain has a clinical interest in clinical informatics and obesity medicine. Dr. Jain is a member of the BRPT Board of Directors.