Gregory Belenky, MD, FAPA
Director & Research Professor
Gregory Belenky is a research professor at Washington State
University Spokane, where he launched the Sleep and Performance
Research Center.
Before coming to WSU Spokane, Dr. Belenky held the rank of Colonel
in the U.S. Army Medical Corps, and served as Director of the
Division of Neuroscience at the Walter Reed Army Institute of
Research (WRAIR).
Dr. Belenky's research ranges from basic to applied and
includes sleep, sleep deprivation and continuous operations; combat
stress reactions and post-traumatic stress disorder; and the
neurobiology of human behavior and adaptation. His work has been
funded by the Department of Defense, the Department of
Transportation, the Department of Labor, and several other
sources.
During Dr. Belenky's stewardship at WRAIR, the program grew in
national and international stature, producing groundbreaking
research and publications in the areas of brain imaging in sleep
and sleep deprivation, the performance effects of stimulants and
sleep inducing drugs, and the effects of chronic sleep restriction
on performance.
Dr. Belenky received his MD degree from Stanford University,
studying with the "father of sleep research", Dr. William
Dement. He holds a BA degree in psychology from Yale University. He
is a Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and a member of
the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, the Sleep Research Society,
and the European Sleep Research Society; and he served on the Board
of Directors of the National Sleep Foundation.
Dr. Belenky pioneered the development of non-invasive ambulatory
sleep/wake monitoring techniques and Palm OS-based performance
tests such as the Palm Pilot psychomotor vigilance task, for the
first time making possible studies of sleep and performance in
normal and clinical populations going about their daily lives. He
holds several patents on the Sleep Watch actigraph. It is the core
of the U.S. Army's developing Sleep Management System, a tool
to enable commanders to effectively manage sleep to sustain
performance in the operational environment.
During the Gulf War (1990–1991), Dr. Belenky served as
regimental psychiatrist for the U.S. Army's Second Armored
Cavalry Regiment.
In addition to authoring over 100 journal articles, book chapters,
and technical reports, Dr. Belenky has edited two books on combat
psychiatry: Contemporary Studies in Combat Psychiatry
(Greenwood Press, 1987) and The Gulf War and Mental Health: A
Comprehensive Guide (Praeger Press, 1996).