Meet the 2024 Winner: Atul Malhotra, MD 

Atul Malhotra, MD, is a board-certified pulmonologist, intensivist and research chief of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine. He is active clinically in pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine. In the sleep clinic, Dr. Malhotra provides a full spectrum of diagnostic and therapeutic services to patients with sleep-related disorders, including sleep apnea, insomnia, restless leg syndrome, narcolepsy and sleep disorders associated with medical or psychiatric conditions. He has a special interest in the treatment of sleep apnea.

As a professor in the Department of Medicine, Dr. Malhotra is involved in training medical students, residents and fellows at UC San Diego School of Medicine.

Dr. Malhotra was the recent president of the American Thoracic Society (2015-2016). He has taught and presented his research on sleep-related disorders locally, regionally, nationally and internationally. He has published more than 310 original manuscripts in leading journals plus 220 reviews and chapters. He is a principal- and co-investigator on numerous National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants relating to sleep apnea and serves as an ad hoc reviewer for many leading journals including the New England Journal of Medicine, Mayo Clinic Proceedings, Sleep and the Journal of American Medical Association. To view a full list of his publications, visit PubMed.

He is an internationally recognized expert in sleep apnea and was named recipient of the 2024 Sleep and Respiratory Neurobiology Lifetime Achievement Award by the American Thoracic Society.

Before joining UC San Diego Health, Dr. Malhotra practiced pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Brigham and Women's Hospital. He also served as attending physician in intensive care at King Faisal Hospital in Rwanda. He was associate professor at Harvard Medical School and medical director of the Brigham and Women's Hospital Sleep Disorders Research Program.

Dr. Malhotra completed his fellowship training in pulmonary and critical care medicine at Harvard Medical School and a residency in internal medicine at the Mayo Clinic. He completed an internship at St. Thomas Medical Center in Akron, OH and received his medical degree from the University of Alberta in Canada. Dr. Malhotra is board certified in pulmonary disease, sleep medicine and critical care medicine.

Description:

The award will be given to honor the career of an individual who has made outstanding contributions to the field of sleep or respiratory neurobiology in terms of both scientific and scholarly advances as well as mentoring, teaching, and advocacy to advance public health. This award is given to a candidate at the late Associate Professor, Professor, or Professor Emeritus level (or equivalent) who is recognized for achievement in scholarship over the course of his/her entire career. Contributions to the SRN Assembly in the form of committee participation or leadership, and/or otherwise advancing the SRN mission will be viewed favorably. Awardees will make a short presentation about their career and receive a plaque at the SRN Assembly Membership Meeting during the ATS International Conference.

Nomination Submission Documents:

• Nominations must include a cover letter (2 pages maximum) from an SRN Assembly member (primary or secondary membership) describing why the award is appropriate.
• Nominee's curriculum vitae must be included.

Evaluation Criteria:

• Scientific and Scholarly Contributions/Products
• Teaching/Mentoring/Educational/Advocacy Contributions
• Participation in Assembly and other ATS Activities (Administrative, Committees, Workshops, etc.)
• Other considerations from recommendations including relevant extenuating circumstances
• Overall impact/impression of dossier submitted for award application
• Has not previously received an ATS Lifetime Achievement Award
• Nominees do not have to be current ATS members, but are expected to attend the SRN Assembly Reception at the ATS International Conference to receive the award

View Previous Award Recipients