Children’s Hospital Los Angeles Pulmonologist Receives National Award

Iris Perez, MD, a pediatric pulmonologist and sleep medicine specialist at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, has received the Excellence in Education Award from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM).

Dr. Perez was one of five individuals in the country to be recognized with a 2024 AASM award for contributions to the field of sleep medicine. She was honored June 3 in Houston during the plenary session of SLEEP 2024, the annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies.

Dr. Perez is renowned for her research and teaching on respiratory control disorders, particularly congenital central hypoventilation syndrome (CCHS)—a rare genetic disorder that affects how the brain controls breathing. For the past decade, she has been the Director of the Congenital Central Hypoventilation and Diaphragm Pacing Program at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, one of the largest programs of its kind in the world.

In addition, CHLA’s multi-bed Sleep Center conducts 2,000 sleep studies in children each year. Dr. Perez is Board-certified in both pediatric pulmonology and sleep medicine and is Director of the Sleep Medicine Fellowship at CHLA.

Over her career, she has mentored nearly 50 students, fellows and junior faculty members.

“I’m truly honored and humbled to receive this award,” Dr. Perez says. “I am incredibly proud of our trainees, many of whom have gone on to lead programs across the country. For me it is extremely rewarding to teach and mentor the next generation of pediatric pulmonologists and sleep medicine specialists.”