Frisca L. Yan-Go, MD Lectureship in Sleep Medicine

The Frisca L. Yan-Go, MD Lectureship in Sleep Medicine was established in 2016 to honor Frisca’s 25 years of service at UCLA and for her leadership and stewardship in developing the UCLA Sleep Disorder Center from a one-doctor clinic to a comprehensive, multidisciplinary program that includes faculty from the Departments of Neurology, Medicine, Pediatrics, Psychiatry, Anesthesiology, Dentistry, Nursing, and Neurobiology.

The Go Family established the Frisca L. Yan-Go, MD Lectureship in Sleep Medicine with a gift of $250,000. The lectureship brings outstanding national and international sleep specialists as well as visiting faculty and consultants to the UCLA Sleep Medicine program. A seven-person multidisciplinary committee co-chaired by Drs. Ronald Harper and Ravi Aysola with Drs. Michelle Ziedler, Rajesh Kumar, Christopher Colwell, Mariam Ischander, and Joel Rector, will select and manage the lectureship.

The first Frisca L. Yan-Go, MD Lectureship in Sleep Medicine was awarded to Dr. Ronald Harper, PhD, Distinguished Professor, UCLA Department of Neurobiology on January 23, 2016. His lecture focused on the historical development of pioneering research and current contributions in sleep and sleep medicine at UCLA.

The second Frisca L. Yan-Go Lectureship was awarded on February 11, 2017 to Dr. Jerome Siegel, UCLA Professor of Psychiatry & Biobehavioral Science and Director of the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior. His lecture was on his pioneering research on sleep in hunter-gatherer populations.

The third Frisca L. Yan-Go, MD Lectureship was awarded on February 10, 2018 to Dr. Judith A. Owens, Professor of Neurology and Director of the Center for Pediatric Sleep Disorders, Harvard University Medical School. Her lecture is entitled "Charting the Turbulent Sea of Adolescent Sleep."

Dr. Eve Van Cauter was the 2019 Frisca L. Yan-Go, MD Lecture awardee. Dr. Van Cauter is the Frederick H. Rawson Professor at the University of Chicago, section of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism. The lectureship was awarded on February 9, 2019 during the UCLA Sleep Medicine Day conference. The theme for the 2019 conference was sleep and endocrine.

Dr. Michael R. Irwin is the 2020 Frisca L. Yan-Go Lectureship awardee. Dr. Irwin is the Cousins Distinguished Professor and Director, Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology at UCLA. His lecture was on “Sleep and inflammation in cancer survivorship: partners in sickness and health,” given at the UCLA Faculty Center on February 8, 2020 at the fifth annual UCLA Sleep Medicine Day symposium.

Dr. Chris Colwell, PhD was the recipient of the lectureship in 2023. He is a Professor in Residence in the UCLA Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences. His lecture was titled "Defining Circadian Disruption in Neurodegenerative Disease.

Dr. Jennifer L. Martin, PhD received the lectureship aware in 2024. She is the Associate Director, Clinical & Health Services Research at the VA Greater Los Angeles Health System. Her lecture was titled "Sleep Disorders in Women Veterans: A Story of Science and Practice," given on February 17, 2024.

Dr. Yan-Go’s colleagues and friends have also established a companion fund for the lectureship. The companion fund supports fellow and staff education through UCLA Sleep Medicine Day, an annual program highlighting ongoing research and education programs in the field of sleep medicine.  

If you are interested in supporting UCLA Sleep Medicine Day, please send your contribution to the attention of Larissa Harrison, to The UCLA Foundation, PO Box 7145, Pasadena, CA 91109-9903. Please make your check payable to The UCLA Foundation, and also include Fund #63471C & M-25815 in the check’s memo line. You may also make your donation online by clicking here.