Sharon A. Keenan, PhD, R EEG T, R PSG T, D ABSM
Before completing graduate work, Keenan became registered as an EEG technologist (REEGT, 1978) and as a sleep technologist (RPSGT) in 1979. From 1979–1989 Keenan served as Chief Technologist and then Research Assistant at the Stanford University Sleep Disorders Clinic and Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California. Dr. Keenan completed a doctorate in clinical psychology at the Pacific Graduate School of Psychology in Palo Alto, California in 1997. Her pre-doctoral internship training was at the Department of Psychiatry, Stanford University School of Medicine, Drug and Alcohol Treatment Center, 1996–1997.
Dr. Keenan was certified by American Board of Sleep Medicine (1999) and carries the credential of Diplomate of the ABSM (D, ABSM). Dr. Keenan served as the director of the Stanford University Sleep Disorders Center, Training and Education program under the direction of William C. Dement from October 1984 to November 1989. In 1989, the University closed the training and education program, and the school became an independent entity.
Dr. Keenan is the founder, director, and one of the principal lecturers at The School of Sleep Medicine, Inc., in Palo Alto, CA. She also served as principal lecturer at the University of Sydney Department of Medicine in Sydney, Australia, from 1986–2010. She has been an invited speaker throughout North America, Europe, Asia and South America. She has contributed chapters to numerous books and has presented papers and abstracts on polysomnography ( sleep technology ) and sleep medicine both nationally and internationally. She served as president of the Association of Polysomnographic Technologists from 1983 to 1991 and is the recipient of the Weitzman Award for Outstanding Contributions and Dedication to the Association of Polysomnographic Technologists and the William C. Dement award for outstanding leadership at Stanford University Sleep Disorders Research Center. In 2013 she was awarded special recognition for her educational contributions for the sleep community in Australasia. In 2002, The American Association of Sleep Technologists established a service award in her name for recognition of educational efforts in the field of sleep medicine and polysomnography. In 2018, she was awarded the Sleep Research Society's Mary A. Carskadon Outstanding Educator Award.
She has served on the Sleep Research Society board of directors and as co-chair of the education committee of the World Association of Sleep Medicine. She served on American Academy of Sleep Medicine, Task Force: Visual Scoring. She is a member of the editorial board of the journal Sleep Medicine and serves as a reviewer for the journal Sleep and the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine. Keenan has served on the planning committee and as faculty for the World Association of Sleep Medicine and The International Pediatric Sleep Association (IPSA). She is currently on the board of the International Pediatric Sleep Association.