Professor Emerita

Areas of Interest
Sleep Medicine

Dr. Susan Harding completed her undergraduate education in Biology at Florida State University and received her medical degree from the University of Florida College of Medicine in 1983 where she graduated Phi Beta Kappa and Magna Cum Laude. She completed her residency and fellowship training in pulmonary and critical care medicine, and additional training in sleep medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).  An avid diver, she also completed additional postdoctoral training at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA and esophageal training under the mentorship of Dr. Joel Richter at UAB. Her academic career at UAB began in 1985 when she was appointed to the faculty in the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine. She has since risen to the rank of Professor of Medicine.   Since 1997, Dr. Harding has served as Medical Director of the UAB Sleep-Wake Disorders Center, a 10-bed accredited sleep center now located in UAB Highlands Hospital. She is also the Adult Program Director of the ACGME-accredited sleep medicine fellowship program, and has trained 19 fellows in sleep medicine. She is a past recipient of the NIH Physician-Scientist Award and an NHLBI Sleep Academic Award, and currently serves on the NHLBI Data Safety Monitoring Board of the Apnea Positive Pressure Long-term Efficacy Study (APPLES) and other NIH grant review committees. Dr. Harding also served on the UAB Medical School Admissions Committee for seven years. 

From 2006 through 2008, Dr. Harding distinguished herself as the inaugural editor-in-chief of the CHEST Physician-the 24-page monthly newspaper of the American College of Chest Physicians.  She has served on numerous editorial boards--Chest, the American Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, Clinical Medicine and Research, the ACCP SEEK series, and Minerva Gastroenterologica e Dietologica, and as an ad hoc reviewer for 23 other journals.  She is a Fellow of the American College of Chest Physicians, the American College of Physicians, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, and the American Gastroenterological Association.  Dr. Harding has held leadership positions within national and international societies, including the American Thoracic Society (International Conference Program Committee; Council of Chapter Representatives), the American College of Chest Physicians (Board of Regents member; past chair, Health and Science Policy Committee;  Scientific Program Committee, nominating committee, continuing education committee, scientific presentations and awards committee, executive director search committee), CHEST Foundation trustee, and the American Board of Sleep Medicine.  She currently serves on the American Board of Internal Medicine's sleep medicine test writing committee. Dr. Harding was also responsible for developing the sleep medicine curriculum for the University of Alabama School of Medicine.

Education & Training

Medical School
University of Florida, Gainesville, FL

Internship
University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL

Residency
University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL

Fellowship
University of Alabama at Birmingham, Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine, Birmingham, AL

Contact Information

Email
sharding@uab.edu

Location
LHRB 319

Office Phone
(205) 934-3742

Fax
(205) 934-3743

Beeper #
8002

Assistant
Diane Blizard                            
dblizard@uab.edu           
(205) 934-3742