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Board Certified Forensic Examiner - Sleep and Fatigue Research Expert Witness

Merrill M. Mitler, Ph.D. Forensic Examination

Merrill M. Mitler, Ph.D. Forensic Examination

351 Middleton Place
Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27516
(240) 447-9123

Website https://www.mitlerforensics.com

► Contact Merrill M. Mitler, Ph.D. Forensic Examination

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Dr. Mitler is a Board Certified Forensic Examiner and expert in sleep and fatigue research. He offers expert witness services; investigation of human error accidents; consultation on transportation and industrial accidents involving a driver or worker fatigue; and consultation on effects of sleep disorders and sleep deprivation.

Dr. Mitler holds a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Wisconsin, and an M.A. in Child Psychology from Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan. He earned a Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from Michigan State University in East Lansing, MI. He went on to complete three years of postdoctoral training at Stanford University Medical School in Palo Alto, California, where he earned a certificate in Developmental Psychobiology of Sleep.

Dr. Mitler has published over 200 articles in scientific journals or books. He has been a frequent consultant to The U.S. Department of Transportation on matters related to fatigue and hours of service for commercial truck drivers. He was the sleep researcher responsible for data acquisition and processing in The DOT's 1996 study on driver fatigue and alertness. To date, this is the world's largest objective study of fatigue and the neurocognitive effects of fatigue in commercial truck drivers. From 2002 to 2013, he was a Program Director at The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, within The National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland.

Services

Dr. Mitler provides the following services:

• Expert witness
• Consultation on the driver or worker fatigue
• Consultation on sleep disorders in relation to safety

His practice areas include:

- Transportation Mishaps
For each driver involved in an incident, we perform a thorough analysis of sleep-wake schedules. We look for evidence of impairment from medications and/or recreational drugs. We also consider the possibility of sleep disorders. Our methods are based on those of such investigative bodies as The National Transportation Safety Board.

- Industrial Worker Errors
We perform a thorough analysis of sleep-wake schedules for all workers involved in an incident. The possibilities of impairment due to fatigue, sleep disorders and ingested agents are considered. Our methods were developed by such investigative bodies as The National Transportation Safety Board to assess the degree to which operator fatigue and other types of impairment contributed to a mishap.

- Sleep Disorders
We will examine the medical records of each person whose sleep disorder or disorders may have played a role in the event in question. We will consider all relevant diagnostic studies including sleep lab studies. Of particular importance will be whether or not the sleep disorders are treated and the degree of symptom control that can be expected. These considerations are especially important in patients who are being treated for sleep apnea and patients who are taking prescription medication to help them stay awake.

The potential impact of any sleep disorders that may be present will be examined in relation to other factors that may impair performance including, but not limited to, work-related sleep restriction.


Litigation Support Services

Dr. Mitler's reports and testimonies concerning fatigue and sleep disorders have been presented in following types of cases:
• Civil litigation
• Criminal trials
• Administrative law
• National Transportation Safety Board investigations

Areas of Expertise

Additional Expertise:

Driver Fatigue

Profile

Dr. Mitler is a forensic examiner and expert in the physiology of sleep and fatigue. He has more than 30 years of experience consulting on and testifying in cases in which driver or worker fatigue was alleged to be a causal factor, including such prominent cases as those arising from the Exxon Valdez grounding and the death of Libby Zion.

In addition to the degrees he has earned, Dr. Mitler trained in Sleep Medicine (Clinical Polysomnography) at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, and in Traffic Accident Investigation (Skid Mark Analysis) at Miramar College's San Diego Law Enforcement Training Center in San Diego. He was a psychologist in New York and California (New York State Psychology License 007055; California License PSY 7767).

Dr. Mitler's academic and teaching experiences include the following: He served on the teaching and research faculties of Stanford University from 1973 to 1978 and The State University of New York Stony Brook from 1978 to 1983. From 1983 to 2003, he was a Professor in The Department of Neuropharmacology at The Scripps Research Institute and a Psychologist at The Scripps Clinic in San Diego, CA. He also was a Clinical Professor in The Department of Psychiatry at The University of California, San Diego. Dr. Mitler holds the following Board Certifications: American Board of Sleep Medicine, American Board of Forensic Examiners, American Board of Forensic Medicine.

In his academic positions, Dr. Mitler had continuous funding in the form of fellowships and research grants awarded through competitive, peer-review mechanisms by the National Institutes of Health from 1968 to 2002. These awards financed his studies of various aspects of sleep physiology, sleep disorders and the effects of sleep loss.

Areas Served

All States

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Professional Experience

1983 – present Private Practice, Forensic Examination Services.

2016 – present Consultant, Commonwealth Health Research Board,
Commonwealth (State) of Virginia

2015 – present Member, Speakers Bureau, Merck Pharmaceuticals

2002 – 2013 Program Director, Homeostatic Mechanisms (Sleep and Circadian Rhythms)
The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke National Institutes of Health

2012 – 2013 Scientific Team Leader, Systems and Cognitive Neuroscience Cluster
The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke National Institutes of Health

2010 – 2012 Chairman, Program Leadership Committee National Institutes of Health

2004 – 2007 Administrative Team Leader, Systems and Cognitive Neuroscience Cluster
The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke National Institutes of Health

1983 – 2004 Clinical Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science
The University of California, San Diego

1983 – 2003 Professor, Department of Neuropharmacology
The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA

1983 – 2002 President, Wakefulness-Sleep Education and Research Foundation, Inc.

1983 – 2001 Member, Scripps Clinic Medical Group

1982 – 1983 Research Professor of Psychiatry (Psychology), Department of Psychiatry School of Medicine, State University of New York at Stony Brook

1981 – 1983 Research Scientist 8, Long Island Research Institute, Office of Mental Health, State of New York.

1978 – 1982 Research Associate Professor of Psychiatry (Psychology) Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, School of Medicine, State University of New York at Stony Brook

1978 – 1981 Research Scientist 7, Long Island Research Institute, Office of Mental Health, State of New York

1977 – 1978 Administrative Director, Sleep Disorders Program, Stanford University School of Medicine

1973 – 1977 Research Associate and Associate Director of the Stanford University Sleep Research Center, Stanford University School of Medicine

1972 – 1978 Lecturer, Department of Psychology, Stanford University


Licenses

California, Psychology (inactive)
New York, Psychology (inactive)


Affiliations

American College of Forensic Examiners Institute
American Academy of Sleep Medicine
Sleep Research Society


Qualifications

1996 American Board of Forensic Medicine (Identification Number 828)

1994 American Board of Forensic Examiners (Identification Number 107)

1991 American Board of Sleep Medicine (Certificate Number 013)

1982 New York State Psychology (License Number 007055)


Awards & Honors

2019 Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award

2000 Listed in National Register's Who's Who In Executives and Professionals

1994 Listed in Dictionary of International Biography, Twenty-Third Edition

1991 Listed in Who's Who of Emerging Leaders in America

1984 Nathaniel Kleitman Prize for Distinguished Service

1979 Listed in Who's Who in the East

1975 Listed in Who's Who in the West

1970 Awarded 3-year N.I.H. Postdoctoral Fellowship

1969 Awarded 2-year N.I.H. Predoctoral Fellowship

1967 Graduated with Honors from the University of Wisconsin

1963 Academic scholarship to the University of Wisconsin


Publications

Over 200 journal articles and book chapters. Dr. Mitler's curriculum vitae is available upon request.


Education

Ph.D. 1970, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan
[Developmental and Physiological Psychology]

M.A. 1968, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan
[Child and Developmental Psychology]

B.A. 1967, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin
[Political Science and Psychology]

Additional Training:

2002 – 2013
Coursework in Federal Grants and Contracts Administration
National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland

1989 – 1989
Miramar College - San Diego Law Enforcement Training Center (Traffic Accident Investigation and Skid Mark Analysis), San Diego, California

1976 – 1977
Training in Sleep Medicine (Clinical Polysomnography), Department of Psychiatry, Stanford University, Stanford, California

1970 – 1973
Postdoctoral Training - Developmental Psychobiology of Sleep, Department of Psychiatry, Stanford University, Stanford, California




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