Our physician is a board certified sleep specialists, dedicated to identifying and providing treatment recommendations for sleep disorders by working with patients and their referring physicians in treating sleep disorders.

Meet our sleep specialist:

Alexander A. Clerk, M.D.

Dr. Clerk was educated at University of Ghana, Lo ma Linda University School of Medicine and Stanford University School of Medicine.

He was director of Stanford Sleep Disorders Clinic from 1990 to 1998. He is currently Director, Sleep Medicine Services at O'Connor Health Center, San Jose CA.

Dr. Clerk has offered outstanding service to the field of Sleep Medicine as a member of the Fellowship Training Committee of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and through Research activities at Stanford Sleep Research Center. He has written numerous peer review articles, abstracts and book chapters. He continues to be active in patient care and research.

In order from Left to Right: Bruce Adornato, a Palo Alto neurologist and medical director of the Stanford Sleep Clinic in San Francisco; Alexander A. Clerk, clinic medical director; George Liddell, the clinics' administrative manager and Christian Guilleminault, professor of psychiatry and a pioneer in sleep research and treatment.

Bio in More Detail

Dr. Alexander Adu Clerk was born in Cape Coast, Ghana. His early training was at Osu, Bekwai, Achimota School, and then University of Ghana Medical School where he obtained his medical degree in 1975. After working as a medical officer at Effia-Nkwantah Hospital, Sekondi he left for the United States for further training in 1978. After completing the preliminary requirements he started a Residency (Registrar) in Psychiatry at Loma Linda University School of Medicine and completed in 1983. He was subsequently appointed Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Lo ma Linda University School of Medicine and also served as Chief of the Mental Hygiene Clinic, Lo ma Linda Veteran Administration hospital from 1984 to 1989.

In 1989 Dr. Clerk went for further training at Stanford University School of Medicine where he completed a fellowship in Sleep Medicine in July 1990. He was once again appointed Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and rose through the ranks to become Director of the world’s first and most prestigious sleep clinic at Stanford University. He served in this capacity from 1990 to 1998. As Medical Director he was in charge of the clinical operations and also supervised the training of other medical specialist. Dr Clerk’s experience in training other medical specialists includes serving as a member of the Fellowship Training Committee of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

Dr. Clerk has two medical specialties and is currently board certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, and by the American Board of Sleep Medicine. He has published numerous scientific articles, book chapters and abstracts. He has presented many lectures in the United States, Canada, Ivory Coast and Ghana. Despite his busy schedule in North America, Dr. Clerk has not forgotten his mother country Ghana. He is a founding member and Western Region Director of the Ghana Physicians and Surgeons Foundation based in New York City. The foundation works to promote specialist training and professional development in medicine, and related disciplines in Ghana. Dr Clerk’s family has funded and contributed to the erection of a Hall at Valley View University, (on the Dodowa-Nsawam road) that is named Clerk Hall..