Joan Santamaria, MD, PhD, is a neurologist and clinical neurophysiologist at Hospital Clínic of Barcelona and assistant professor of Neurology at the University of Barcelona Medical School.  He trained in neurology in Barcelona (1978-1982) and in clinical neurophysiology and sleep at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston (1985-1987). He joined the Neurology staff at the Hospital Clínic of Barcelona (1982) where he is currently head of the Clinical Neurophysiology Laboratory and helped to create the Epilepsy and the Multidisciplinary Sleep Disorders Units.

He has conducted research in clinical neurology, electroencephalography of drowsiness as well as sleep disorders in neurological diseases, including stroke, narcolepsy and neurodegenerative diseases. A significant focus of his research is REM sleep behavior disorder and sleep in autoimmune central nervous system disorders, including the anti-IgLON5 disease.

He has served as a member of the Scientific Committee of the European Sleep Research Society (2008-2012), of the EU-Narcolepsy Network (2012-) and chair of the Subcommittee of sleep disorders of the European Neurological Society (2012-2014). Publications include several book chapters, a book and more than 170 peer-reviewed articles.