James K. Walsh was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1950 and there attended Brother Rice High School. His undergraduate degree was earned from Lewis University near Joliet, Illinois in 1972. Dr. Walsh received his masters degree and doctorate in experimental psychology from Saint Louis University in 1978. He served as a visiting assistant professor of psychology at Illinois Institute of Technology in 1978-79, and in the fall of 1979 assumed the position of assistant director of the Sleep Disorders Center at the University of Cincinnati.

In 1981 he founded the Sleep Disorders and Research Center at Deaconess Hospital in St. Louis, where he served as director until 1993. Dr. Walsh founded the Sleep Medicine and Research Center at St. Luke’s Hospital in St. Louis in December 1993 and currently holds the position of Executive Director and Senior Scientist.

Additionally, Dr. Walsh holds the appointments of Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Adjunct Professor of Psychology at Saint Louis University.

Since 1975 Dr. Walsh has published over one hundred articles and book chapters dealing with sleep and its disorders. He co-authored the text Sleep: A Scientific Perspective. He has presented numerous invited lectures around the country and in Europe. Dr. Walsh has been principal investigator for more than 50 research grants and contracts. Currently, his primary research interests include pharmacological treatment of insomnia, consequences of insomnia, and the relation of sleep loss to behavior and cognitive function.

As a member of the American Sleep Disorders Association's board of directors from 1982-1993, he has been a significant contributor to the development of the field of sleep medicine and research. Dr. Walsh held the ASDA offices of secretary-treasurer in 1989-91 and president in 1991-92. As chair of the ASDA’s Committee on Government Affairs and Public Policy he has presented testimony to several Congressional committees about the significance of sleep disorders in America.

Other professional activities include serving as a reviewer for several professional journals and serving as a special advisor to the National Commission on Sleep Disorders Research from 1988-1992. From 1994 to 1997 he served as a member of the Sleep Disorders Research Advisory Board for the National Center for Sleep Disorders Research of the National Institutes of Health, and was chair of the Center’s education subcommittee during that time.

Awards received include the ASDA's 1995 Nathaniel Kleitman Award for Distinguished Service, the Lewis University Alumni Achievement Award in Psychology in 1994, and the ASDA’s Senator Mark Hatfield Public Policy Award in 1998.

Dr. Walsh married Diane Renner in 1973 and they have three children: Bryan, Gregory, and Katherine. They live in Belleville, Illinois.