Dr. Watson is currently Professor and Vice Chair of Faculty Affairs in the Department of Neurology, Co-director of the Sleep Center, and Director of the Harborview Medical Center Sleep Clinic at the University of Washington. He holds certifications with the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, with a Sleep Medicine subspecialty, and the American Board of Sleep Medicine. Dr. Watson is a former President of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the American Board of Sleep Medicine. 

Over the course of his career he has held multiple research grants to study sleep disturbances and published extensively for medical and lay audiences. He has led the development of guideline and consensus documents regarding monitoring and managing sleep disturbances. His research has investigated genetic aspects of sleep duration and metabolic disease, mental health, and inflammation. His current investigations include the relationship between sleep and cancer risk, the impact of artificial intelligence and consumer sleep technology on human sleep and sleep medicine, and increasing access to sleep care for Native American populations. He is a passionate advocate for sleep health, with efforts focused on promoting healthy school start times, abolishment of daylight saving time, and transportation safety. His sleep advocacy and media work has touched millions of lives.

Dr. Watson studied medicine at the University of North Carolina and obtained his Master of Science in genetic epidemiology from the University of Washington. He completed his medical internship, neurology residency, and clinical neurophysiology fellowship at the University of Washington. He has also conducted postgraduate studies at the National Institutes of Health and the University of Colorado.