walters was the first chairman of the medical advisory board of the restless legs syndrome foundation, a nationwide patient support group for patients with restless legs syndrome and their families and he continues to play a role on the board. he was also first chairman of the executive committee and continuing activist in the international restless legs syndrome study group, which is composed of over 130 physicians and scientists dedicated to research on restless legs syndrome and the allied condition periodic limb movements in sleep. he headed the american academy of sleep medicine committee for the development of clinical criteria for the diagnosis of sleep related movement disorders international classification of sleep disorders published in 2005 and their committee for the development of the sleep study scoring criteria for the sleep related movement disorders published in 2007. he moved to vanderbilt university and was given a distinguished faculty medical license from the state of tennessee in 2008.