In 2004 she was named Distinguished Scientist of the Year by the Sleep Research Society.

She earned her Ph.D. with the dissertation, Empathic Ability, an Exploratory Study, at Cornell University in 1949.

[1] Penelope Green of The New York Times wrote, "Nicknamed the Queen of Dreams by her peers, Cartwright studied the role of dreaming in divorce-induced depression, worked with sleep apnea patients and their frustrated spouses, and helped open one of the first sleep disorder clinics.

In 1977 she joined the faculty of the Graduate College at Rush University Medical Center, as chair of the Department of Behavioral Sciences and later the Department of Psychology and the Neuroscience Division, and she founded the sleep disorder research and treatment center there.

[1] She became professor emerita in 2008 after stepping down from her position as chair of the Department of Behavioral Sciences at Rush University Medical Center.