Danny Eckert, BApplSci, BSc (Hons), PhD, FAASM, is a Matthew Flinders Professor at Flinders University, an NHMRC Leadership Fellow, and Director of Sleep Health at the Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute (FHMRI), where he leads a multidisciplinary sleep research program. He is internationally recognised for pioneering respiratory endo-phenotyping, which has established a precision medicine framework for understanding and treating obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). His research has been instrumental in elucidating the role of arousal mechanisms and hypnotics in OSA pathogenesis, advancing OSA pharmacotherapy, and reshaping treatment strategies for this common chronic condition. Professor Eckert’s program focuses on identifying the underlying causes of OSA, optimising existing therapies, and developing new targeted treatments, significantly influencing both scientific knowledge and clinical practice in sleep medicine.

Associate Professor Samantha Hocking is an Endocrinologist at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and a Clinical Academic at the University of Sydney. She is a member of the Australian and New Zealand Obesity Society (ANZOS) Council and the current president of the National Association of Clinical Obesity Services (NACOS). A/Prof Hocking’s research interests are focused on the metabolic complications of obesity. She is passionate about education to improve the quality of obesity care in Australia. In addition, she treats patients at the Metabolism and Obesity Service, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.

Prof Matthew Naughton is head of general respiratory & sleep medicine at Alfred Hospital and is an adjunct clinical professor, Monash University. His interests include cardiopulmonary function in health and disease, during exercise, rest and sleep especially pertaining to the effects of positive airway pressure and oxygen therapy. He has been a lead clinician in a bariatric surgical RCT. He has been involved in the development of guidelines for the American Thoracic Society.

Professor, Medicine, Epidemiology, Clinical & Translational Science Dr. Sanjay R. Patel, an expert in sleep health, is certified in pulmonary disease and sleep medicine by the American Board of Internal Medicine. Dr. Patel is a professor of medicine and epidemiology at University of Pittsburgh, and medical director of UPMC Comprehensive Sleep Disorders program. He earned a master’s degree in epidemiology from the Harvard School of Public Health and a medical degree from Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He completed a residency at the University of Pennsylvania Health System and a fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Patel’s research focuses on the health implications of poor sleep with particular interest on the relationships between sleep and cardiometabolic disease. He directs the Center for Sleep and Cardiovascular Outcomes Research at the University of Pittsburgh. He has published extensively on the subject of obesity management and glucose metabolism with sleep apnea, as well as the association between curtailed sleep and long-term health effects. Research and Clinical Interests: Understanding the epidemiology of sleep disorders with particular emphasis on chronic partial sleep deprivation and obstructive sleep apnea and the potential effects of these disorders on metabolism. One of the first to identify long sleep as a predictor of adverse health outcomes and is currently conducting a clinical trial evaluating the cardiovascular impact of treating sleep apnea in a diabetic population.

Professor Ron Grunstein AM FAHMS is a National Health and Medical Council of Australia Investigator Level 3 and Heads the Sleep and Circadian Research Group at the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research, Professor of Sleep Medicine at University of Sydney and Macquarie University. He is also a Senior Staff Physician in Sleep Medicine at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney. Prof. Grunstein is clinical researcher with diverse interests in sleep health currently focusing on early stage and global trials in orexin agonists in hypersomnolence, incretin mimetics for sleep apnea and cannabinoids for insomnia. He has a MB BS and MD degrees from the University of Sydney, a PhD from the Department of Clinical Pharmacology, University of Gothenburg in Sweden and is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences.