Chao Gu, a PhD candidate in the Department of Medicine at the University of Otago, is interested in exploring youth sleep using both objective measures and deep-dive interviews; one answers the how, and the other tells us the why. Chao is currently working with the HABITS study team in the Department of Medicine, using video cameras and accelerometers to examine the impact of screen use, exercise, and eating in the hour before bed on youth sleep. Chao also looked at how practical and sustainable it is to avoid all these behaviours near bedtime, as recommended by many advisory groups.

Health Psychology Researcher exploring family sleep health and building more relational, family-centred approaches to wellbeing support.

Alice is a registered dietitian and Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. Her research interests include the relationship between sleep, nutrition, and health behaviours.

Zohreh Sajadi is an RTP Scholarship recipient and PhD candidate at The University of Sydney, researching the interplay between nutrition, sleep, chronotype, and circadian rhythms. Her work focuses on how meal timing and lifestyle behaviours influence sleep and metabolic health across different chronotypes.

Ishrat Jahan, PhD candidate at the University of Queensland, focusing on sleep health and its impact on the physical and social and emotional wellbeing of First Nations adolescents. She holds a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery and a Master of Public Health from Bangladesh. With over five years of experience in public health research, she has contributed to improving health service delivery in rural regions of Bangladesh. She has published peer-reviewed articles in her areas of interest. Her work has informed evidence-based approaches to addressing health inequities in low-resource settings, which she now extends to Indigenous health research in Australia.

Dr Prerna Varma is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, where her research sits at the intersections of sleep, circadian biology, digital innovations and health equity. Her work particularly focuses on translating sleep science into personalised, practical, and culturally responsive tools for real-world settings, for populations such as shift workers and underserved communities. Dr Varma is a co-developer of SleepSync, a personalised sleep-wake management platform designed to support healthier work and recovery patterns in shift workers. Her work demonstrates partnerships with industries and communities, with a strong commitment to co-design, impact, and inclusive health solutions.

Leanne Kaye, PhD, MPH, RDN, is Director of Person-Centered Science within Medical Affairs at Resmed, where she leads research integrating lived experience into evidence strategies for connected health technologies. A doctoral-level behavioral scientist trained in intervention and policy research at the University of North Carolina Gillings School of Global Public Health, she examines contextual drivers of adherence, engagement, and long-term health outcomes. Dr. Kaye has more than a decade of experience spanning sleep, oncology, mental health, and respiratory conditions, translating scientific evidence into actionable, person-centered insights that advance implementation across chronic health conditions.

Dr. Lionel Rayward is a Postdoctoral Researcher and Sessional Academic at QUT. On completing his Bachelor of Engineering (Medical) in 2018, he took on PhD studies with the Biomechanics and spine research group working on a collaborative project with Sealy Australia, applying computational modelling to understand the human-mattress interaction during sleep. Upon completing his PhD in 2023, he took on a role as a postdoctoral researcher in the newly established QUT – Sealy centre for sleep and biomechanics research, to continue research in sleep ergonomics.