Master's and Doctoral Study

The Sleep/Wake Research Centre provides supervision for dedicated candidates at the Honours, Master’s, and Doctoral levels, and mentorship to Postdoctoral fellows.

For information about current opportunities for postgraduate supervision, click here.

For enquiries about supervision on a particular topic, please contact the relevant Sleep/Wake Research Centre staff member directly.

For general enquiries about postgraduate study with us, please contact Dr Karyn O'Keeffe, Senior Lecturer, Sleep/Wake Research Centre, by email or telephone +64 4 979 3260.

 

Current Doctoral Candidates

  • Zoe Walsh – DClinPsych – Supporting the sleep of mothers in Aotearoa
  • Mikaela Carter – DClinPsych – Child sleep health in Aotearoa and the impact of maternal mental health over time.
  • Cameron Dyer – PhD - Operational levels of fatigue and flight deck performance: a pilot study.
  • Jonathan Peters – DClinPsych (co-supervision at SWRC) – Electronic media use, sleep, and fatigue: Investigating their interrelated influences

Current Master’s Candidates

  • Taraneh McGill – Master of Arts (Psychology) – Discourses of sleep and body weight in the media.
  • Jamie Henry – Master of Arts (Psychology) – Exploring the Factors Associated with Poor Sleep Among a Sample of Community-Based New Zealand Older Adults.
  • Nicholas Brough – Master of Arts (Psychology) – Beliefs and perceptions of dreaming among people who have had dear death experiences.
  • Kirsty Job – Master of Arts (Psychology) – Exploring labour and birth experience and relationships with maternal sleep and symptoms of postnatal mental distress: A mixed methods study.
  • Sonya Russell – Master of Science (Psychology) – Perinatal anxiety, worry and sleep.

Current Honours Candidates

  • Bethaney Wilson – Bachelor of Arts (Psychology Honours) – The relationship between indicators of work stress and self-related sleep among older employees in New Zealand

Completed Doctoral Theses

  • Travis Steenekamp – PhD (2023). The sleep/wake behaviours of elite adolescent athletes.
  • Dr Clare Ladyman – PhD (2020). Maternal sleep and depression from pregnancy to three years post birth
  • Dr Diane (Dee) Muller – PhD (2019). Social determinants of preschool children’s sleep in Aotearoa/New Zealand
  • Dr Margo van den Berg – PhD (2019). Fatigue Risk Management Systems (FRMS) for cabin crew: Evaluation of the current status and future needs
  • Dr Jennifer Zaslona – PhD (2017). In-Flight Sleep as a Pilot Fatigue Mitigation on Long Range and Ultra-Long Range Flights.
  • Dr Rosemary Gibson – PhD (2016). Understanding and managing dementia-related sleep problems: community-based research with older New Zealanders.
  • Dr Bronwyn Sweeney – PhD (2015). Perinatal sleep and postnatal mood in New Zealand women: an investigation of the relationship and trial of a sleep education intervention.
  • Dr Alexander Garden – PhD (2006). Fatigue, sleep loss and anaesthetists' performance: subjective effects and simulation studies.
  • Dr Ridvan Tupai-Firestone – PhD (2006). Obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome among taxi drivers: Consequences and barriers to accessing health services.
  • Dr Te Hereripine Sarah-Jane Paine – PhD (2006). Towards a balanced and ethically responsible approach to understanding differences in sleep timing.
  • Dr Nathaniel Marshall – PhD (2005). Positive airway pressure for obstructive sleep apnoea: systematic evaluation versus clinical and technological drift.
  • Dr Kara Mihaere – PhD (2004). Obstructive sleep apnoea in Aotearoa/New Zealand: an objective and questionnaire-based approach to population prevalence estimation and clinical screening.
  • Dr Leigh Signal – PhD (2002). Scheduled napping on the night shift: consequences for the performance and neurophysiological alertness of air traffic controllers.
  • Dr Michelle Millar – PhD (2001). Hours of work, sleep loss and performance of anaesthetists: implications for safety in medical practice.

Completed Master’s Theses

  • Juliette Janvresse – Master of Science (Nutrition and Dietetics) (2023). The effect of creatine monohydrate-loading on cognition, mood and sleepiness following sleep restriction.
  • Marjial Hermanoche – Master of Science (Nutrition and Dietetics) (2023). Caffeine consumption and sleep quality in New Zealand young adults (aged 18-25 years).
  • Jaime Fearn – Master of Health Psychology (2022). "It made a huge difference when he had a dry bed in the morning": Experiences of sleep disturbances with incontinence
  • Margarethe Helles – Master of Arts (Psychology) (2022). Sleep, Mood and Loneliness during COVID-19 Lockdown; Does Mood and Loneliness Predict Poor Sleep in Working Woman in New Zealand?
  • Courtney Jones – Master of Health Science (Bioscience) (2022). Profiles of sleep status among older adults in New Zealand: The association between alcohol use and other health and lifestyle factors.
  • Harshi Shetty – Master of Psychology (2022). The association between social media experiences and sleep quality in young adults.
  • Ramil Adhikari – Master of Public Health (2021). ‘My Routine is wrecked’: Qualitative themes of changed sleep during COVID- 19 restrictions.
  • Lydia Henderson – Master of Science (Nutrition and Dietetics) (2021). The effect of a two-week ketogenic diet, versus a carbohydrate-based diet, on cognitive performance, mood and subjective sleepiness during 36 hours of extended wakefulness in military personnel.
  • Diane Muller – Master of Public Health (2010). Children's sleep in the family environment: a pilot study using actigraphy with 6-8 year old New Zealand children.
  • Rosemary Gibson – Master of Psychology (2009). Factors affecting the sleep of one year olds: a pilot study using objective monitoring of New Zealand infants.
  • Ricci Harris – Master of Public Health (2003). Obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome: symptoms and risk factors among Maori and non-Maori adults in Aotearoa.
  • Brigid Borlase – Master of Public Health (distinction) (2001). Teenage sleep in New Zealand: the development and pilot use of a questionnaire to investigate the sleep patterns of adolescents in New Zealand.
  • Dr Annette Nesdale – Master of Public Health (distinction) (1999). A review of locomotive engineer's rostered extended shifts.

Completed Honours Dissertations

  • Cynthia Leewardus –Bachelor of Arts (Psychology Honours) – Assessing the impact of work/life balance on changed mood and sleep during the COVID-19 lockdown