Available supervisors

The following academics at the Sleep/Wake Research Centre are available for supervising postgraduate students in 2025 and 2026.

Dr Karyn O’Keeffe

Dr Karyn O'Keeffe is a Senior Lecturer at the Sleep/Wake Research Centre, School of Health Sciences.  She has considerable clinical, teaching and research experience and expertise in sleep and circadian science.  She has conducted both basic and applied research using a range of methodologies and methods.  Karyn has a broad range of research interests, but her current work focuses on shift work, fatigue management and improving sleep health.  She is particularly interested in (a) the application of sleep and circadian science in health settings to improve workplace health and safety, (b) understanding drivers of sleep health in different populations, and (c) developing strategies for improving sleep health.

A list of her publications can be found at the following link: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1588-3638

Karyn is available to supervise Master’s and PhD students in 2025 and 2026.  She is open to discussing projects in the following areas:

  • Understanding the impacts of shift work and workplace fatigue
  • Improving the management of shift work and workplace fatigue
  • The role of workload in the experience of workplace fatigue
  • Understanding sleep health and circadian health and their contributors and consequences
  • Strategies to improve sleep health and circadian health
  • Understanding the lived experience of sleep disorders in Aotearoa New Zealand

Prof Leigh Signal

Leigh Signal is a Professor of Fatigue Management and Sleep Health at the Sleep/Wake Research Centre. She has a broad range of sleep-related interests and conducts both basic and applied sleep and circadian research using a range of methodologies. Her current work focuses on the sleep health of women, children and adolescents and how sleep can support better mental health across the lifespan. This work is underpinned by a drive to understand inequities in sleep and the sociodemographic factors that drive these differences. She also has a strong research interest in sleep in the working population and using sleep science to improve workplace health and safety.

A list of her publications can be found at the following link: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3414-1982

She is available to supervise a small number of Master’s and PhD students in 2025 in the following areas:

  • Adolescent sleep
  • Sleep in pregnancy, postpartum and the early years of parenting
  • Relationships between sleep and mental health
  • Sleep as a strategy for supporting mental health
  • Sleep and employment, including sleep for those working non-standard hours

Dr Margo van den Berg

Margo van den Berg is a Lecturer at the Sleep/Wake Research Centre. Her research focuses on sleep and fatigue of shift workers, and fatigue risk management in the workplace.  She is particularly interested in the effect of workload on fatigue, fatigue risk management as a whole of life issue, and strategies for improving sleep health. She has extensive experience conducting field-based studies and has also been involved in randomised controlled studies. A list of her publications can be found at the following link: 0000-0002-6030-372X

Margo is available to co-supervise a small number of Master’s and PhD students in 2025 in these areas:

  • Sleep, fatigue and shiftwork
  • Workload and fatigue in the workplace
  • Strategies for improving the sleep health of workers