Nicola Barclay

Nicola Barclay, PhD, is a Sleep Scientist and Psychologist, with extensive experience of sleep research, research design, big data and education. Nicola is a Senior Postdoctoral Researcher in Sleep Medicine at the Sleep and Circadian Neuroscience Institute (SCNI), currently coordinating a Wellcome Trust Award investigating the mechanisms underlying the therapeutic effect of Sleep Restriction Therapy on anxiety and depression in young adults.

Prior to this appointment (2021-2024) Nicola worked in other areas of research, including Health Data Sciences in both academia (NDORMS) and industry (IQVIA) where she leveraged Real World Data to understand trajectories of health and disease, in particular cancer.

She was a Lecturer in Sleep Medicine at the SCNI, University of Oxford from 2016 to 2021, training clinicians in the assessment, diagnosis and treatment of sleep and circadian disorders. Prior to this appointment, Nicola was Associate Director of the Northumbria Centre for Sleep Research at Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK from 2011 to 2016. In 2011, she completed her PhD at the University of London, focussing on Quantitative and Molecular Genetic Approaches to Understanding Sleep Quality and Diurnal Preference, where she was awarded the 'Rising Researcher' award, 2011. Nicola has published over 50 peer-reviewed publications on sleep, circadian rhythms, psychopathology, and cancer epidemiology, has extensive experience of educating clinical professionals in sleep medicine and research, as well as expertise in statistical methodologies and research study design.