NIHR Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation Programme

BRC Better Sleep

I am interested in investigating the mechanistic relationships between sleep, health, and disease with a particular interest in understanding how sleep may contribute to mental health disorders. My postdoctoral work aims to investigate in a large clinical trial whether sleep restriction therapy for insomnia can be used to treat depression and to elucidate potential mechanisms underlying this. Previously, I worked on preclinical models of sleep and migraine and I also have a broader interest in sleep and neurological disorders. I have also worked on behavioural sleep interventions such as closed-loop auditory stimulation and projects related to sleep, memory, and emotion. 

I graduated with an integrated masters in psychology from the University of York in 2018 after which I worked as a research technician in cognitive neuroscience at the University of Leeds in the School of Psychology. I completed my PhD in neuroscience at King's College London in 2023 where I worked on a preclinical project entitled: 'The Neural Mechanisms of Sleep and Migraine'. 

I am a registered Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and graduate member of The British Psychological Society. I serve on the advisory board of the Early Career Researchers Circadian Mental Health Network and I am an editor for the journal Frontiers in Neurology Sleep Disorders. In my spare time I am a volunteer mentor for Refugee Education UK and I work as a consultant sleep specialist for Lindus Health.

Dr Philip Holland - King's College London

Dr Jan Hoffmann - King's College London

Professor Louis Ptacek - University of California San Francisco 

Olivia Grech - University of Birmingham

British Sleep Society Colin Sullivan Research Award (2023)

Biomedical Research Centre Better Sleep Fund (2023-2024) 

British Sleep Society Travel Grant (2023)

Guarantors of Brain Travel Grant (2022)

Medical Research Council Doctoral Training Programme PhD Studentship (2019-2023)