Our research aims to improve the health and wellbeing of children and the community by targeting sleep to improve long-term functional outcomes.
Overview
Our Sleep Research is spearheaded by two research groups.
Kids Sleep Research
Kids Sleep Research has an established research presence within Australia, participating in several multi-centre clinical trials, publishing widely in peer-reviewed journals and successfully receiving grants from different sources including National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), The Medicine Research Future Fund Scheme (MRFF) and the Australian Research Council (ARC).The team’s research focuses across three key themes which include (i) sleep experiences and patient voice, (ii) sleep in specific populations and (iii) novel sleep technology. Associate Professor Jasneek Chawla is a paediatric respiratory and sleep specialist at the Queensland Children’s Hospital and leads this inter-disciplinary research group. She represents the Australasian sleep community at a national level as a board director and incoming president (2025) for the Australasian Sleep Association (ASA), which is the peak scientific body representing clinicians, scientists and researchers working in sleep health and sleep medicine across Australia and New Zealand.
Email: kidssleep@uq.edu.au
Phone: (07) 3069 7503
The Community Sleep Health group
The Community Sleep Health group focuses on sleep in children and families, mental health and wellbeing of young people, and the role of sleep across the life course. Professor Simon Smith leads the UQ node for two Australian Research Council Centres of Excellence
- Children and Families Over the Life Course (Life Course Centre), and
- Digital Child.
The team collaborate with others around circadian rhythms, pain, housing and environment, co-morbidities and wellbeing outcomes, and the development and implementation of novel interventions. The team has additional experience in health program evaluation. Prof. Simon Smith is supported by the UQ Health Research Accelerator (HERA) initiative as part of the 360-Kids Community Network.
Email: communitysleep@uq.edu.au
| Title | Scheme | Investigators | Dates |
Understanding Light, Technology, and Environments of Children | ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher Award | PATTINSON, Cassandra L | 2025-2027 |
| Co-designing Obstructive Sleep apnoea screening and diagnosis approaches for First Nations Australians: Strengthening clinical pathways with lived-experience support from community champions | 2023 MRFF Optimising Screening Diagnosis and Management of Obstructive Sleep Apnoea Stream 1 - administered by the UQ Poche Centre | Yaqoot, Fatima, Woodroofe, Tracy, Wheeler, Kai, Sullivan Dan, von Senden Roslyn, Skinner, Timothy, Bucks Romola, Eastwood Peter, CHAWLA, Jasneek, Potia Azhar, Tan Eng Joo, Oguma Victor, Nasir Bushra, Martin Priya, Yiallourou Stephanie, COLLARO Andrew, Mihalopolous Cathrine, Cooper Rae | 2024-2029 |
| Clinical Utility of Level 3 studies in paediatric sleep medicine | 2023 MRFF Optimising Screening Diagnosis and Management of Obstructive Sleep Apnoea Stream 2-3 | Waters Karen, Nixon Gillian, Vandeleur Moya, CHAWLA, Jasneek, Tan, Eng Joo, Adams, Anne-Marie , Verginis N, Terrill Philip, KEVAT Ajay, COLLARO Andrew, MacKay Stuart, COOKE, Emma, Horne, Rosemary. | 2024-2028 |
Mandibular Jaw Movement Monitoring in Children with Neurodisability | CHQ SERTA | COLLARO Andrew, CHAWLA, Jasneek K | 2023-2025 |
| Sleep Health in Hospitals | CHQ SERTA | Marriott L, Longland R, CHAWLA, Jasneek K | 2023-2025 |
| Early Sleep Interventions to Improve Outcomes in Children with Neurodisability | NHMRC MRFF EPCDR - Chronic Neurological Conditions | CHAWLA, Jasneek K; Waters, K.; Vandeleur, M.; Pride, N.; Milross, M. & Richards, D. | 2022-2025 |
| Tackling Sleep to Improve Outcomes in Children with Neurodisability | Preclinical and Clinical Early Career Research | CHAWLA, Jasneek K | 2022-2024 |
| Evaluating delivery experience for new diagnosis of Down syndrome or other chromosomal differences | Research Donation | CHAWLA, Jasneek K; COOKE, Emma J; COLES, Laetitia J & STATON, Sally L | 2022-2024 |
ARC Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child | ARC Centre of Excellence administered by Queensland University of Technology | SMITH, Simon S; Danby, S.; Bennett, S.; Green, L.; Kervin, L.; Sefton-Green, J.; Straker, L.; White, S. & others | 2021-2028 |
| ARC Centre of Excellence for Children and Families over the Life Course | ARC Centre of Excellence | BAXTER, Janeen H; Glozier, N.; THORPE, Karen J; Cobb-Clark, D.; Kalb, G.; SMITH, Simon S; MORAWSKA, Alina; PARSELL, Cameron S & others | 2021-2027 |
The latest research highlights from the Kids and Community Sleep Research Group are featured on this page.
Families in Focus : Embedding the voices of children with disability and their families in research.
Families in Focus is an innovative research initiative aimed at amplifying the voices of children with disabilities and their families. Recognizing the importance of inclusive research, this approach ensures that their experiences and needs are central to shaping the research we undertake. The aim is to gather insights into the educational, health, and social support experiences of children with disabilities and their families, guiding future research and policy development.
Read more about this project here.
Early Sleep Interventions to Improve outcomes in children with neurodisability: This research aims is to enhance the diagnosis and management of sleep disorders in children with neurodisability (ND), with the goal of improving their quality of life and outcomes for both children and their families. We hope the findings will be used to establish clinically relevant national standards of care for the diagnosis and management of sleep issues in children with neurodisability across Australia.
Local
Queensland Brain Institute - The University of Queensland
Professor Karen Thorpe
Australian Research Council Laureate Professor
Group Leader in Child Development, Education and Care
Dr Sally Staton
Senior Research Fellow
Discovery Early Career Researcher 2022
Dr Laetitia Coles
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
The School of Information Technology & Electrical Engineering – The University of Queensland
Associate Professor Philip Terrill
Biomedical Engineer
School of Education - The University of Queensland
Associate Professor Rhonda Faragher
Director of the Down syndrome Research Program(DSRP)
Associate Professor, inclusive education
QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute
Dr Kartik Iyer
Biomedical Engineer
Research Officer
Faculty of Society & Design - Bond University
Associate Professor James Birt
Film, Screen and Creative Media
Associate Dean, External Engagement
Assistant Professor Oliver Baumann
Psychologist
Faculty of Health Sciences & Medicine
Associate Professor Suzanne Gough
Physiotherapist
Associate Dean, Learning & Teaching
Mr Adrian Goldsworthy
PhD Candidate
Sessional Teaching Fellow
Interstate
Conjoint Professor Karen Waters, Children’s Hospital at Westmead SCHN, The University of Sydney
Dr Natalie Pride, Children’s Hospital at Westmead SCHN, The University of Sydney
Dr Maree Milross, The University of Sydney
Dr Moya Vandeleur, The Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute
Professor Deborah Richards, Macquarie University
Community partners
Industry and Health partners
- Sonomedical
- Fisher and Paykel
- Health and Wellbeing Queensland
- Children’s Health Queensland
- Children’s Hospital Foundation
- ARACY