2005 Young Tall Poppy Science Award Recipient

Dr Naomi Rogers
The Woolcock Institute of Medical Research, University of Sydney

As natural as sleep is, an astounding 20-30 percent of Australians find getting a proper night's sleep is a real problem; and research suggests that inadequate sleep will impact on their ability to work effectively and can adversely affect health. Dr Naomi Rogers’ main research interest is in the effects of circadian disruption and sleep loss on physiological and neurobehavioural functions.

Naomi is studying the effects of circadian disruption using jet lag as a model and sleep restriction in people who already experience sleep disturbance due to other medical disorders such as obstructive sleep apnea and asthma, and comparing the effects in subjects without these disorders. Her post-doctoral career has included a fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania, and subsequent faculty position in the Department of Psychiatry at the University for five years.  Naomi was a National Health & Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Howard Florey Centenary Research Fellow at the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research from 2004 -2006, in the Sleep and Circadian Research Group. She is currently a Senior Research Fellow at the Woolcock and Principal Research Fellow in the Department of Medicine at The University of Sydney.

After achieving a BSc, majoring in physiology, pharmacology and psychology with Honours at the Department of Physiology, University of Adelaide, Naomi received her PhD in Sleep and Chronobiology from the University of South Australia with a thesis entitled ‘Effects of exogenous melatonin administration in humans’. The hormone, melatonin, is known to assist in regulating the body’s circadian rhythm.

Naomi has made several appearances on TV and on the radio, and has had her research featured in journal, newspaper and magazine articles in Australia and overseas. She has also taken part in the Science EXPOsed event.

Naomi received a Young Tall Poppy Science Award in 2005.