Get To Know Us
Our Core Team
Dr Emma Louise Gale
Research Fellow in Child and Adolescent Sleep Health & Sleep Research Lead | University of St Andrews
Dr. Emma Louise Gale is a Research Fellow in Child and Adolescent Health at the University of St Andrews, specialising in sleep health, circadian disruption, and the broader psychosocial determinants of health in young people. Her research is driven by a deep commitment to reducing health inequalities, improving wellbeing through early interventions, and ensuring that the voices of children, families, and frontline professionals are central to the design and delivery of health research. Dr. Gale is also passionate about teaching and mentorship, contributing to the delivery of medical research modules and supervising dissertation and summer research students.
Alongside her academic work, Dr. Gale has a long-standing passion for public engagement, grounded in the belief that research should be accessible, inspiring, and co-created with those it seeks to benefit. Over the past decade, she has worked with more than 100 schools and reached over 8,000 pupils from primary through to secondary education and has represented the university at national and community levels, including as part of National Science Week, National Careers Week, International Women’s Day, and the Festival of Social Science.
Peter Donnelly’s lengthy health career includes both academic and senior leadership positions. He is Professor of Public Health Medicine at the University of St Andrews. His focus is on applied epidemiology and, amongst other things, he has a keen interest in ensuring that the new wave of medical diagnostics are evidence based and introduced and used in a way that maximises patient benefit and health service efficiency. Past work includes that on violence reduction and resuscitation.
Outside of academia, Prof. Donnelly has held prominent leadership positions, including serving as Deputy Chief Medical Officer for Scotland: President and CEO of Public Health Ontario, and twice Director of Public Health (Edinburgh and Swansea). He is a former President of the UK Association of Directors of Public Health, former Vice President and treasurer of the UK Faculty of Public Health and is a long standing Board member at the New York-based Milbank Memorial Fund. He is the 2026 winner of the UK Faculty of Public Healths most prestigious prize, the Alwyn Smith Award, given “ in recognition of outstanding contribution to the health of the public through research that has directly informed policy, practice, and population-level outcomes over almost four decades”.
Prof Peter Donnelly
Chair in Public Health | University of St Andrews
Dr Matthew Nielsen
Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer | University of St Andrews | NHS Fife
Dr. Joanne Cecil is a behavioural scientist and lecturer at the University of St Andrews. Her research interests centre around eating behaviour and obesity, healthcare communication, and how various health behaviours – such as sleep – contribute to wellbeing.
Alongside her research work, Dr. Cecil is actively engaged in teaching at the School of Medicine. At the undergraduate level, she teaches students about behavioural medicine, as well as communication and research skills. She also supervises postgraduate researchers at both the masters and doctoral levels.
Dr Joanne Cecil
Lecturer | University of St Andrews
Prof Alexander Baldacchino
Professor | University of St Andrews | NHS Fife
Student Collaborators
Elena Diaz
Research Assistant
Chloe-Anna Hunt
Student Researcher
Hayley Stone
Student Researcher
Hannah Martin
Student Researcher
Finlay Stewart
Student Researcher
Sophie Portier
Student Researcher
Deborah Li
Student Researcher
External Collaborators
Dr Andrew James Williams
University of Edinburgh
Dr Andrew James Williams is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Health in Social Sciences at the University of Edinburgh. His research interests lie in the social and cultural determinants of health, especially among children and young people.
Dr Ross Langley
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde | University of Glasgow
Dr Ross Langley is a Paediatric Consultant in Respiratory and Sleep Medicine at the Royal Hospital for Children Glasgow, and Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer at the University of Glasgow. He was recently awarded a NRS research career fellowship. Following the completion of paediatric respiratory training, he was appointed as a locum Respiratory and Sleep consultant at the Royal Brompton Hospital, London, and was responsible for setting up the home sleep study and remote ventilation monitoring services. Research interests include the use of novel technologies in sleep diagnostics and monitoring as well as improving sleep outcomes in children with complex conditions.
Sarah Negrette
Head of Children and Young People’s Occupational Therapy | NHS Fife
Susan McGuire
Family Services Improvement Coordinator | NHS Fife
Laura Carson
Sleep Action
Alyson O’Brien
Sleep Action
Alyson O’Brien is the head of Sleep Action. She has a background working in the voluntary and higher education sectors with children, young people, and adults with additional support needs. She is a member of the International Paediatric Sleep Association Education Committee.
Dr Suet Ching Chen
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde | University of Glasgow
Dr. Suet Ching Chen is Consultant Paediatric Endocrinologist at the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow and Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer at the University of Glasgow. She runs a Complications of Excess Weight clinic, championing the importance of sleep as part of lifestyle change in weight management, along with pharmacotherapy. She is a collaborator in the SHAPE project and co-investigator on research study looking at anti-obesity medication and obstructive sleep apnoea
Dr Florian Gahleitner
NHS Lothian
Dr. Paul Higgins
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde
Louise Stean
Education Development Coordinator | NHS Fife
Amanda Urquhart
School Nurse Team Leader | NHS Fife
Dr Maria Gardani
University of Edinburgh
Dr Gardani is a Lecturer in Clinical Psychology at the University of Edinburgh. She has 20+ years’ experience as a sleep scientist studying the onset and maintenance of sleep and circadian difficulties across the lifespan and their association with physiological and environmental factors.
Dr Jonathon Twynam-Perkins
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde | University of Glasgow
Jonathan is a paediatric respiratory consultant in Glasgow, working within the paediatric sleep and ventilation service. His PhD research focussed on Lower Respiratory Tract Infections (LRTIs) & diagnostics and he is developing his research in paediatric sleep.
Dr Matthew Corr
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde | University of Glasgow
Dr Corr is a Paediatric Registrar with a special interest in sleep medicine. He works on the clinical side within the Respiratory team in the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow. He became involved initially with the St Andrew’s Sleep Research team as a volunteer in the Dream Team initiative.
Kerry Cooper
Workforce Development Lead Officer | NHS Fife
Helen Kobilnyk
A&C Lead | NHS Fife
Network & Partner Organisations
