Danielle Wilson

Dr Danielle Wilson is an early-career researcher and sleep scientist based at the Thompson Institute, University of the Sunshine Coast. Her research has a broad focus in clinical sleep medicine; and includes a program aimed at informing sleep-related policy and practice to improve sleep health during pregnancy and help keep babies safe; biophysiological measurement issues in polysomnography and the diagnosis and treatment of obstructive sleep apnoea, and more recently, projects aiming to advance sleep health equity in First Nations communities by developing local models of care for sleep apnoea diagnosis and management.

Dr Wilson has a Bachelor of Science (Psychology/Psychophysiology), a Master of Science (Research), and was awarded her PhD from The University of Melbourne in 2019 for her study on sleep-disordered breathing in hypertensive disorders in pregnancy and the impact on maternal and fetal health. She is the second most published author in "Sleep and Pregnancy" in Australia. She has received multiple awards for her research output, including the New Investigator Award at the Perinatal Society of Aust/NZ Congress (2022), and Austin ResearchFest Rob Pierce Memorial Award (2021). CI Wilson has presented at >20 conferences both nationally and internationally, has co-chaired sessions at World Sleep, and regularly reviews for leading international sleep and obstetric journals. Dr Wilson is a panel member of the CHEST guidelines for Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Pregnancy (the only Australian member) and is an active member of the Australasian Sleep Association, the World Sleep Society and the Perinatal Society of Australia and New Zealand.

Building on Dr Wilson’s 21 years of experience in clinical sleep medicine, she has developed novel programs of research to inform sleep-related policy and practice to improve pregnancy health and keep babies safe. Using empirical systematic methodologies with objective measurement, she has developed vital evidence to fill knowledge gaps regarding sleep health in pregnancy, and her work has helped inform the development of guidelines on obstructive sleep apnoea in pregnancy. Dr Wilson is driven to proactively seek out other leaders in research, making connections and collaborations both nationally and internationally. In her research career, she has assembled a team of sleep scientists, obstetricians, physicians, biomedical engineers and computer scientists to understand how sleep physiology can impact maternal and fetal wellbeing, and how this knowledge can be translated directly to the community via clinical practice. Importantly, her research has educated obstetric and midwifery staff to the importance of sleep disorders during pregnancy and encouraged referral of women to sleep services for further diagnosis and management. Her research in clinical sleep medicine into measurement issues on polysomnography has high clinical relevance and impact regarding diagnosis of sleep disorders and has included better understanding of how sleep scoring rules may influence diagnostic accuracy, how sleeping position can influence clinical judgements made by treating physicians, and how CPAP therapy can potentially improve sleepiness and cognitive function.