Biography

Dr. Leigh Signal is a Professor of Fatigue Management and Sleep Health at the Sleep/Wake Research Centre, Massey University, Wellington. Leigh trained as a Commercial Pilot and then completed a Master’s degree in Industrial and Organisational Psychology before completing her PhD in Public Health at the Sleep/Wake Research Centre.

Leigh is involved in both basic and applied sleep and circadian research with her work spanning two main areas. The first is focused on identifying, managing and mitigating fatigue in applied settings, particularly for the aviation industry. She has worked with aircraft manufacturers, international airlines and regulators and has conducted studies on board aircraft and in the laboratory environment. Leigh provides advice to industry groups and regulators on the management of fatigue and has been an invited member of two International Civil Aviation Organisation Fatigue Risk Management Task Forces to establish global rules and guidelines for managing fatigue in air traffic control and helicopter operations.

Leigh has received funding from New Zealand research agencies to undertake basic sleep science and community based research. This body of work has been focused on understanding basic sleep processes, particularly sleep inertia, and the sleep health of women and children. She is interested in understanding the sleep of women across the perinatal period, the relationship between sleep and mental health, and ways we can support women to maintain good sleep health and mental health across this timeframe. She also has an interest in understanding inequities in sleep for women and children and the sociodemographic factors that drive these differences.

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