Dr Karyn O’Keeffe is an Associate Professor at the Sleep/Wake Research Centre, with over 25 years of experience in sleep research, teaching and clinical practice.

Karyn is a physiologist with considerable clinical experience in monitoring sleep and managing sleep disorders. She began her career as a Clinical Physiologist at WellSleep, University of Otago, Wellington, where she worked for 10 years and gained first-hand experience of shift work. She began transitioning to the Sleep/Wake Research Centre in 2006 and has been based at the Centre full-time since 2012.

Her research spans a broad range of topics, with particular focus on: (a) understanding the experiences and impacts of shift work and workplace fatigue; (b) improving fatigue risk management, especially in healthcare; (c) developing strategies to enhance sleep health; and (d) exploring the lived experience of sleep disorders. Her earlier work focused on treatment provision for conditions such as obstructive sleep apnoea and insomnia.

Karyn leads the strategic direction of the Centre’s teaching activities. She is the Course Coordinator for Massey University's courses on sleep and circadian science, including one undergraduate course and two postgraduate courses, and coordinates the Centre’s professional development courses, workshops and seminars. She is also Course Coordinator for a university course on systems thinking and design for health, and supervises postgraduate students.

She provides expert advice to government and industry on sleep, shift work, and fatigue management. She designs and delivers professional development courses, workshops, seminars and webinars for a broad range of organisations and the general public.

Karyn maintains strong connections within the sleep community in Aotearoa New Zealand. She is President of the New Zealand Branch of the Australasian Sleep Association and leads the annual Sleep in Aotearoa conference.