Rate My Professor Fatima Yaqoot

Professor Fatima Yaqoot is Professor of Sleep Research at the University of the Sunshine Coast, Moreton Bay campus. She is a pharmacist, epidemiologist, and sleep scientist with a PhD in Epidemiology from the University of Queensland, MTech in Pharmaceutical Technology from NIPER, and Graduate Certificate in Adult Sleep Science from the University of Western Australia. As director of the Let’s Yarn About Sleep program, she integrates multidisciplinary translational research with culturally responsive co-designed programs to reduce the societal burden of poor sleep, particularly addressing health inequities in First Nations communities. Her work has pioneered initiatives such as Australia’s first Indigenous Sleep Coach training and strategies for local sleep disorder management. Collaborating with 16 communities, her team enhances awareness, builds capacity, and develops clinician resources. Since 2018, Professor Yaqoot has secured over $26 million in competitive funding, including five Medical Research Future Fund grants and four National Health and Medical Research Council grants, supporting projects like Untapping the potential of sleep health to improve prevention and management of mental health problems in First Nations children ($4,997,586, 2025-2030), Co-designing Obstructive Sleep Apnoea screening and diagnostic approaches for First Nations Australians ($1,998,178, 2024-2029), and Obstructive sleep apnoea diagnosis and management in First Nations communities ($4,144,871, 2023-2028).

Professor Yaqoot’s research specializations include sleep epidemiology, First Nations sleep health, and health services research, exploring links between sleep, chronic disease, and social determinants across the lifespan. She has received major awards such as the University of Queensland Early to Mid-Career Researcher Industry Impact Award (2024), Partners in Indigenous Research Excellence Award (2023), Queensland Women in Technology—First Nations Changemakers Highly Commended (2023), Queensland Young Tall Poppy Award (2021), and James Cook University Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Research (2021). Her findings influence national and international policy documents and clinical guidelines. Key publications comprise Impact of sleep on educational outcome of Indigenous Australian children: A systematic review (2024, Australian Journal of Rural Health), A co-designed program for better sleep in Australian First Nations adolescents: protocol for the Let's Yarn About Sleep (2025, Sleep Advances), Obstructive sleep apnea diagnosis and management in First Nations communities: protocol for the Let's Yarn About Sleep-Obstruct (2025, Sleep Advances), and From process to publication: the conduct and reporting of co-design in health research (2025). She serves as Board Director of the Sleep Health Foundation, Member of the Indigenous Working Party of the Australasian Sleep Association, and is a sought-after conference speaker with features in over 600 media stories.