Our SIESTA Rising Stars (SIESTArs) are a committee of early- and mid-career researchers (EMCRs) within the SIESTA network. They are dedicated to supporting the training and development of fellow EMCRs across the network.

SIESTArs Committee

I completed my PhD in 2022 and now I explore how sleep, ageing, and neurodegeneration are linked. I love the freedom of research—and enjoy study design, stats, and writing as much as the big questions.

I’m a Research Scientist and I work on projects linking sleep and ageing. I love diving into research questions—and as a parent, I balance work and wellbeing by keeping research fun and focused.

I completed my PhD in 2023 (melatonin, cognition, and sleep). I now lead the NeuroMusic trial. I love contributing to dementia prevention and working closely with our participants.

I completed my PhD in 2025, my research examines neuromodulatory systems in sleep and neurodegeneration using multimodal approaches including fMRI, eye tracking and EEG.

Aaron Lam

University of Sydney

The Woolcock Institute of Medical Research

       

Mahnoosh Kholghi

CSIRO e-Health Research Centre

         

Zoe Menczel Schrire

University of Sydney

     

Isabella Orlando

University of Sydney

           

I’m a Postdoc exploring if a sleep drug can reduce the risk of conditions like Alzheimer’s. I enjoy making science accessible and thrive on learning, collaborating and helping others through research.

I am a postdoctoral researcher in the COMBAT-AD group, where I coordinate dementia studies, investigate early diagnostic tools and lifestyle factors for Alzheimer’s disease prevention. I and draw on my PhD in obesity-related inflammation to inform my work.

I am a PhD candidate investigating the link between sleep, the brain’s waste clearance system, and neurodegeneration. My work centres on the locus coeruleus, a small but crucial region that regulates this clearance process during sleep. I seek to understand how its function can help prevent conditions like Alzheimer’s disease.

Rhearne Ryan

Macquarie University

       

Shaun Eslick

Macquarie University

         

Victor Vidal

University of Sydney