Rate My Professor Alister Neill

Professor Alister Neill serves as Professor of Respiratory and Sleep Medicine in the Department of Medicine at the University of Otago, Wellington. He earned his MBChB from the University of Otago in 1985, followed by training as a respiratory and sleep physician, including a sleep medicine fellowship completed before returning to New Zealand in 1997. His qualifications include MD, FRACP, Dip Anaesth, and BSc. In 1997, Neill established the WellSleep Centre at Bowen Hospital in collaboration with the University of Otago, Capital and Coast Health, Bowen Hospital Trust, and TranzRail, serving as its Clinical and Research Director. He is also a Respiratory and Sleep Physician in the Department of Respiratory Medicine at Capital and Coast Health and Sub-Convener for Respiratory and Sleep in the Year 5 MBChB module. Promoted to full Professor effective February 2019, he directs the University of Otago's WellSleep Research Group.

Neill's research interests encompass the epidemiology and ethnic distribution of obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) among New Zealanders and its links to cardiovascular disease, improving access to sleep services via home-based diagnostics and treatments, evaluation of technologies like auto-adjusting CPAP, oral appliances, and non-invasive ventilation (NIV) for respiratory failure, as well as sleep health disparities and pneumonia. He has authored over 50 peer-reviewed publications, including "Obstructive sleep apnea in New Zealand adults: Prevalence and risk factors among Māori and non-Māori" (Mihaere et al., Sleep, 2009), "Randomized controlled trial comparing flexible and continuous positive airway pressure delivery: Effects on compliance, objective and subjective sleepiness and vigilance" (Bakker et al., Sleep, 2010), "Noninvasive ventilation in New Zealand: a national prevalence survey" (Neill et al., Internal Medicine Journal, 2023), and contributions to Australasian Sleep Medicine (2017 chapter) and clinical guidelines. Neill has held positions on the board of the Australasian Sleep Association (ASA), served as inaugural President of the New Zealand Sleep Health Foundation, and received the ASA Distinguished Achievement Award in 2024. He teaches medical students, junior doctors, and advanced sleep medicine trainees, and advocates for equitable sleep disorder services.