Dr. Michelle Olaithe is an Honorary Research Fellow in the School of Psychological Science at the University of Western Australia. She holds a PhD in Psychology from UWA, conferred in March 2017, with a thesis titled 'Neurocognitive Disturbance in Obstructive Sleep Apnoea: Mechanisms of Harm,' supervised by Professor Romola S. Bucks and Professor Peter Eastwood. Concurrently, she completed her Master of Psychology (Clinical) at UWA in 2017, supervised by Associate Professor Carmela Pestell, Dr. Helen White, Bruce Campbell, Associate Professor Sue Byrne, and Dr. Sharon Byrne. Her earlier qualifications include Honours in Psychology (2009, supervised by Professor Vance Locke) and a Bachelor of Arts with a double major in Psychology (2008), both from UWA.

Olaithe's career at UWA includes Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the School of Psychological Science (2017-2020), Sessional Lecturer for Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia in the Sleep Certificate program (2016-present), Research Assistant under Professor Murray Maybery and Professor Rob Eikelboom (2015-2017), student representative on the School of Psychology Research Committee (2015-2017), Co-ordinating Tutor and Lecturer for Psychology 1102: Mind and Brain (2012-2013), and Tutor in Psychology (2010-2012). She also served as Lecturer in Qualitative Research Methods at Curtin University (2013) and guest lecturer on meta-analysis (2014-2015). Her research specializations encompass sleep medicine, neurocognitive function in obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), mood dysfunction, sleep in young people, and behavioural interventions. Key publications include 'Neurocognitive function in obstructive sleep apnoea: A meta-review' (2013, Respirology), 'Executive dysfunction in OSA before and after treatment: A meta-analysis' (2013, Sleep), 'Cognitive deficits in obstructive sleep apnea' (2018, Sleep Medicine Reviews), 'Sleep in young people: What works now and where to? A meta-review of behavioural and cognitive interventions and lifestyle factors' (2024, Behavioral Sleep Medicine), and 'OSA-Onset: An algorithm for predicting the age of OSA onset' (2023, Sleep Medicine). With over 2300 citations on Google Scholar, her work has advanced understanding in these areas. Current projects involve co-designing OSA diagnosis and management for First Nations communities (MRFF funded, 2023-2028) and evaluating low-barrier sleep solutions for youth mental health (Raine Foundation, 2024-2026). Awards include Fresh Science winner (2016, 2017), Helen Bearpark Memorial Scholarship (2018), Award for Higher Degree by Research Achievement (2014), Australian Postgraduate Award (2010), and UWA top-up scholarship (2010).

Professional Email: michelle.olaithe@uwa.edu.au