Dr Aiste Steponenaite

About

Dr Aiste Steponenaite is a Lecturer in Biological Sciences at the Medway School of Pharmacy, University of Kent, specialising in circadian neuroscience, sleep health, and ageing. She holds a PhD in Circadian Neuroscience from the University of Kent and a BSc (Hons) in Biomedical Science. Her research explores how ageing and circadian disruption affect brain health, behaviour, and wellbeing, using both preclinical and human-centered approaches to inform real-world interventions.

Research interests

Dr Steponenaite's research focuses on the translational potential of circadian biology in healthcare, with a special emphasis on sleep and neurological disorders. Her PhD project investigated the role of the leak potassium channel TRESK in regulating behavioral and molecular circadian rhythms. Her work on TRESK highlighted its significance as a key regulator of nocturnal suprachiasmatic nucleus dynamics and light adaptive responses, leading to its publication in Nature Communications (Lalic et al., 2020).
Translating research into tangible benefits is a core component of Dr Steponenaite’s work. She is the founding co-director of the Sleep & Wellbeing Clinic at the Parkinson’s Centre for Integrative Therapy (University of Kent), where she undertakes research on patient-led, non-pharmacological sleep interventions using wearable technologies and circadian assessments for participants with Parkinson's Disease, traumatic brain injury and multiple sclerosis.
Dr Steponenaite is deeply committed to public engagement and community collaboration. She has worked closely with local councils and care homes in Medway and wider Kent to co-design circadian-friendly environments and deliver sleep education initiatives. She has delivered high-profile public lectures and in 2023 was selected as one of the University’s Inspiring Women Researchers, which led to the creation of a public-facing video interview to raise awareness of sleep science.

Teaching

Dr Steponenaite is passionate about delivering high-quality, engaging education. She has designed and delivered content for undergraduate and postgraduate health sciences students, including a course on Sleep and Circadian Rhythms for medical students at the Kent and Medway Medical School (KMMS) and she is currently a module lead for Preparatory year module "MSOP1018 Essentials in Human Biology".
She is also deeply committed to mentoring and supporting early-career researchers. She supervises PhD students, overseeing candidates nationally and internationally, and supports postdoctoral and research assistant staff. Dr Steponenaite is an active and collaborative member of the wider scientific community, serving as a member of the Circadian Mental Health Network ECR Advisory Board and contributing to shaping the future of interdisciplinary research in her field.

Supervision

I welcome self-funded PhD students with interest in sleep and circadian research to get in touch about opportunities to work with me.

Professional

Committees:
NATS Early Career Researcher (ECR) representative at the Kent REF Steering Group (University of Kent)
MSOP representative at the Faculty Learning Enhancement Group (University of Greenwich)

Other:
Member of the Circadian Mental Health Network ECR Advisory Board