Elizabeth Keys

Dr. Elizabeth Keys is an Assistant Professor in the School of Nursing at the University of British Columbia's Faculty of Health and Social Development. She holds adjunct appointments at the University of Calgary and Dalhousie University. With a clinical background in community and public health nursing, Dr. Keys focuses on promoting child and family wellbeing through her research on infant sleep and parent-child interactions.

• PhD in Nursing, University of Calgary (2019)
• BN (Distinction), University of Calgary (2007)
• BSc in Cellular, Molecular, and Microbial Biology, University of Calgary (2003)
• CIHR Postdoctoral Fellowship at Dalhousie University (2019-2020)

Dr. Keys' research program focuses on promoting infant and parental mental health by supporting parent-child interactions and sleep health. She examines how innovative approaches like eHealth and precision health can transform health services to improve family lives. Her work emphasizes genuine community and stakeholder engagement as essential for creating meaningful changes. Using mixed methodologies and an interdisciplinary approach, Dr. Keys has developed interventions like Play2Sleep to improve infant sleep and modified the ABCs of SLEEPING mobile app for parents of infants.

Her publication record demonstrates consistent contributions to pediatric sleep research, with recent work examining sleep during the COVID-19 pandemic, digital interventions for sleep promotion, and community engagement in research priority setting. Dr. Keys leads significant research initiatives including CIHR-funded projects on sleep equity and national strategies for insomnia prevention.

• Sleep equity reimagined: An intersectional theoretical framework to optimize sleep health for all Canadians (CIHR Team Grant, 2023-2027)
• Better Nights and Better Days for Canadians: An Innovative National Strategy to Prevent and Improve Insomnia Across the Lifespan (CIHR Team Grant, 2022-2027)
• Understanding how parents build and mobilize personal support networks (SSHRC Partnership Engage Grant, 2022-2023)

Dr. Keys teaches undergraduate and graduate courses including applied statistics, quantitative research design, and community nursing practice. She directs the SLUMBER Lab (SLeep solUtions to proMote Better Early childhood Relationships) where she continues to advance research on pediatric sleep and family health.