Professor Kennedy has practised for over 15 years at the Department of Respiratory and Sleep Medicine at the Austin Hospital and the Monash Medical Centre in Melbourne.

A registered psychologist Professor Kennedy earned a graduate diploma in clinical hypnosis at the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry & Health Sciences at The University of Melbourne, a Ph.D. at the School of Psychological Science at La Trobe University, and a bachelor's degree in behavioural science at the School of Psychological Science at La Trobe University.

Professor Kennedy’s areas of expertise includes sleep disorders; insomnia, parasomnias, states of consciousness; circadian disorders; clinical psychology; clinical hypnosis; drug and alcohol addictions; eating disorders; memory; mental health.

Professor Kennedy has given more than 150 conference presentations, 160 media presentations and 100 presentations for other industry organisations and has a special interest, and vast experience in training dentists in the field of dental sleep medicine.

He is the sole author of book chapters, journal articles, conference papers, and has co-authored more than 250 publications. For his exceptional work, Professor. Kennedy earned the Rob Pierce Award for excellence in research at the Austin Health Research Week in 2012.