I am a Lecturer in Health Psychology in the Centre for Improving Health-Related Quality of Life (CIHRQoL), in the School of Psychology at Queen’s University Belfast (QUB). 

I graduated from QUB with a BSc Psychology (hons) in 2010, and then a PhD in health psychology in 2018 which examined psychological adjustment in oesophageal cancer survivors and carers. I worked as the Research Lead at Marie Curie Hospice Belfast from 2015-2018, which involved undertaking various grant funded research projects in palliative and end of life care. Examples include a HSC R&D funded feasibility RCT of a music therapy intervention in a hospice inpatient setting, and two Marie Curie UK funded research programmes to evaluate palliative care day hospice services and develop an educational intervention to improve symptom management. I then joined the School of Psychology at QUB as a Lecturer in September 2018.

My research interests are broadly in the assessment and management of psychological wellbeing and quality of life in chronic conditions, where I have published >30 articles in peer-reviewed journals. 

In particular I am interested in-

• Psychological adjustment and quality of life in cancer and palliative and end of life care populations, including intervention development (e.g. music therapy, mindfulness, ACT) 
• Validation and implementation of outcome measures, particularly quality of life measures and psychological distress screening tools, and development of core outcome sets
• Building resilience in healthcare professionals
• Bereavement
• Public health approaches to palliative and end of life care (e.g. upstreaming advance care planning, death literacy, volunteer-led care)

Examples of current research projects include;

• I lead on a Music Therapy Charity funded project called MusiCARE, with my colleague Dr Tracey McConnell (QUB). This 18-month project (2021-2022) which aims to develop the evidence base for music therapy intervention with informal carers of people at end of life
• I lead on a British Scoliosis Research Foundation funded project called SPINE-COS-AYA, with my colleague Dr Paul Toner (QUB). This is a 15-month project (2021-2022) which aims to develop a person-centred core outcome set for adolescents and young adults with idiopathic adolescent scoliosis undergoing treatment
• I am a co-investigator on a DfE GCRF funded project Developing sustainable interdisciplinary partnerships to address cancer prevention, survivorship and end of life care in Colombia
• I am co-investigator on a NI Pancreatic Cancer charity funded project 'Co-Design of a Digital Serious Game to Promote Public Awareness about Pancreatic Cancer'
• I am co-investigator on a Kidney Care UK funded project 'Mindfulness for people with kidney disease and their carers' 

I teach on several degree pathways in the School of Psychology; the BSc (hons) Psychology, MSc Psychological Science (conversion) and the MSc Clinical Health Psychology (see below). I also supervise PhD students,  DClinPsych trainees, DECAP trainees and MSc student dissertations. 

Undergraduate BSc Psychology and MSc Conversion

• Personal Tutor Level 1
• PSY1009 Introduction to Methods
• PSY1010 Using Psychology in Everyday Life
• PSY7092 Applications of Psychology in the 'Real World'
• PSY2065 Core Psychology I
• PSY7090 Core Psychology I
• PSY2066 Core Psychology II
• PSY7091 Core Psychology II
• PSY3122 Introduction to Clinical Health Psychology

MSc Clinical Health Psychology

• PSY7104 Research Design and Essential Methods in Clinical Health Psychology
• PSY7101 Psycho-oncology; Living with and Beyond a Cancer Diagnosis (module co-ordinator)

External Roles

• Committee member of the Palliative Care Research Forum Northern Ireland (PCRFNI)
• Committee member of the Northern Ireland British Psychological Society (NIBPS)
• Committee member of the Northern Ireland Division of Health Psychology (DHPNI)
• Member of International Psychosocial Oncology Group Survivorship Special Interest Group (IPOS)
• Trainee member of the National Cancer Research Institute Living with and Beyond Cancer Advanced Disease and End of Life Workstream (NCRI)
• Member of the All Ireland Hospice and Palliative Care (AIIHPC) Palliative Care Research Network (PCRN)
• Chartered Psychologist (CPsychol)
• Full Member of British Psychological Society Division of Health Psychology
• Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society (AFBPsS)
• Fellow of the Higher Education Academy

Internal QUB Role

• QUB Psychology Athena SWAN Champion
• Psychology representative on QUB PPI Network