Dr Lisa Graham-Wisener is a Reader in Health Psychology in the School of Psychology at Queen’s University Belfast (QUB). She graduated from QUB with a BSc (Hons) in Psychology in 2010 and completed her PhD in Health Psychology in 2018. Her doctoral research examined psychological adjustment among oesophageal cancer survivors and their carers.

Between 2015 and 2018, she served as Research Lead at Marie Curie Hospice Belfast. She joined the School of Psychology at QUB as a Lecturer in September 2018 and was promoted to Reader in August 2024.

Dr Lisa Graham-Wisener’s research focuses on the psychological and social dimensions of living with life-threatening and life-limiting conditions, caregiving, and bereavement. Her work spans health psychology, palliative and end-of-life care, and public health. She has published over 60 peer-reviewed journal articles and during 2025-2026 is taking part in the Leading Researchers programme, a national programme facilitated by 64millionartists.

Her research interests include:

• The organisation and delivery of care to better support the psychological and social needs of people living with serious illness and their families
• The development and evaluation of evidence-based psychosocial interventions
• The development, validation, and implementation of robust measurement tools to capture key constructs such as psychological distress and death literacy
• Public health and social models of care that extend beyond clinical settings, including death literacy, compassionate communities, and responses to loneliness and social isolation

Dr Lisa Graham-Wisener is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and teaches across several postgraduate degree pathways in the School of Psychology, including the MSc Psychological Science (conversion), MSc Clinical Health Psychology, and MSc Applied Developmental Psychology. She contributes to core and specialist modules, serving as module co-ordinator for Applied Research Skills (PSY7116) and Psycho-oncology: Living with and Beyond a Cancer Diagnosis (PSY7101), as well as teaching Applications of Psychology in the Real World (PSY7092).

She supervises research at multiple levels, including PhD students, DClinPsych trainees, DECAP trainees, and MSc dissertations. She has successfully supervised eight doctoral students to completion: Dr Cara Ghiglieri (PhD), Dr William McGhee (DClinPsych), Dr Rebecca Hill (DClinPsych), Dr Sally McFadden (DClinPsych), Dr Aine Sutton (DECAP), Dr Lily Chuah (DECAP), Dr Rachel McAllistair (DECAP), and Dr Anna Muir-Little (DClinPsych). She currently supervises eight doctoral students: Lydia McKeown (PhD researcher), Stephanie Crawford (PhD researcher), Rita Seery (PhD researcher), Shamira McKenna (PhD researcher), Cormac Begley (DClinPsych trainee), Tara Anderson (PhD researcher), Ohoud Jaloud S Al Jaloud (PhD researcher), and Caitlin McShane (PhD researcher). She also regularly acts as an external examiner for PhD and doctorates, contributing to the quality and rigour of postgraduate research training nationally.

Dr Lisa Graham-Wisener holds a number of external leadership and professional roles. She is currently co-chair of the Northern Ireland Division of Health Psychology (DHPNI), through which she also sits on the British Psychological Society Division of Health Psychology UK (DHP) committee and the Northern Ireland Branch of the Psychological Society (NIBPS) committee, reflecting a commitment to advancing the profession at regional and national levels. As a Chartered Psychologist (CPsychol), she is a full member of the British Psychological Society Division of Health Psychology and an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society (AFBPsS).

She is an Honorary Research Fellow in the School of Medicine at Cardiff University and contributes to national and international research networks, including the All Ireland Hospice and Palliative Care Palliative Care Research Network for leading researchers in palliative care, the EAPC Public Health Palliative Care Reference Group, and the Mental Health and Wellbeing in Advanced Illness Network (MAIN). She is also a steering group member of the AIIHPC Psychological, Social and Spiritual Care Research Special Interest Group and a previous committee member of the Palliative Care Research Forum Northern Ireland.

Within Queen’s University Belfast, Dr Graham-Wisener is the School People Co-ordinator, serving on the School Management Committee, co-chairing the Athena SWAN and Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee, and chairing the Health and Safety Committee. In these roles, she leads initiatives to support staff development, wellbeing, and inclusive working practices. She also contributes to other internal committees and networks, including the Open Science Working Group, and is one of two co-ordinators of the School’s Qualitative Research Network.