Dorothy is a doctoral researcher at Queen’s University Belfast and a member of the all-island PD-Life collaboration. As an Advanced Practitioner in Speech and Language Therapy, she has more than 20 years of clinical experience supporting adults with communication and swallowing disorders. From 2020 to 2025, she lectured on Ulster University’s Speech and Language Therapy programme and led teaching on eating, drinking and swallowing (EDS) and motor speech disorders.

In 2025–2026, she developed the university’s first postgraduate Advanced EDS module. Her research interests include communication disorders, dysphagia, communication access, and student education. She was a supporting author of the RCSLT’s 2024 position paper on thickened fluids for people with swallowing difficulties.

From 2022 to 2025, she was a researcher with ENSPIRED, a cross-border research programme that brought universities, third-sector organisations and people living with communication disability and/or difference together to promote communication access and inclusion.

Dorothy's involvement within the PD-Life Project will explore stigma associated with speech disorders in Parkinson's Disease. Dorothy will work closely with People living with Parkinson's Disease and their carers to find out more about stigma associated with speech in Parkinson's Disease.

Dr Steph Craig is a Research Fellow at Queen’s University Belfast and a registered nurse with a background in older people’s care, education, and research. She completed her PhD at Queen’s University Belfast, exploring how dementia-friendly communities can support people living with dementia to remain connected and included in their communities.

Steph’s research interests include dementia, Parkinson’s disease, ageing, social care, co-design, and improving the experiences of people living with long-term conditions and those who support them. She is particularly interested in research that brings together lived experience, health and social care practice, and evidence to create practical improvements in care and support.

Outside of work, Steph enjoys travelling and exploring new places. She is also a former Irish dancer, which makes her involvement in the dance strand of PD-Life particularly fitting.

Steph’s involvement in PD-Life is primarily within the Exercise and Dance work, where she supports the co-design and evaluation of a dance intervention for people living with Parkinson’s disease. She is particularly involved in working with people with Parkinson’s, families, and other stakeholders through PPI and co-creation to help ensure the research is relevant and meaningful.

Dr Mary Cronin is a postdoctoral researcher at University College Cork. Mary's research has focused on people living with long-term health conditions and family carers, with a particular interest in psychological well-being and support within healthcare settings.

Mary completed her PhD in Psychology, exploring how family carers can be supported through general practice and primary care. Mary's previous postdoctoral research focused on dementia diagnosis in general practice.

She is particularly interested in research that can help inform and improve practice. Her broader research interests include long-term health conditions, stigma, culture and communication in healthcare settings. In her leisure time, Mary can be found hiking or getting lost in a good book.

Within the PD-Life project, Mary’s research focuses on understanding stigma and cultural differences among people living with Parkinson’s disease.

Rodrigo is a psychologist with a master's in cognitive neuroscience and a PhD in Psychology, and trained in statistics and data science.

He has been involved in quantitative analyses and experimental methods applied to psychology and health sciences, particularly focussing on learning processes, learning difficulties, cognitive processes, brain structure, language, gender, and sexuality factors across the lifespan. He also teaches science at further education and enjoys teaching chemistry, and was even invited to teach Portuguese for English speakers.

Rodrigo works on the gender and culture branch of the PD-Life consortium from Queen's University Belfast, where he keeps track of gender differences and inequalities in quality of life, wellbeing, stigma, and mental health outcomes among people with Parkinson's, as well as access to heathcare.

Dr Fran Gaiera is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Limerick whose research focuses on Parkinson’s disease, particularly psychosocial experiences, stigma, quality of life, and wellbeing, which she explored through multi-method research during her PhD at University College Cork.

Within PD-Life, Fran works with Prof Amanda Clifford to explore how dance can influence movement and quality of life for people with Parkinson’s disease, alongside examining the role of culture and gender.

Fran is particularly interested in research that connects scientific evidence with the lived experiences of people with Parkinson’s disease and that can ultimately contribute to improving quality of life and supporting meaningful, accessible approaches to living well with Parkinson’s.

Fran is contributing to the Physical Activity work package, looking especially into how dance helps benefits people with Parkinsons’ Disease, as well as supporting the dissemination and communication of the project activities.

Amadeusz Lelental is a physiotherapist and registered nurse with a background in clinical practice, rehabilitation, and health research. He completed a BSc (Hons) in General Nursing at University College Cork before working in hospital settings and later completed an MSc in Physiotherapy at UCC. He is now beginning his PhD, exploring how community-based dance can support physical activity, confidence, enjoyment, and long-term participation among people living with Parkinson’s disease.

His wider interests include exercise, rehabilitation, behaviour change, and the development of accessible and enjoyable ways for people to remain active throughout life. He is particularly interested in bridging research and clinical practice to develop approaches that have a meaningful impact in the community.

Outside of work, Amadeusz enjoys a wide range of sporting activities, including running, swimming, basketball, surfing, hiking, and bouldering, and is always keen to try new activities.

Within PD-Life, Amadeusz’s PhD focuses on understanding what makes community-based dance programmes meaningful and sustainable for people living with Parkinson’s disease. His research explores how dance can support physical activity, confidence, enjoyment, and sustained participation, and will translate this evidence into a practical training toolkit for community dance instructors.

Katie completed a BSc in Sport and Exercise Science at the University of Limerick in 2023 before progressing to an MSc in Physiotherapy at University College Cork.

During her physiotherapy degree, she developed a particular interest in neurological rehabilitation and the role of exercise in supporting people to maintain their independence and quality of life. Katie is now continuing to build their knowledge and skills in this area as a PhD researcher.

Outside of her studies, Katie enjoys playing camogie and football, going to the gym, running, and walking.

Within PD-Life, Katie works as part of Work Package 5. Her research explores and develops exercise behaviour change interventions to help people with Parkinson’s disease incorporate physical activity into their everyday lives, supporting self-management and adherence to exercise.

Linda McDonald is a PD-Life-funded PhD student at University College Cork, with a BSc in Psychology from Maynooth University. During her studies, she led research for MS Ireland to inform volunteering policy, involving stakeholder engagement.

Within PD-Life, Linda’s research focuses on experiences of stigma in Parkinson’s disease. Her work involves interviewing people with lived experience of Parkinson’s, conducting a lab-based study, and engaging with stakeholders. She collaborates with researchers at Queen’s University Belfast to investigate differences in experiences of stigma.

Linda has a strong interest in neuropsychology and mental health and is passionate about improving quality of life for people with neurodegenerative diseases. Through her research, she aims to generate evidence that can help tackle stigma and make a meaningful difference in the lives of people with Parkinson’s.

Linda contributes to research on stigma in Parkinson’s disease. She works closely with lived experience contributors and project partners in the north and south to investigate differences in Parkinson’s stigma, including those related to culture and gender.

I am a PhD researcher at Trinity College Dublin. My work looks at how mental health and thinking skills, such as memory and attention, are connected in people with Parkinson's. Before moving to Ireland, I studied psychology at the University of Chile and then completed a master's degree at KU Leuven in Belgium. I am also a qualified psychologist in Chile, where I worked with patients for over two years before moving into research.

In my free time, I enjoy reading fiction, playing tennis and going on long walks.

In PD-LIFE, I work on the mental health part of the project. We want to understand how people with Parkinson's across the island of Ireland experience their mental health, and how changes in thinking and memory affect this over time.

Elayna Watters is a PhD student at Queen’s University Belfast under the supervision of Professor Ioana Latu. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Queen’s University Belfast in 2026.

Her research explores the cultural and gender-related experiences of Parkinson’s across Ireland. She is committed to addressing medical gender disparities and ensuring women’s voices are meaningfully represented in research. She hopes to create meaningful, ethical research that improves real-world outcomes.

Elayna is interested in actively applying research and evidence-based interventions in the community. She has experience doing so with Cruse Bereavement and the Irish Red Cross.

Fun fact: Elayna completed a Health and Cognition Summer School at Zhejiang University in China.

Within PD-Life, Elayna is most involved in the research on cultural- and gender-related experiences of Parkinson’s across Ireland.