Dr Samantha Dockray (Co-Chair)

Dr Samantha Dockray is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Applied Psychology, University College Cork.  Her key interests relate to the application of psychobiological models of behaviour and emotions to understand adolescent health and development.  Samantha has a particular interest in how puberty contributes to health, as well as in stress and allostatic load in adolescents.

Dr Sarah Foley (Co-Chair)

Dr Sarah Foley is a Lecturer in the School of Applied Psychology, University College Cork. Her research interests lie at the intersection of care and technology, particularly in the domains of women’s health and ageing care. In her research, Sarah employs qualitative methods, and publishes in the field of Human-Computer Interaction and Qualitative Research Methods. Sarah has received funding from the Irish Research Council, Health Research Board and Science Foundation Ireland and is passionate about understanding the role of digital technologies in fostering more positive healthcare interactions. 

Dr Reindolf Anokye is a behavioural scientist with expertise and research interests in various areas, including mental health, digital health, behaviour change, health communication, and health promotion. Recently joining the School of Public Health as a Postdoctoral Researcher on the Standardised Measurement for Childhood Obesity Prevention (SCOPE) project, Reindolf's doctoral research was supported by the Australian Government Research Training Scholarship. Throughout his PhD journey, he attained significant milestones, including a Career Development Fellowship and Junior Investigator Diversity Travel Award, as well as the Emerging Scholar and Professional Organization - Carol Schutz Travel Award from the Gerontological Society of America. In subsequent years, he was honoured with an Early Career Fellowship by the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine.

Jenny Cooney-Quane

Jenny Cooney-Quane is a PhD Researcher in the School of Applied Psychology, and a part-time lecturer in the Adult Continuing Education Department, University College Cork. Her research interests lie in psychobiology, specifically exploring the links between mental health, the immune system, and gut microbiota. She has also published in the areas of psychobiological measurement, and maternal mental health and infant health outcomes. Jenny is an Irish Research Council Postgraduate Scholar, and was awarded a PSI and PSI-DHP Membership Bursary in 2023. 

Dr David Healy is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the School of Psychology, University of Galway. He is working on a Health Research Board-funded project that aims to facilitate the co-design of strategies for integrating considerations of health inequality into the National Inpatient Experience Survey. David has previously worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the School of Public Health, University College Cork, optimising practice feedback to improve diabetes care in general practice. His research interests include co-production approaches in health research and research methods in psychology.

Dr Kim Keating is a Chartered Clinical Psychologist working as a practice educator on the DClinPsych programme at UCC. Her clinical and research interests include understanding and intervening with transdiagnostic processes in mental health and neurodevelopmental presentations, particularly in children and young people.

Dr Sinéad Kelleher is a lecturer in Applied Psychology, University College Cork. Her research interests include understanding minority populations’ developmental pathways and implications for wellbeing, as well as the intersection of various sub-identities and critical sub-group differences; this is an emerging area of interest for the promotion of health and wellbeing and reduction of social inequalities.  

Stephanie Murphy

Stephanie Murphy is a PhD Researcher in the School of Applied Psychology, University College Cork. She is interested in the role of social media and online platforms within contemporary support-seeking experiences. Her current PhD research specifically examines online sharing and support-seeking after pregnancy loss, with the overarching aim of supporting safer online experiences among this population. She employs qualitative research methods within her work. Her PhD research is part of the “Sharing when Caring” project, funded by the Lero Science Foundation Ireland Research Centre for Software. 

Jen O’Shea is a PhD researcher in the School of Applied Psychology, University College Cork. Her research examines the interaction between physiological, psychological, and social systems during adolescence development, with a particular emphasis on the role of neural plasticity in facilitating outcomes. Jen has a strong interest in health research, completing a Masters of Public Health in 2022, and is currently funded by the National University of Ireland’s Travelling Doctoral Studentship.  

Siobhán Thomas

Siobhán Thomas is a PhD Researcher in the School of Applied Psychology at University College Cork. Passionate about equity and diversity in health psychology, Siobhán’s research interests lie in health equity, intersectionality, and social determinants of health behaviours. Siobhán is currently involved in a project exploring measurement of sexuality and gender in health psychology research, and has worked on a range of projects that emphasise the lived experience of marginalized people. Their current PhD work, funded by the Irish Research Council Postgraduate Scholarship, is an investigation of barriers to health-seeking behaviour in the trans population, specifically focused on health avoidant behaviour. 

Éadaoin Whelan

Éadaoin Whelan completed her PhD in the School of Applied Psychology, University College Cork which examined daily experiences and psychobiological health in adolescence. Éadaoin is interested in how emotional experiences affect psychological wellbeing and physical health outcomes. Éadaoin is currently working as a Postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Psychology, University of Limerick on the Social Identity Model of Trauma and Identity Change (SIMTIC) project which is funded by the European Research Council.