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4. Marica Cassarino

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Biography

I am currently a Lecturer at the School of Applied Psychology, University College Cork, Ireland, where I teach Research Design and Methods in Psychology at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. I completed my PhD in Applied Psychology in UCC; as part of my project, I conducted the first exploration of geographical variations in cognitive health in ageing using data from The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA). Before my PhD, I completed a B.Sc. in Cognitive Psychology and Psychobiology (2007) and a M.Sc. in Clinical Psychology (2009) at the University of Padua (Italy), where I developed a passion for topics involving person-environment interactions, cognitive health, and gerontology. ‍

Research Interests

Research Interests

My general research interests are in Environmental Psychology, Gerontology and Cognitive Sciences. 


Across these two areas, I have been involved since 2017 in six funded interdisciplinary projects (listed below). I have conducted research on these topics employing both qualitative, quantitative and mixed-methods approaches.

Current Research Affiliations

• Psychological Society of Ireland (PSI) – Graduate member (M10792)
• Environmental Research Institute (ERI, UCC) – Academic member
• Institute for Social Science in the 21st Century (ISS21, UCC) – Ageing Cluster

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH PROJECTS

COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS AND CONSERVATION

Since January 2022, I am co-PI in a project aimed at exploring the efficacy of UCC as outdoor classroom for promoting biodiversity and climate awareness in local primary school children. The project is in collaboration with UCC School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, and was funded by UCC Green Campus Living Lab Programme.

KINSHIP

In January 2022, I became part of the working group for KinShip Project, funded by the Creative Ireland Climate Action Fund. The aim of this project is to engage the public on climate action through a community creative action programme at Tramore Valley Park, Cork City.

AIR QUALITY ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIOUR  IN CORK CITY

Nov 2020 – Ongoing. I am involved in a collaboration led by the Centre for Research into Atmospheric Chemistry (CRAC lab) at the Environmental Research Institute (ERI, UCC), Cork City Council, and Cork Health Cities, which aims to work towards the improvement of air quality in the city. The collaboration has so far completed two projects: 1) air quality forecasting; 2) air quality around schools. I am leading the development of surveys to understand people’s attitudes towards air quality and perceived enablers/barriers for promoting more sustainable behaviours with regards to air quality.

HAPPY PLACES FOR ALL

Feb 2020 – Ongoing. This interdisciplinary cross-national project aims to enhance our understanding of how the built environment contributes to wellbeing, particularly in vulnerable populations. I am co-leading the project with Dr. Sara Biscaya, Lecturer in Architecture University of Salford, and Dr. Sina Shahab, Lecturer in Planning and Environmental Policy at Cardiff University. We are currently working on a systematic review of the perceived impact of transformations in urban planning and design on wellbeing in vulnerable populations; the protocol is registered in Prospero. Co-editors of Sustainability MDPI special issue “Planning and Design Interventions for Improving the Well-Being of Vulnerable Groups”. The collaboration has received funding support from the British Academy Knowledge Frontiers Network Seed Funding.

AGENCY AND AGEING IN RURAL IRELAND

Between 2020 and 2022, I was a Collaborator in an Irish Research Council New Foundations project led by School of Applied Social Studies, UCC, in collaboration with Age Action. The project used a participatory approach to investigate older people’s living circumstances and housing decision-making in rural Ireland.

DOUGLAS SHOPPING CENTRE FIRE STUDY

Dec 2019 – Ongoing. Drawing from theories of place attachment and place loss, I am leading this cross-departmental collaborative project investigates the experiences and impact of a major fire that caused the closure of a local shopping centre in Douglas, Cork City (Ireland). The project sees the collaboration from researchers at the School of Applied Psychology and the School of Applied Social Studies, UCC. Data collection of the first wave (after the fire and before re-opening) was completed in June 2020, with data analysis ongoing. The second wave of data collection will take place after the centre reopening (expected November 2020). The project has been partly supported by Seed Funding from the School of Applied Psychology, UCC.

PEDESTRIAN CORK SURVEY

January-July 2020. As a member of the Pedestrian Cork community group, I have led the co-development of a survey to explore experiences of walkability of outdoor spaces in Cork City and County. The findings inform the group’s advocacy activities and have been adopted by Cork City Council as informing document for the Cork City Development Plan 2022-2028.

OUTLET (“OUTDOOR LIVED ENVIRONMENT AS BRAIN TRAINING”)

Apr 2016 – July 2020. As a member of the ACME lab (https://www.acmelab.science/) at UCC, I have co-led a multidisciplinary mixed-methods project exploring how the built environment can support cognitive wellbeing in older age. The project sees the collaboration of researchers from Environmental Psychology, Cognitive Sciences and Social Studies at UCC. Methods include walk-along interviews, focus groups, survey and experimental design to capture the multidimensional nature of the environmental impact on cognition.

HEALTH X NATURE

I am a collaborator in an interdisciplinary cross-national project between the School of Applied Psychology, UCC and the School of Natural and Social Science, University of Gloucestershire (UK) to develop a multidisciplinary approach to green spaces and health with the aim to better understand the dynamics driving the health/nature relationship.

ACME LAB

Jun 2017 – Ongoing. I am a Co-PI of the Ageing, Cognition, Multisensory perception and Environments (ACME) research Lab (PIs: Dr. Annalisa Setti and Dr. Jason Chan), School of Applied Psychology, UCC. Ongoing projects: Brain impact of nature (wearable EEG); community impact on cognitive wellbeing.

Research Grants

	Project	Funding Body	Start Date	End Date	Award
	A systematic review of the role of psychological and behavioural interventions in improving health and air quality through reductions in household solid fuel burning.	Health Research Board	06-JUN-22	29-JUL-22	€2,400.00

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Publications

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Peer Reviewed Journals

	Year	Publication
	(2023)	'Introducing forecast-based public health warnings to promote engagement with air quality risk: a survey of citizens’ attitudes in Cork, Ireland' Gorman, G., Hellebust, S., Venables, D., Ryan, K., & Cassarino, M. (2023) 'Introducing forecast-based public health warnings to promote engagement with air quality risk: a survey of citizens’ attitudes in Cork, Ireland'. Journal of Risk Research, [DOI] [Details]
	(2022)	'Gratitude as a predictor of pro-environmental behaviour? A survey investigation considering the role of environmental values and nature connectedness' Lee, N., Setti A., Cassarino, M. (2022) 'Gratitude as a predictor of pro-environmental behaviour? A survey investigation considering the role of environmental values and nature connectedness'. Journal of Ecopsychology, 2 (2):1-12   [Details]
	(2021)	'Envisioning Happy Places for All: A Systematic Review of the Impact of Transformations in the Urban Environment on the Wellbeing of Vulnerable Groups' Cassarino M., Shahab S., Biscaya S. (2021) 'Envisioning Happy Places for All: A Systematic Review of the Impact of Transformations in the Urban Environment on the Wellbeing of Vulnerable Groups'. Sustainability, 13 (14) [DOI] [Details]
	(2021)	'Impact of assessment and intervention by a health and social care professional team in the emergency department on the quality, safety, and clinical effectiveness of care for older adults: A randomised controlled trial' Marica Cassarino, Katie Robinson, Dominic Trépel, Íde O’Shaughnessy, Eimear Smalle, Stephen White, Collette Devlin, Rosie Quinn, Fiona Boland, Marie E. Ward, Rosa McNamara, Fiona Steed, Margaret O’Connor, Andrew O’Regan, Gerard McCarthy, Damien Ryan, Rose Galvin (2021) 'Impact of assessment and intervention by a health and social care professional team in the emergency department on the quality, safety, and clinical effectiveness of care for older adults: A randomised controlled trial'. Plos Medicine, 18 (7) [DOI] [Details]
	(2021)	'Natural or Urban Campus Walks and Vitality in University Students: Exploratory Qualitative Findings from a Pilot Randomised Controlled Study' Shrestha T;Di Blasi Z;Cassarino M; (2021) 'Natural or Urban Campus Walks and Vitality in University Students: Exploratory Qualitative Findings from a Pilot Randomised Controlled Study'. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18 (4) [DOI] [Details]
	(2021)	'Urban and rural environments differentially shape multisensory perception in ageing' Hirst, RJ;Cassarino, M;Kenny, RA;Newell, FN;Setti, A (2021) 'Urban and rural environments differentially shape multisensory perception in ageing'. Aging Neuropsychology And Cognition, [DOI] [Details]
	(2020)	'Virtual reality nature exposure and test anxiety' O’meara A.;Cassarino M.;Bolger A.;Setti A. (2020) 'Virtual reality nature exposure and test anxiety'. Multimodal Technologies And Interaction, 4 (4):1-14 [DOI] [Details]
	(2020)	'Diagnostic accuracy of the 4AT for delirium detection in older adults: systematic review and meta-analysis' Tieges Z;Maclullich AMJ;Anand A;Brookes C;Cassarino M;O'connor M;Ryan D;Saller T;Arora RC;Chang Y;Agarwal K;Taffet G;Quinn T;Shenkin SD;Galvin R; (2020) 'Diagnostic accuracy of the 4AT for delirium detection in older adults: systematic review and meta-analysis'. Age and Ageing, [DOI] [Details]
	(2020)	'Neighbourhood Environment and Cognitive Vulnerability—A Survey Investigation of Variations Across the Lifespan and Urbanity Levels' Cassarino, Marica and Bantry-White, Eleanor and Setti, Annalisa (2020) 'Neighbourhood Environment and Cognitive Vulnerability—A Survey Investigation of Variations Across the Lifespan and Urbanity Levels'. Sustainability, 12 (19)   [DOI] [Details]
	(2020)	'Stakeholders' perspectives on models of care in the emergency department and the introduction of health and social care professional teams: A qualitative analysis using World Cafes and interviews' Cassarino, M;Quinn, R;Boland, F;Ward, ME;McNamara, R;O'Connor, M;McCarthy, G;Ryan, D;Galvin, R;Robinson, K (2020) 'Stakeholders' perspectives on models of care in the emergency department and the introduction of health and social care professional teams: A qualitative analysis using World Cafes and interviews'. Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy, [DOI] [Details]
	(2019)	'Implementing an allied health team intervention to improve the care of older adults in the emergency department: protocol for a process evaluation' Cassarino, Marica and Cronin, \'Una and Robinson, Katie and Quinn, Rosie and Boland, Fiona and Ward, Marie E and MacNamara, Rosa and O'Connor, Margaret and McCarthy, Gerard and Ryan, Damien and Galvin, Rose (2019) 'Implementing an allied health team intervention to improve the care of older adults in the emergency department: protocol for a process evaluation'. Bmj Open, 9 (7)   [DOI] [Details]
	(2019)	'Sometimes nature doesn’t work: absence of attention restoration in older adults exposed to environmental scenes' Cassarino, Marica; Tuohy, Isabella C.; Setti, Annalisa (2019) 'Sometimes nature doesn’t work: absence of attention restoration in older adults exposed to environmental scenes'. Experimental Aging Research, 45 (4):372-385   [DOI] [Full Text] [Details]
	(2019)	'Testing attention restoration in a virtual reality driving simulator' Cassarino, Marica and Maisto, Marta and Esposito, Ylenia and Guerrero, Davide and Chan, Jason Seeho and Setti, Annalisa (2019) 'Testing attention restoration in a virtual reality driving simulator'. Frontiers in psychology, [DOI] [Details]
	(2019)	'Impact of early assessment and intervention by teams involving health and social care professionals in the emergency department: A systematic review' Cassarino, Marica and Robinson, Katie and Quinn, Rosie and Naddy, Breda and O'Regan, Andrew and Ryan, Damien and Boland, Fiona and Ward, Marie E. and McNamara, Rosa and O'Connor, Margaret and McCarthy, Gerard and Galvin, Rose (2019) 'Impact of early assessment and intervention by teams involving health and social care professionals in the emergency department: A systematic review'. Plos One, 14 (7)   [DOI] [Details]
	(2018)	'Reducing young drivers’ crash risk: Are we there yet? An ecological systems-based review of the last decade of research' Marica Cassarino & Gillian Murphy (2018) 'Reducing young drivers’ crash risk: Are we there yet? An ecological systems-based review of the last decade of research'. Transportation Research Part F-Traffic Psychology And Behaviour, 56 :54-73 [DOI] [Full Text] [Details]
	(2018)	'Effectiveness of early assessment and intervention by interdisciplinary teams including health and social care professionals in the emergency department: protocol for a systematic review' Cassarino, Marica and Robinson, Katie and Quinn, Rosie and Naddy, Breda and O'Regan, Andrew and Ryan, Damien and Boland, Fiona and Ward, Marie E and McNamara, Rosa and McCarthy, Gerard and Galvin, Rose (2018) 'Effectiveness of early assessment and intervention by interdisciplinary teams including health and social care professionals in the emergency department: protocol for a systematic review'. Bmj Open, 8 (7)   [DOI] [Details]
	(2017)	'Disabilities moderate the association between neighbourhood urbanity and cognitive health: Results from the Irish longitudinal study on ageing' Marica Cassarino, Vincent O'Sullivan, Rose A. Kenny, & Annalisa Setti (2017) 'Disabilities moderate the association between neighbourhood urbanity and cognitive health: Results from the Irish longitudinal study on ageing'. Disability and health journal, [Details]
	(2016)	'Complexity As Key to Designing Cognitive-Friendly Environments for Older People' Marica Cassarino, Annalisa Setti (2016) 'Complexity As Key to Designing Cognitive-Friendly Environments for Older People'. Frontiers in psychology, 7   [DOI] [Details]
	(2016)	'Environment and Cognitive Aging: A Cross-Sectional Study of Place of Residence and Cognitive Performance in the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing' Cassarino M;O'Sullivan V;Kenny RA;Setti A; (2016) 'Environment and Cognitive Aging: A Cross-Sectional Study of Place of Residence and Cognitive Performance in the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing'. Neuropsychology, 30 (5):543-557   [DOI] [Details]
	(2015)	'Environment as 'Brain Training': A review of Geographical and Physical Environmental Influences on Cognitive Ageing' Marica Cassarino & Annalisa Setti (2015) 'Environment as 'Brain Training': A review of Geographical and Physical Environmental Influences on Cognitive Ageing'. Ageing Research Reviews, 23 :167-182 [DOI] [Details]

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Conference Publications

	Year	Publication
	(2022)	School of Applied Psychology Invited Lunch Seminars Cassarino M. (2022) [Seminar[ Can Psychologists help save the Planet? Reflections from an interdisciplinary collaboration on attitudes towards air quality in Cork City School of Applied Psychology Invited Lunch Seminars Cork, , 28-FEB-22 [Details]
	(2021)	Wellbeing in Policy Seminar Series, Centre for Urban Wellbeing University of Birmingham Cassarino M. (2021) [Seminar] Putting wellbeing in place? Considerations on place-based happiness and equity from a psychosocial perspective Wellbeing in Policy Seminar Series, Centre for Urban Wellbeing University of Birmingham [Details]
	(2021)	International Conference on Environmental Psychology 2021 Cassarino M., Biscaya S., Shahab S. (2021) [Poster] Impact of Transformation in Urban Planning and Design on the Wellbeing of Vulnerable Groups: A systematic review of Happy Places for All International Conference on Environmental Psychology 2021 Syracuse (Italy), , 05-OCT-21 - 08-OCT-21 [Details]
	(2021)	Psychological Society of Ireland Annual Conference 2021 Cassarino M. & Setti A (Symposium Co-Chairs), O'Brien J., Mason A., Chan J., Shrestha T., Di Blasi Z., O'Meara A., Hearn C., Bolger A., Atkins R. (2021) [Symposium] Advancing Psychological research to foster people's wellbeing through interactions with outdoor spaces: Evidence on the role of nature, vulnerability, and technology Psychological Society of Ireland Annual Conference 2021 Online, , 11-NOV-21 - 12-NOV-21 [Details]
	(2021)	Transport and Mobility Forum Mix Your Mode Webinar 2021 Cassarino M. (2021) [Webinar] From Healthy Cities to Happy Cities? The psychosocial benefits of design for active travel Transport and Mobility Forum Mix Your Mode Webinar 2021 Cork, , 19-MAR-21 - 19-MAR-21 [Details]
	(2019)	International Conference of Environmental Psychology Cassarino M., Bantry-White E., Setti A. (2019) Choosing a walk in nature or downtown? A mixed-methods study of Cognitive and Sensory Preferences of Outdoor Places in Older Age International Conference of Environmental Psychology Plymouth (UK), , 04-SEP-19 - 07-SEP-19 [Details]
	(2019)	School of Applied Psychology Invited Talk Series 2019-20 Cassarino M. (2019) [Seminar] Is nature good for you? It depends (also) on your brain School of Applied Psychology Invited Talk Series 2019-20 Cork (Ireland), , 21-OCT-19 - 21-OCT-19 [Details]
	(2018)	Irish Gerontological Society 66th Annual and Scientific Meeting “Transforming Ageing Across Borders Cassarino M., Kenny R.A., Setti A. (2018) The Geographies of Cognitive Ageing: Neighbourhood distances from cities and cognitive variations in The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing Irish Gerontological Society 66th Annual and Scientific Meeting “Transforming Ageing Across Borders Cavan (Ireland), , 27-SEP-18 - 29-SEP-18 [Details]
	(2017)	The 65th Jubilee Annual & Scientific Meeting of the Irish Gerontological Society Marica Cassarino, Rose A. Kenny, & Annalisa Setti (2017) Environmental Approaches to Cognitive Ageing: An Investigation of the Role of Population Density and Disability The 65th Jubilee Annual & Scientific Meeting of the Irish Gerontological Society Wexford, , 29-SEP-17 - 30-SEP-17   [DOI] [Details]
	(2017)	Communicating Psychology: Getting the Message out There Marica Cassarino, Eleanor Bantry-White, Jason S. Chan, & Annalisa Setti (2017) Places to Recharge the Brain: Investigating the outdoor environment as a contributor to cognitive health in ageing Communicating Psychology: Getting the Message out There Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin, , 02-SEP-17 - 02-SEP-17 [Details]
	(2017)	Urban Space and the Body Marica Cassarino, Eleanor Bantry-White, Yu-Tzu Wu, Jason Chan, & Annalisa Setti (2017) Urban Space as “Brain Training” – A Mixed-Methods Investigation of How the Built Environment can Support Healthy Cognitive Ageing Urban Space and the Body University College Cork, Ireland, , 09-JUN-17 - 10-JUN-17 [Details]
	(2016)	64th Annual and Scientific Meeting of the Irish Gerontological Society Developing Cultures of Excellence in Ageing and Exploring the Needs of Marginalised Groups Marica Cassarino, Annalisa Setti (2016) Physical Activity Modulates Geographical Variations in Cognitive Ageing: Results from The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing . In: Age & Ageing eds. 64th Annual and Scientific Meeting of the Irish Gerontological Society Developing Cultures of Excellence in Ageing and Exploring the Needs of Marginalised Groups The Malton Hotel, Killarney, , 30-SEP-16 - 01-OCT-16 [DOI] [Details]
	(2016)	The Gerontological Society of America’s 69th Annual Scientific Meeting Eleanor Bantry-White, Annalisa Setti, Marica Cassarino, & Yu-Tzu Wu (2016) Quantifying Environmental Load on Cognition: A Pilot Study The Gerontological Society of America’s 69th Annual Scientific Meeting New Orleans, LA, [Details]
	(2015)	Connected Sustainability Workshop, 7th International ACM Conference on Communities and Technologies Annalisa Setti & Marica Cassarino (2015) Sustainable Cognitive Ageing: What Role for the Physical and Social Environments Connected Sustainability Workshop, 7th International ACM Conference on Communities and Technologies Limerick, [Details]
	(2015)	“Unlocking the Demographic Dividend”, The International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics European Region Congress Marica Cassarino, Rose Anne Kenny, Annalisa Setti (2015) Urban Environments Benefit Cognitive Ageing: A Cross-Sectional Study of The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing Cohort “Unlocking the Demographic Dividend”, The International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics European Region Congress Dublin, Ireland, , 23-APR-15 - 26-APR-15 [Details]
	(2014)	Science for Healthy and Active Ageing Irish Gerontological Society 62nd Annual and Scientific Meeting Marica Cassarino, Vincent O'Sullivan, Rose Anne Kenny, Annalisa Setti (2014) Environmental Risk Factors for Cognitive Ageing: Geographical Location, Social Engagement and Lifestyle Science for Healthy and Active Ageing Irish Gerontological Society 62nd Annual and Scientific Meeting Galway, Ireland, , 09-OCT-14 - 11-OCT-14 [Details]

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Published Reports

	Year	Publication
	(2022)	Agency and Ageing in Place in Rural Ireland. O’Sullivan, S., Buckley, M., Desmond, E., Bantry-White, E., Cassarino, M. (2022) Agency and Ageing in Place in Rural Ireland. University College Cork and Age Action, Cork. [Details]

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Policy Contribution

	Year	Publication
	(2022)	Air quality around schools – An investigation of the views of parents/caregivers and school staff in two primary schools in Cork. Cassarino M., Murphy L., Venables D., Hellebust S. (2022) Air quality around schools – An investigation of the views of parents/caregivers and school staff in two primary schools in Cork. Cork: Policy Contribution [Details]
	(2021)	Promoting engagement with air quality through forecasting and public health warnings: A survey investigation of citizens’ attitudes and behaviour. Cassarino M., Gorman G., Hellebust S., Venables D. (2021) Promoting engagement with air quality through forecasting and public health warnings: A survey investigation of citizens’ attitudes and behaviour. Policy Contribution [Details]
	(2020)	Pedestrian Cork Survey 2020. Cassarino M., Burke O., Egan J. (2020) Pedestrian Cork Survey 2020. Policy Contribution   [Details]

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Professional Activities

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Honours and Awards

	Year	Title	Awarding Body
	2022	UCC Green Campus Living Lab Fund	UCC Green Campus
	2021	UCC Green Campus Fund	UCC Green Campus
	2020	International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (IJERPH) 2019 Outstanding Reviewer Award	MDPI
	2020	UCC. School of Applied Psychology Research Support Fund	School of Applied Psychology
	2020	British Academy Network Seed Fund	British Academy
	2019	UCC CACSSS Impact fund	UCC College of Arts, Celtic Studies and Social Studies
	2013	School of Applied Psychology PhD Scholarship	School of Applied Psychology, University College Cork
	2014	Strategic Research Fund Postgraduate Scholarship	University College Cork
	2016	Irish Gerontological Society Presidential Medal	Irish Gerontological Society

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Professional Associations

	Association	Function	From / To
	International Association People-Environment Studies	Ordinary member	05-JAN-21 / 31-DEC-23
	International Association of Applied Psychology	Ordinary member	12-SEP-21 / 12-SEP-23
	Psychological Society of Ireland	Ordinary member	01-JAN-20 / 31-DEC-22
	American Psychological Association	Ordinary member	01-JAN-21 / 31-DEC-22
	Psychological Society of Ireland Special Interest Group for Addressing Climate and Environmental Emergency	Ordinary member	09-FEB-22 / 31-DEC-22
	Irish Gerontological Society	Ordinary member	01-JAN-16 / 31-DEC-19

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Committees

	Committee	Function	From / To
	Creating our Future Expert Working Group	Health and Wellbeing Expert working group member	2021 / 2022
	School of Applied Psychology Athena Swan Self-Assessment Team	Student and Staff Working Group Lead	2021 / 2022
	UCC Success is in your Nature Steering Group	Collaborator	2020 / 2021
	UCC Age Friendly University Steering Group	Ordinary member	2019 / 2020

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Employment

	Employer	Position	From / To
	School of Applied Psychology University College Cork	Lecturer	19-AUG-19 /
	School of Allied Health University of Limerick	PostDoctoral Researcher	22-JAN-18 / 16-AUG-19
	Liberty Insurance Ltd. & School of Applied Psychology, University College Cork	Post-Doctoral Researcher	12-JUN-17 / 12-DEC-17
	School of Applied Psychology UCC	Lecturer (Occasional)	08-SEP-14 / 10-SEP-16
	School of Applied Psychology UCC	Module Tutor/Demonstrator	09-SEP-13 / 19-DEC-14
	School of Applied Psychology UCC	Researcher (contracted by Project)	01-OCT-13 / 31-MAR-17
	School of Applied Psychology UCC	Research assistant	01-APR-17 / 30-APR-17

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Education

	Year	Institution	Qualification	Subject
	2021	Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology	Certificate in GIS and Digital Mapping	IS and Digital Mapping
	2017	University College Cork	Ph.D. by Research	Applied Psychology
	2009	University of Padova	MASTER OF SCIENCE	Clinical Psychology
	2007	University of Padova	BACHELOR OF SCIENCE	Cognitive and Psychobiological Sciences

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Languages

	Language	Reading	Writing	Speaking
	English	Fluent	Fluent	Fluent
	Italian	Fluent	Fluent	Fluent

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Outreach Activities

	Description
	As a member of this partnership with Cork City Council, Cork Healthy Cities, and the School of Chemistry in UCC, I have contributed to outreach in the local community, including UCC Community Week 2021, Cork's Lifelong Learning Festival 2022, and Cork's Carnival of Science 2022.
	I have been a member of the steering group of Pedestrian Cork since November 2019. Pedestrian Cork is an advocacy group working for the promotion of liveability and accessibility in Cork City and County https://pedestriancork.wordpress.com/

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Other Activities

	Description
	Science Communication 2021. Panelist at the UCC Community Week Public Talk Air Quality in Cork. With UCC School of Chemistry, ERI and Cork City Council. 2017. Second place at the FameLab Munster regional heat and qualified for the national final, for the talk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u00tf-yoIwQ A moka pot with high potential describing the concept of "affordances" and their application to design user-friendly environments in three minutes 2015. Second prize in the "Three Minutes Thesis" section at the UCC Doctoral Showcase for describing my PhD project in three minutes. Presentation title: "It Takes Two to Tango; Person-Environoment Interactions Influence Cognitive Ageing" (see presentation at
	Blog Contributions A crisis in climate cognition, explained. Academic expert contribution, by GreenNews.ie (August 2021) Why Where you Live Matters to Your Health and Happiness. Psychreg - Let's Talk abour Behaviour blog (July 2017) Finding the Best Places for Growing Old. University College Cork Postgraduate blog (June 2017)

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Teaching Activities

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Teaching Interests

• A significant part of my teaching is dedicated to Research Methods and Data Analysis in Psychology, at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. I also contribute my interest in Environmental Psychology and expertise in person-environment interactions across modules related to Community Psychology, Service Design, and Work design. 

Modules coordinated

• AP1040 Research Design and Statistical Analyses I (2019/22)
• AP2050/AP2114 Research Methods in Psychology II (2019/20)
  

Postgraduate supervision

2021-2022

• Laura Somers, M.A. Applied Psychology, Secondary trauma and wellbeing in nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic

• Patrick Clancy, M.A. Applied Psychology Mental Health, Burnout in healthcare workers working with intellectual disabilities 
• Jennifer Costello, M.A. in Work and Organisational Behaviour, Workplace online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic 
• Hope Obediah,  M.A. in Work and Organisational Behaviour, Work-related stress and contextual performance in employees working remotely 
• Topaz Shrestha, Ph.D. by Research (Co-supervisor), Nature-based solutions for wellbeing

2020-2021

• Maria Bulz, M.A. in Work and Organisational Psychology, Workspace biophilic design, employee productivity, and the mediating role of employee satisfaction

• Jennifer Rawle, M.A. in Work and Organisational Psychology, Factors of emotional exhaustion among primary school teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic

• Colm Scully, M.A. in Work and Organisational Behaviour, Changes to commuting and employees experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic

• Sarah Jane O'Mahoney, M.A. in Work and Organisational Behaviour, The impact of working from home on communication and social interaction in the workplace
  
  
• Hannah Nash, M.Sc. Public Health (co-supervisor), Sea swimming and wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic

2019-2020

• Darragh Long, M.A. Applied Psychology Mental Health, Impact of Work Environment on Stress Related Health in Irish Homeless Shelter Staff
• Nicole Lee, M.A. Coaching and Positive Psychology, Gratitude as a predictor of pro-environmental behaviour? A survey investigation considering the role of environmental values and nature connectedness [published]
• Topaz Shrestha, M.A. Coaching and Positive Psychology, Natural or Urban Campus Walks and Vitality in University Students: Exploratory Qualitative Findings from a Pilot Randomised Controlled Study [published]
• Sin Yee Kerk, M.A. Coaching and Positive Psychology, Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace – A qualitative research of the experience of international employees in Ireland and reflections on the role of coaching
• Paul Murtagh. M.A. Work and Organisational Psychology, Workplace biophilic design and employees’ wellbeing

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Research Information

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Internal Collaborators

	Name	Institute	Country
	Dr. James Richardson	University College Cork	IRELAND
	Dr. Annalisa Setti	School of Applied Psychology, University College Cork	IRELAND
	Dr. Courtney Collins	School of Biology, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University College Cork	IRELAND
	Prof. Ruth Ramsay	School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University College Cork	IRELAND
	Dr. Dean Venables	School of Chemistry, University College Cork	IRELAND
	Dr. Siobhan O'Sullivan	School of Applied Social Studies, University College Cork	IRELAND
	Dr. Eleanor Bantry-White	School of Applied Social Studies, University College Cork	IRELAND
	Dr. Stig Hellebust	School of Chemistry, University College Cork	IRELAND

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External Collaborators

	Name	Organisation / Institute	Country
	Denise Cahill	Cork Healthy Cities	IRELAND
	Dr. Kevin Ryan	Cork City Council	IRELAND
	Dr. Rose Galvin	School of Allied Health, University of Limerick	IRELAND
	Dr. Sina Shahab	Cardiff University	UNITED KINGDOM
	Dr. Sara Biscaya	University of Salford	UNITED KINGDOM