Professor Mary McCarthy is an established academic in the field of Marketing and currently serves as Vice Dean for Research and Innovation at the Cork University Business School and the College of Business and Law, University College Cork (UCC). She is also a Co-Principal Investigator on the Impact Platform of the Research Ireland (RI) VistaMilk Centre (Phase II), and a former Principal Investigator with the HRB Centre for Diet and Health Research. In addition, she is actively engaged in as funded investigator within the RI Co-Centre for Sustainable Food Systems.

Between 2020 and 2024, Mary has secured approximately €500,000 in research funding from both national and international agencies, including the European Union. Her scholarship bridges academic theory and real-world application, offering evidence-based insights to inform policy while positioning contemporary consumer trends within broader societal and cultural contexts.

She has made substantial contributions to the academic community, having published over 90 peer-reviewed journal articles, achieving a Scopus h-index of 34, and amassing over 7,000 citations on Google Scholar (h-index: 43; i10-index: 80). Her expertise is widely recognised, leading to appointments as an expert reviewer for major international research initiatives and external examiner for PhD examinations. She has successfully supervised nine PhD students and continues to mentor postdoctoral researchers and early-career scholars.

Her career exemplifies a commitment to interdisciplinary research that informs both academic discourse and real-world practice in the realms of food systems, public health, and consumer behaviour.

Professor McCarthy's research is rooted in consumer behaviour, with a particular emphasis on food, health, and sustainability. Her work delves into the everyday practices of individuals, examining the cognitive and contextual processes that inform decision-making and the acceptance of innovative, often disruptive, solutions. Her approach is deeply interdisciplinary, and she has led and collaborated on research projects involving cross-institutional and international teams.