Dr. Angela O’Dea is a research psychologist currently employed by NUI Galway as a post-doctoral researcher in Department of General Practice at the School of Medicine on a Health Research Board funded project examining screening, surveillance and lifestyle factors associated with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus.  She received her B.A. (Hons) in Psychology from the University of Glamorgan in Wales in 1996; M.Sc. in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology in 1997; and Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland in 2002. Dr. O’Dea’s research involved using statistical models to investigate the role of leaders in determining safety outcomes in the offshore oil and gas industry.

Dr. O’Dea moved to the United States in 2002 where she took a position as a Research Scientist with Klein Associates, a division, Applied Research Associates - in Dayton Ohio. During her time at Klein Associates Dr. O’Dea served as Principal Investigator on large-scale research projects for the military, foreign and US government agencies and various high reliability organizations. Project experience includes: investigating individual and team decisionmaking (and situation awareness) in critical environments, investigating teamworking and collaboration in collocated and distributed teams, designing evaluating and delivering training and instructional materials, supporting the design and development decision support systems. Dr. O’Dea is proficient in both quantitative and qualitative methodologies such as cognitive task analysis methodologies.

In May 2009 Dr O’Dea joined the Naval Postgraduate School to take the position of Chair of the Institutional Review Board, where she remained until July 2010 at which point she returned to Ireland. Dr. O’Dea is a citizen of Ireland and of the United States of America

Her research interests include safety and error management, naturalistic decisionmaking, decision-centered research and decision centered design, team working, leadership and training, Dr. O’Dea has published a number of research papers, conference papers, and professional reports and has presented her research at professional and industry conferences.