Meet Our Researchers

Meet Our Researchers

Megan Cowman, PhD Student

Megan completed her BA, Higher Diploma in Psychology and MSc in Clinical Neuroscience at NUI Galway. Megan’s MSc research project focused on clinical and cognitive variables affecting decision-making capacity in people with schizophrenia. Her research interests include non-social and social cognitive deficits in psychosis, and development of cognitive and psychosocial therapies for young people with mental health disorders.  Megan's PhD study with the PSYcHE programme will investigate predictors of psychosocial function in early psychosis.

Dr Emma Frawley, Postdoctoral Researcher

Emma graduated with an MSc in Occupational Therapy from Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh in 2010. Since that time, she has worked in clinical practice both in Ireland and the US. Emma’s last post in the US was in the area of brain injury at PennState Hershey Rehabilitation Hospital, Pennsylvania where she worked with an inpatient multi-disciplinary team. Emma also taught Pathology as an adjunct lecturer on the MSc Occupational Therapy course at Elizabethtown College, Pennsylvania. Emma was a Clinical Research Fellow with the YOULEAD programme. Her PhD research focused on psychosocial intervention and social recovery in early psychosis, co-developing the Cognitive Remediation and Social Recovery in Early Psychosis study (CReSt-R).

Dr Tom Burke

Tom is a Lecturer in Neuropsychology at the University of Galway, and Senior Clinical Neuropsychologist at University Hospital Galway. Tom received his PhD in Neuropsychology at Trinity College Dublin in 2016, after completing his BSc and MPsychSc in Psychology. He then completed his Clinical Psychology doctoral training at University College Dublin in 2019, where he currently holds an adjunct associate professorship. For his PhD research, Tom was awarded the PSI Division of Neuropsychology’s Deirdre McMackin Memorial; and for his Clinical PhD was awarded UCD’s Clinical Psychology Medal. Tom’s research interests relate to the cognitive neuropsychology and clinical neuroscience of movement disorders, psychiatric conditions, and neurodegenerative conditions, with particular interest in social cognition, using clinical, cognitive, neurophysiology and neuroimaging methodologies. 

Dr Maeve Dwan-O'Reilly, Postdoctoral Researcher

Maeve has been a postdoctoral researcher with the PSYcHE programme since January 2024. Maeve completed her PhD in University College Dublin in collaboration with Jigsaw, the National Centre for Youth Mental Health. Maeve’s PhD explored the role of secondary school staff in supporting and promoting youth mental health, with a particular focus on Jigsaw’s whole school mental health literacy initiative, One Good School. Maeve also has a background in teaching having trained as an English and religion secondary school teacher and having worked for many years as an ESL teacher.

Christina Gleeson-Ferguson, Research Assistant

Christina graduated with a BA (Hons) in Psychology in 2021 and MSc in Clinical Neuroscience in 2022 from the University of Galway.  Christina was awarded a scholarship with the Irish Cancer Society in the second year of her psychology degree and researched the psychosocial impact of living with Lynch Syndrome, a genetic mutation predisposing carriers to developing cancer.  Christina's MSc research dissertation focused on the investigation of corpus callosum tract integrity and recognition of emotion in people diagnosed with schizophrenia.  This research was published alongside her co-author Dr Tom Burke in the 'Brain Sciences' journal.  Christina has a keen interest in clinical psychosocial interventions and their potential to ameliorate and improve the difficulties associated with mental health disorders and neuropsychiatric conditions. 

Kyra Renaud, Research Assistant

Kyra graduated from the University of Galway with a BA in Psychology and an MSc in Clinical Neuroscience. Her research project for the MSc investigated the efficacy of a suicidality group intervention for individuals with emotionally unstable personality disorder. She is now working as a Research Assistant with the PSYcHE programme in the School of Psychology in the University of Galway. As part of this role, she is also a peer support worker on the MOST platform (Moderated Online Social Therapy). Kyra's main interest is improving mental health supports and reducing barriers for young people with mental health disorders.

Conor Gavin, Peer Support Worker

Conor works as a peer support worker on the MOST platform (Moderated Online Social Therapy) and has lived experience of psychosis. Having completed his Bachelor in Biochemistry in the University of Galway, Conor enrolled in the MSc. Clinical Neuroscience. Conor’s specific research interests lie with psychosis and related disorders ranging from the genetic factors of the condition, environmental factors and also tailored intervention. His masters dissertation focuses on how childhood trauma affects cognition in those with schizophrenia. Conor has also recently published on how stigma relating to schizophrenia presents in the Irish media and hopes to continue researching this issue in future. With an additional passion for writing and poetry, Conor co-founded and directs the Psychosis Arts Collective (PAC) which empowers creatives who have lived experience of psychosis.

Past Researchers

James Lyons received his BA (Psych studies and Mathematics, HDip(A) in Psychology and MSc in Clinical Neuroscience from University of Galway.  His MSc project looked at whether substance use had an impact between childhood trauma, inflammation and cognitive abilities among persons with and without schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder.  James has previously worked with people with neurodegenerative, neurodevelopmental, substance use and other mental health disorders spanning childhood up to elderly age groups.  Previously, James worked as a research assistant with Trinity College Dublin looking at the impact COVID-19 has had on those experiencing homelessness in the Dublin area mainly.  James also worked as an assistant psychologist with addiction services in this time.  James' main interests are in positive psychology, dissociation, cognition, inflammation, the brain and identifying interventions which can bring about optimal outcome for people who have experienced psychosis. 

Emmet Godfrey received his BSc in Psychology and MSc in Clinical Neuropsychology from the University of Groningen. Since then, he has been fortunate to be a volunteer with 50808 (Crisis Textline Ireland), ADHD Ireland, and worked in collaboration with the University of Groningen in research. His main interests are in exploring novel ways of improving clinical outcomes, the efficacy of online interventions, and clinical developments in promoting recovery in early psychosis.

Talissa Walsh

Nicole Sylver