Claire is Professor of Nursing Research at the School of Nursing and Midwifery. She is planning a program of research with an overarching focus on psychological and brain health across the life span.
Background
Claire is a dual qualified Chartered Health Psychologist and a Registered General Nurse with over 30 years of global experience in healthcare practice, higher education, and research innovation.
She qualified with a B.Sc. (Hons) in Psychology from University of London (2002), Ph.D. in Gerontology from Trinity College Dublin (TCD) (2008) and MSc in Advanced Neuroimaging from University College London (2020). With having a background in developmental psychology, she has a keen interest in life course health and ageing, especially understanding how early life years’ exposure and experiences can influence health and wellbeing across the life span right through to later life years.
Her other scientific interests include examining and understanding consequences of large and small cerebral vessel disease, and neurodegeneration on the cognitive, emotional, and behavioural health of older adults. She has been a principal investigator and director for interdisciplinary research projects in neurology, gerontology and cerebrovascular disease in the UK, Ireland, and Bahrain. Her research experience also includes initiating and project managing pharmacological clinical trials in cardiovascular disease, endocrinology, and movement disorders (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and Parkinson-plus syndromes).
She has published widely in medical, nursing, psychology and age-related journals and editorial services include peer reviewer and contributor to several editorial boards across the health sciences. She's a member of the European and World Stroke Organisations and reviewer for grant giving bodies including the Stroke Association UK Project Grants.
She is a core member and was facilitator for the CHARM-EU Master’s in Global Challenges for Sustainability (Challenge driven, Accessible, Research-based Mobile European University) Knowledge Creating Team Life and Health that is a collaboration between universities TCD, Ireland; Universitat de Barcelona, Spain; Utrecht University, The Netherlands; Eötvös Loránd University, Hungary; and Université de Montpellier, France. She has previously served as Director for International Initiatives and Global Relations, TCD (2016-2018) and Programme Director for Psychology and Behavioural and Social sciences, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), Bahrain (2013-2016). Her expertise in higher education governance, accreditation and quality assurance includes acting as core member to the University Council, TCD and as panel member for postgraduate programmes accreditations for Quality and Qualifications Ireland.
Professional Associations
- Registered General Nurse with Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI) (PIN 00043434)
- Nursing Registration Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (NMW0002643164)
- Nursing Registration Nursing Council of New Zealand (313209)
- Chartered Registered Psychologist with the Psychological Society of Ireland (PSI) (M4739C)
- Chartered Health Psychologist with PSI (M4739C)
- Fellowship European Academy of Nursing (In process)
- Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia (10239)
- Irish Network of Health Educators
- Irish Gerontological Society
- International Federation of Ageing
- European Stroke Organisation
- World Stroke Organisation
- World Federation for Neurorehabilitation (SIG Neuropsychology) (2010 - 2013)
- Core member of Knowledge Creating Team Life and Health CHARM-EU Masters Programme
- Collaborator, Translational Brain Health, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
- Reviewer for Quality and Qualifications Ireland
- Topic Editor for MDPI Brain Sciences
- Guest Editorial for MDPI Brain Sciences
- Editorial Board for Clinical Nursing Studies
- Reviewer for International Association of Geriatrics and Gerontology World Congress of Gerontology and Geriatrics
- Reviewer for Trinity Health and Education Conference, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
- Reviewer for Stroke Association, UK
- Reviewer for Scientific Reports
- Reviewer for International Journal of Nursing Studies
- Reviewer for Ageing and Mental Health
- Reviewer for International Journal of Stroke
- Reviewer for International Journal of Therapy and Rehabilitation
- Reviewer for Annals of Nursing and Practice
- Reviewer for Biomed Central – Health Services Research
- Reviewer for Biomed Central – Palliative Care
- Reviewer for Disability and Rehabilitation
- Reviewer for International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders
- Reviewer for Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
- Reviewer for the European Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing
- Reviewer for Dove Press – Patient Preference and Adherence
- Commentary author and Reviewer for Physiotherapy Canada
Awards and Recognitions
- Global Talent Independent Programme Award 2022
- 2020-2030 Trinity College Dublin School of Nursing and Midwifery PhD Scholarship Programme Award 2020
- The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Bahrain Annual Research Grants Award 2014
- The Noel Hickey Bursary Award 2010, Irish Heart Foundation
- Oral platform prize at 10th Annual Stroke Conference, Irish Heart Foundation Council on Stroke
- Poster prize at 8th Annual Stroke Conference, Irish Heart Foundation Council on Stroke
- Highly commended poster at 54th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Irish Gerontological Society
- Best Poster at the Trinity Health and Education International Research Conference 2021 (THE Conf 2021). Prevalence of dysphagia in older adults with stroke, dementia and Parkinson’s disease in residential long-term care settings: A scoping review.
- Poster Gallery Winner of Stream 2 for Innovations and Clinical Practice, International Nursing & Midwifery Research and Education Conference 2021. Diagnostic accuracy of swallow screening tests in residential long-term care.
Research Areas and Interests
Topics
- Psychological Health Across the Life Span (PHALS)
- Brain and cognitive health
- Large and small cerebral blood vessel disease
- Cognitive, emotional, and behavioural health of older adults (CEBOHA)
- Neurological and gerontological rehabilitation and reablement
- Healthcare policy, clinical guidelines and innovations
- Social and ecological determinants of health
- Sustainability, equity and transdisciplinarity across health systems
- Nurses and climate challenge
Methodologies
- Person/patient outcomes centred research (PCOR)
- Life course health development research approaches across health and illness trajectories
- Conceptual and methodological theoretical frameworks and models in behavioural sciences
- Quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods’ designs
- Psychometrics for instrument design and transcultural use
- Software use includes IBM SPSS, NVivo, MATLAB, EpiInfo, Revman, GraphPad, Prism 8
- Clinical trials and Good Clinical and Laboratory Practice Guidelines (GCLP)
- General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) and Integrated Knowledge Translation (KT)
