PHD Researchers
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| Alexandra Afroditi Asimakopoulou |
| Profile: Afroditi graduated with a BSc in Psychology from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and a MSc in Cognitive Psychology and Neuropsychology from University of Kent. She is currently a PhD student at the Attention & Memory Lab within the School of Psychology supervised by Associated Professor Ciara Greene. Afroditi’s research interests are broadly on how people’s emotion may affect their memory abilities. More specifically, her PhD research focuses on how emotional engagement may render people believe and remember fake news. She is currently conducting a scoping review on the role of individual differences in susceptibility to fake news. |
| Lab: Attention & Memory Laboratory |
| Supervised by: (opens in a new window)Ciara Greene |
| Contact: (opens in a new window)alexandra.asimakopoulou@ucdconnect.ie |
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| Áine French |
| Profile: I am currently conducting a systematic review on the role of third factors in the relationship between sleep and self-injurious thoughts and behaviours in young people as part of my M.Litt. studies. I am hoping to continue on to the Ph.D. programme to further explore modifiable factors in relation to young people’s engagement in self-harm. My research interests are broadly in the areas of youth mental health, modifiable factors (including sleep, social support, and physical activity), self-harm/suicide prevention, and digital technology. |
| Lab: UCD Resilience and Health Laboratory |
| Supervised by: (opens in a new window)Niki Nearchou |
| Contact: (opens in a new window)aine.french@ucdconnect.ie |
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| Tobias Constien |
| Profile: Tobias is a PhD Candidate at the UCD Babylab under the supervision of Assoc. Prof. Michelle Downes and Assist. Prof. Brendan Rooney. He is a trained dramatherapist and graduated from Trinity College Dublin (H. Dip. Psych.) and UCD (M. Psych. Science). In his PhD Project, he is exploring the role of pretend play in children’s early cognitive development. Being born and raised in Germany, he is also passionate about bread and is currently on a quest to find the perfect pretzel. |
| Lab: UCD Babylab |
| Supervised by: (opens in a new window)Michelle Downes |
| Contact: (opens in a new window)tobias.constien@ucdconnect.ie |
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| Isabelle Nic Craith |
| Profile: Isabelle (Izzy) Nic Craith is a social-developmental psychologist and Taighde Éireann - Research Ireland funded PhD Researcher. She is interested in research through multiple methods (e.g., qualitative, quantitative and longitudinal methods). Izzy's PhD research examines how children's superordinate (e.g., European, national) identities relate to social inclusion. Specifically, she is investigating how to promote more inclusive ideas of what it means to be Irish and European, with implications for children's inclusion of immigrants. She is also leading several other projects, including Ado-AI, a cross-cultural examination of adolescents' use of AI for advice in contexts of bullying, and the Interdisciplinary Writing Solidarity Group, which provides writing retreats and workshops for researchers to promote a research culture of cohesion and solidarity. Izzy is committed to teaching and mentoring and delivers lectures for psychology undergraduates and supervision for undergraduate and masters students. Outside of work, she is most commonly found curled up with a cup of tea and a good book or playing board games with friends. |
| Lab: Helping Kids! Lab |
| Supervised by: (opens in a new window)Laura Taylor |
| Contact: (opens in a new window)isabelle.niccraith@ucdconnect.ie |
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| Assim Kalouaz |
| Profile: My name is Assim, I'm a PhD student at the UCD School of Psychology and part of the d-real programme. My research interests revolve around experiential design, storytelling and virtual reality - I get excited about understanding how different experiences are conceived and that goes from mixology with cocktails to the Guinness Storehouse tour. VR is the perfect space to create powerful experiences but this comes at the cost of users' well-being if human factors are not considered, which is why I'm working on developing our understanding of how emotional experiences are prompted inside VR experiences. |
| Lab: The Media and Entertainment Psychology Lab |
| Supervised by: (opens in a new window)Brendan Rooney |
| Contact: (opens in a new window)assim.kalouaz@ucdconnect.ie |
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| Christina Koretsidou |
| Profile: Christina is a PhD student supervised by Assoc. Professor Niki Nearchou. She holds a Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Psychology and a Master of Arts (MA) in School Psychology from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece.
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| Lab: UCD Resilience and Health Laboratory |
| Supervised by: (opens in a new window)Foiniki Nearchou |
| Contact: (opens in a new window)christina.koretsidou@ucdconnect.ie |
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| Sarah Moran |
| Profile: Sarah is a PhD candidate funded by the Ad Astra PhD Scholarship and supervised by Assistant Professor Méadhbh Brosnan and Professor Simon Kelly (UCD School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering). |
| Lab: Cognitive and Translational Neuroscience Lab |
| Supervised by: (opens in a new window)Méadhbh Brosnan |
| Contact: (opens in a new window)sarah.moran3@ucdconnect.ie |
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| Rachel Murphy |
| Profile: Rachel Murphy is a PhD candidate supervised by Associate Professor Amanda Fitzgerald and Professor Eilis Hennessy. Rachel is a member of the Youth Mental Health Lab and is conducting her research alongside Jigsaw-The National Centre for Youth Mental Health. Her research focuses on peer support interventions for young people aged 12-25 years. More specifically, she is interested in how peer support can improve the mental health of young people and how youth mental health services can successfully implement these interventions. Rachel holds a BA (Hons) in Applied Psychology from University College Cork and an MSc in the Psychology of Childhood Adversity from Queen’s University Belfast. Prior to her PhD, Rachel worked as Research Assistant within the School of Allied Health at the University of Limerick. |
| Lab: Youth Mental Health Laboratory |
| Supervised by: (opens in a new window)Amanda Fitzgerald |
| Contact: (opens in a new window)rachel.murphy12@ucdconnect.ie |
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| Donagh Seaver O'Leary |
| Profile: Donagh is a postgraduate researcher in the Psychology of Psychosis lab under the supervision of Dr Keith Gaynor and Prof. Klaus Kessler. His PhD research focuses on relationship between interoception and psychosis, and whether altering interoceptive abilities/behaviours can improve symptoms of psychosis. Currently, he is exploring whether virtual reality delivered interventions can be developed to improve interception. Donagh’s research interests include all aspects of mental health. In particular, the intersection of masculinity, emotion and help-seeking. |
| Lab: Psychology of Psychosis Labratory |
| Supervised by: (opens in a new window)Keith Gaynor |
| Contact: (opens in a new window)keith.gaynor@ucd.ie |
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| Clara Stein |
| Profile: Clara Stein (she/her) is an Irish Research Council Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholar. Her PhD research investigates the impact of cognitive reserve on cognitive functioning in people with multiple sclerosis. This research is supervised by Professor Jessica Bramham and Dr Fiadhnait O’Keeffe, and conducted in collaboration with St. Vincent’s University Hospital. Clara’s PhD builds on her MSc Behavioural Neuroscience research, which investigated the role of estimated premorbid cognitive functioning in differences between self-reported cognitive difficulties and cognitive assessment in people with multiple sclerosis. In addition to conducting research on brain and cognitive functioning, Clara enjoys communicating science to general audiences via articles, blog posts, and social media. She also volunteers with two science outreach organisations, Letters to a Pre-Scientist and Skype a Scientist, to inspire students, especially those from underserved low income communities, to consider a future in STEM. Outside of research and science communication, Clara loves spending time outdoors, going on hikes, chatting with family and friends over a cup of tea, and doing yoga. |
| Lab: UCD Neuropsychology Lab |
| Supervised by: (opens in a new window)Jessica Bramham |
| Contact: (opens in a new window)clara.stein@ucdconnect.ie |
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| Samantha Trevaskis |
| Profile: Samantha Trevaskis is a PhD Candidate supervised by Dr Sonya Deschênes. Samantha’s research focuses on Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD), mental illness and health behaviours associated with the presentation of women’s symptoms. Her research will utilise ecological momentary assessment to investigate the presentation of PMDD symptoms for women over the course of their menstrual cycle and use this methodology to identify which health behaviours are beneficial for women with PMDD. She is particularly interested in Women’s Health Psychology, and the unique health conditions women experience. Samantha graduated with a BA in Psychology in 2020 from Dublin City University. Following that, she graduated from University College Dublin in 2021 with a master's degree in Psychological Science. Samantha lectures and teaches undergraduate modules such as Introduction to Psychology and Cognitive and Biological Psychology. She has also been a research assistant on several projects, including #OpenTeach and Children’s School Lives. |
| Lab: The PATH Laboratory |
| Supervised by: (opens in a new window)Sonya Deschenes |
| Contact: (opens in a new window)samantha.trevaskis@ucdconnect.ie |
Investigating a brief intervention model of youth mental health support
Neil Mac Dhonnagáin
niall.mac-dhonnagain@ucdconnect.ie
Supervised by: Barbara Dooley
Additions & updates:
The School of Psychology provides a dedicated space on our website to list our past and current Postgraduate Students. If you would like to have your details included on this page or update the details here, please complete the form at (opens in a new window)http://ucdpsychology.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_aborCZu7Ems4gxD