Team

Dr Oonagh Meade was the lead postdoctoral researcher on the project between 2020-2022. She is also a co-applicant in the Making MECC Work project and is an Honorary Research Lecturer at the School of Psychology at NUI Galway.

Oonagh’s research interests lie in health psychology, particularly the psychosocial impact of living with long-term health conditions, the experiences of family members and carers, and the development and evaluation of behavioural interventions. Oonagh is a Patient and Public Involvement Catalyst at NUI Galway where she works to support staff and students to embed patient and public involvement in research.

On the project Oonagh is leading on data collection, analysis and reporting findings. She has also set up a Health Psychology Public Advisory Panel which is supporting the team in delivering the project.

When Oonagh is not busy doing research, you will find her running around after her two small boys and trying to keep them entertained!

Sandra Coughlan is a co-applicant on the Making MECC Work project. Sandra is Head of Training and Programme Design within Health and Wellbeing in the Health Service Executive.

Sandra is responsible for co-ordination of design and evaluation on behalf of a range of Policy Priority Programmes, focused on population health and inclusion of preventative measures in service design. Sandra leads the project team responsible for the implementation of Making Every Contact Count within the HSE.

From 2014-2019, Sandra worked as Regional Manager of Health Promotion and Improvement services in the HSE. Sandra also held national responsibility for co-ordination of HSE smoking cessation services and delivery of the Brief Interventions for Smoking Cessation training programme across the health service.

Sandra joined the HSE in 2004 and prior to that worked in a range of youth and community work settings. Sandra graduated from University College Cork with a BSocSc and HDip in Guidance and Counselling. Sandra subsequently graduated from Trinity College, Dublin with MSc in Health Services Management.

Sandra graduated from UCC with a BSocSc followed by a HDip in Guidance and Counselling. Sandra subsequently graduated from Trinity with MSc in Health Services Management.

Professor Catherine Hayes is a co-applicant on the Making MECC Work project. Catherine obtained her undergraduate medical degree from University College Cork and obtained a Master’s in Public Health and Doctorate from University College Dublin.  Catherine Hayes is Associate since 2011 in a joint academic-service post with the HSE.

The direction of her research is informed by her work as a public health specialist in the areas of cancer prevention, smoking cessation and obesity and by the science of dissemination and implementation (implementation science).

She has generated over €3m in research grant funding since her appointment to TCD. She is a recipient of advanced career development training awards in cancer prevention from the National Institutes for Health including the highly competitive and prestigious Training in Dissemination and Implementation Research (TIDIRH) Programme at National Cancer Institute in 2016 and was a key contributor to TIDIRH Ireland in 2018.

Outside of work she enjoys being physically active through golf and tennis, enjoys reading and music and spending time with her family.

Dr Jenny Mc Sharry is a co-applicant on the Making MECC Work Project. Jenny is a chartered Health Psychologist and lecturer in the School of Psychology at NUI Galway. Jenny leads on psychology teaching to the disciplines of Speech and Language Therapy and Occupational Therapy and is the Deputy Director of the MSc in Health Psychology and Co-Director of the PhD in  Health Psychology Practice at NUI Galway. Jenny is the Assistant Director of the Health Behaviour Change Research Group at NUI Galway, an international centre of excellence in health behaviour change intervention development, evaluation and implementation. Jenny’s research aims to take a systematic approach to behaviour change to address current health priorities and healthcare challenges. Jenny has a particular interest in implementation science, and the application of behaviour change to promote the uptake of research into practice.

Professor Andrew Murphy is a co-applicant on the Making MECC Work Project. Andrew has been Foundation Professor of General Practice since 1997 and has been responsible, with many others notably Maureen Kelly, Noirin Fitzgerald and Peter Cantillon, for developing under-graduate education in general practice and post graduate education in primary care in the University and region. He is also a general practitioner principal, with Drs Brendan Day, Eamon Twomey and Liam O’Reilly, in a semi-rural practice in Turloughmore, County Galway.

He qualified in medicine from Trinity College Dublin in 1988, completed his higher general practice training in Dublin 1992, was awarded an MD in 1996, a Fellowship of the Royal College of General Practitioners in London in 2004 and a Masters in Clinical Epidemiology in Australia in 2011. He was Visiting Professor to the University of Adelaide and Flinders University in Australia for the year of 2004. His research, largely quantitative and always collaborative, addresses chronic disease management and professional practice in the community. Great colleagues in these endeavors include Susan Smith (GP), Molly Byrne (Health Psychologist), Margaret Cupples (GP), Liam Glynn (GP), John Newell (Biostatistician) and Gerry Molloy (Health Psychologist). His H-index (for all its limitations!) in July 2020 is 47 and his i-10 Index 157, with a total of 8, 716 citations. He is Director, with Patrick Murphy as Development Manager, of the five year € 2.5 million HRB Primary Care Clinical Trial Network (2015) which has run over 26 trials recruiting over 3, 500 patients (https://primarycaretrials.ie/). Together with Siobhan Masterson, he has contributed to the academic stewardship of the National Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest Register (https://www.nuigalway.ie/ohcar/). He is currently an External Advisor to the UK National Institute of Health Research, the Norwegian General Practice Research Network and the German Federal Ministry of Research and Education.

Dr Patrick Murphy is a co-applicant on the ‘Making MECC Work’ project. He is the Network Manager of the HRB Primary Care Clinical Trials Network Ireland. A Chartered Health Psychologist with the Psychological Society of Ireland, Patrick has previously worked as an Assistant Professor in Psychology in Trinity College Dublin, and as a postdoctoral researcher with the Health Behaviour Change Research Group in NUI Galway. He completed his PhD in the Research Centre for Psychological Health in Trinity College Dublin in 2015. His research interests include the illness and treatment experiences of people living with chronic illnesses, the development and evaluation of complex behavioural interventions, and the use of qualitative research in clinical trials. His personal passions include coffee and punctuation.

Agatha Lawless is a collaborator on the ‘Making MECC Work’ project and a member of the Study Management Team. Agatha Lawless is a Project Manager with the HSE Health and Wellbeing, Strategic Planning and Transformation.  She works on the national Making Every Contact Count Programme and previously worked with the Healthy Eating Active Living Programme.  Her work involves leading on projects that support the implementation of the Healthy Ireland in the Health Services National Implementation Plan to help people to make healthier lifestyle choices.

Prior to this she was a Training & Development Officer in suicide prevention in the HSE South East. She has a BA degree in Training and Education with the National University of Ireland, Galway. She worked as a mental health nurse in Dublin and the UK.

In her time outside of work she enjoys playing tennis, travelling & spending time with her cat!

Dr Jo Hart is an international collaborator on the Making MECC Work project. She is a Health Psychologist and Professor of Health Professional Education based at the University of Manchester, UK where she is Deputy Head of the Division of Medical Education.

She studies and implements interventions focused on education and training of healthcare professionals. Jo is health professional education lead for The Change Exchange (www.mcrimpsci.org ), in which health psychologists volunteer to work with health partnerships between UK and low income country healthcare organisations.

She works with Health Education England and Public Health England, influencing the use of behavioural science in education and training. She is a Past Chair of the British Psychological Society Division of Health Psychology and is interested in the development of health psychology in the UK and globally.

Outside of work, she loves to be either outdoors, with family or watching a binge-worthy box set (but not all 3 at the same time!).