We are a multi-disciplinary research centre

Julie is the Director of NetwellCASALA. Her background is in Human Computer Interaction (HCI) and digital health technologies, with a focus on designing and evaluating intuitive and useful health and wellbeing technologies for older adults and those who support their care. Julie joined NetwellCASALA in 2011 and since then has led a number of digital health projects in the areas of chronic disease management, falls prevention, rehabilitation and ambient assisted living. Julie is the Principal Investigator on the Horizon 2020 funded projects SEURO and ProACT and the INTERREG VA funded project ECME, which examine how digital technology can support older adults to self-manage multiple chronic conditions at home. She is also Co-Investigator of the SFI-funded Smart Dementia Care project which aims to build a digital toolkit to support people with dementia and their carers in planning and managing their care.

Lucia’s areas of research are currently focussed in dementia and ageing, home and residential care particularly practice change, stage-specific dementia care, and communication and care giving. She is particularly interested in developing and evaluating interventions to improve the lives of older people and has expertise in case study design, feasibility studies and translation of research into practice.   Lucia supervises age-related studies for masters and PhD level students.

Oonagh graduated from University College Dublin (UCD) with a 1st Class Honours BSc degree in Physiotherapy, and was awarded with the Irish Society of Chartered Physiotherapist (ISCP) prize for clinical placement. She received her MSc and PhD from UCD. Oonagh was awarded an Industry Fellowship grant from Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) and undertook a one-year fellowship with Novartis, in their Global Service Centre in Dublin. Her current research interests are in personal sensing and the use of novel technologies in rehabilitation, healthcare and clinical trials. Oonagh Giggins is project manager on the Eastern Corridor Medical Engineering (ECME) project.

With a B.A. (Hons) in Psychology, Orla completed a PhD in Contextual Behavioural Science at University College Dublin. Orla has taught and supervised undergraduate and postgraduate students at UCD and DkIT. As an Assistant Psychologist with ACT Now Ireland, she has delivered training in third wave therapies such Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to both professionals and clinical populations. Orla has worked on the Changing Lives Initiative, within which she conducted a process and cost-effectiveness evaluation of the Incredible Years Parenting Programme for behaviours consistent with ADHD across Ireland, Northern Ireland, and Scotland. Orla’s current work includes examining the behaviour change impact of digital interventions, on older people with cardiac conditions. Orla is a member of the Editorial Board for the international Journal of Contextual Behavioural Science.

Suzanne earned a B.Soc.Sc. from UCD, H.Dip. in Business and MSc by research from DKIT. She worked in mental health, substance abuse and health education in the U.S. for fifteen years before returning to Ireland. In addition to teaching Healthcare in the adult education sector, Suzanne has an extensive background in intercultural and anti-racism training and research. Suzanne has worked on a range of projects including ProACT and as part of a European research team exploring Social Innovation in Ageing initiatives. Her research has included identifying barriers experienced by older people to accessing and using GP out-of-hours and exploring the vocational challenges of home healthcare assistants, and exploring stakeholder experiences of online delivery of daycare activities for community-dwelling older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. Suzanne leads the Living Lab at NetwellCASALA.

Breda has a Diploma in Project Management and has previously worked as a Junior Systems Analyst for the Revenue Commissioners. In her current role as Senior Programme Administrator she is responsible for office administration, diary management, events coordination and the day to day running of NetwellCASALA.

Gordon is a Senior Software Developer at NetwellCASALA. He received a BSc (Hons) degree in Commercial Computing from DkIT in 2006 along with a MA in Music Technology in 2008. He joined NetwellCASALA in 2016. Before joining NetwellCASALA Gordon worked as a freelance developer and an assistant lecturer in the School of Informatics and Creative Arts at DkIT. He has extensive experience in web application development along with seven years experience teaching various computing modules. In NetwellCASALA Gordon has worked on the H2020 ProACT project, was the technical lead on the ThinkTech project and is currently leading the development of user-facing care applications for the SEURO Project.

Michael earned a BA in Economics and German from University College Dublin, a Master of Arts degree in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) from DkIT and a Graduate Diploma in Digital Media from Dublin Institute of Technology. He earned his PhD from DCU with research focused on the user-centred design of applications that support older informal carers in the self-management of their health and wellbeing, specifically in the area of stress management, digital mindfulness-based interventions and sleep quality. He has lectured in both Human Computer Interaction and English Language in DkIT. Michael is currently an investigator on the Smart Dementia Care project which aims to build a digital toolkit to support people with dementia and their carers in planning and managing their care.

Séamus is a Postdoctoral Researcher in digital health with NetwellCASALA. His research interests include health psychology and mental well-being, with an emphasis on sport and exercise psychology. Séamus completed a MSc. in Applied Sport and Exercise Psychology at Ulster University and a PhD in Sport Psychology at Bangor University. Funded by City Football Group, his PhD focussed on talent development in elite youth football. Séamus also contributed to the development, implementation, and testing of a mental well-being screening process on-site at Manchester City Football Academy. Prior to his PhD, Séamus worked as a Research Assistant with Liverpool John Moores University. He worked on the Steps Towards Alcohol Misuse Prevention Programme (STAMPP) randomised controlled trial, assessing the efficacy of a school-based programme in reducing alcohol misuse and related harm in teenagers. Séamus is currently working on the SEURO project, developing technologies to support self-management by older people with multiple chronic health conditions.

Sarah is a postdoctoral researcher on the SEURO project at NetwellCASALA. She recently completed her PhD research which focused on the design, development, and evaluation of a digital platform to support people with cardiovascular disease to self-manage their condition. Sarah received a joint PhD scholarship from Deakin University (Melbourne, Australia) and the University of Copenhagen (Denmark). Her primary research interests include digital innovation for chronic disease self-management; the use of clinical exercise physiology and behaviour change interventions to improve health-related quality of life in older adults; and the active involvement of participants in creative research methodologies. She has been actively employed as a researcher/academic lecturer since 2015 and is a current member of the NHMRC Centre for Research Excellence in Digital Technology to Transform Chronic Diseases (Connected Health CRE).

Having earned a BA (Hons) in Social Care at DKIT Laura became an early stage researcher representing NetwellCASALA in Greece on the Value Ageing research project. With a background in the area of Intellectual Disability services, Laura is currently engaged in PhD studies focussed on nursing home based Dementia Care where she is exploring the relationship between communication and behaviour using a Behavioural Staging Model.

Yohanca has a background in Nursing and an MSc in “Ageing, Health & the Environment”. In addition to experience as an intensive care nurse, Yohanka is a Healthcare teacher in the adult education sector and a guest lecturer in Health Sciences at DkIT. She is currently undertaking a PhD studentship as part of the Eastern Corridor of Medical and Engineering Centre (ECME) project. Her current study explores the attitudes of health care staff towards mHealth interventions including a pilot study of a medication management app and how the information generated is shared and impacts on staff and patients. Yohanca’s research is aimed at informing care practices for older patients living at home with heart failure and cardiovascular disease.

Aoibheann is a Registered Intellectual Disability Nurse (RNID) having earned a Bachelor of Science (1st class hons) from Dundalk Institute of Technology. During her nursing training, Aoibheann worked as a Health care assistant in home care services and voluntary organisations and since qualifying works in both home care and voluntary organisations. Aoibheann is currently undertaking a Master of Science by research. Her research examines the workplace experiences of home health care assistants.

Patricia earned a BSc (Hons) degree in Intellectual Disability Nursing and a MSc by research, in Ageing and Health. From her masters research, examining the experience of student nurses working with older people, Patricia developed The Student Nurse Stressor-15 (SNS-15) Scale, validated for use in nursing education settings, which received international attention following publication. She was a Research Assistant on ProACT and is currently undertaking a PhD examining the role of nurse-led telephone triage in assisting people with multimorbidity to self-manage their conditions. She was a research project prizewinner at DigiFEST2020 for her presentation entitled ‘The Role of Telephone Triage Nurses in Supporting Older Adults with Multimorbidities in Ireland and Belgium to Self-Manage using Digital Technology’.

Yiyang earned a BS and Master of Research in Computer Science from University of Liverpool. His current PhD research focuses on Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) for self-managed home-based health care plans for older adults with cardiac conditions.

Berk is a doctoral researcher currently exploring the effects of human-robot interactions on people living with dementia. He earned his BSc in pharmacy and MSc in biotechnology at Ankara University and worked as a researcher at the University of North Carolina, School of Pharmacy. In addition to his community pharmacy experience, Berk has been working as a freelance consultant and medical author for pharmaceutical/informatics companies, including Sciome Informatics USA and Pfizer Istanbul.

Síofra earned a BSc Psychology in University College Dublin and went on to complete a MSc in Clinical Neuroscience in University of Galway. Her research background includes examining the relationship between motor imagery and emotion recognition and studying the impact of safety planning on suicidality. She is currently undertaking a master’s by research with NetwellCASALA examining older adults’ attitudes towards online psychotherapy.

Siobhán is an Occupational Therapist having earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Occupational Therapy from the University of Ulster, Jordanstown. Siobhán currently practices in the acute healthcare sector within the speciality of older adults, having previously worked across the acute, community and rehabilitation settings. Siobhán is committed to quality improvement within older adult services and has presented her project work at the Irish Gerontological Society conference on multiple occasions. She is currently undertaking a master’s by research with NetwellCASALA exploring older adults’ access to social support using digital platforms.