Dr. Tomás Russell (co-director) is an Assistant Professor of Agricultural Extension and Innovation at the UCD School of Agriculture and Food Science. He is program director for the Masters of Agricultural Extension and Innovation. His research focuses on farmer behavior change, farmer mental health, digital agriculture and farm succession and inheritance. Dr Russell is a founding member of the Agri Mental Health Group.
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Professor Louise McHugh (co-director) is a professor of Psychology at University College Dublin. She is a world leading expert in Behavioural Science and Process Based Therapy. She has published over 100 papers and two books in the area. Most relevant to the Agri Mental Health research group is her research in the area of farmer mental health and suicide risk, the development of interventions for farmer mental health and message reframing work on climate change communication. Her work has been funded by national and international funding bodies. Professor McHugh is the Director of the UCD CBS lab and a founding member of the Agri Mental Health Group.
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Dr Alison Stapleton is a Chartered Psychologist of the Psychological Society of Ireland, Postdoctoral Fellow at Smithsfield Clinic and University College Dublin, and a Lecturer in Psychology at Dublin Business School and the Institute of Integrative Counselling and Psychotherapy. Alison coordinates the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science (ACBS) Neurodiversity-Affirming Research and Practice Special Interest Group (SIG), served on the Steering Committee for the ACBS Relational Frame Theory SIG, and currently works at ACT Now Purposeful Living, a leading provider of ACT training in Ireland. Alison regularly delivers national and international level trainings, and has experience working in psychological services to identify, accommodate, and support a range of neurotypes.
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Dr. Deirdre O’Connor is Associate Dean for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) and a lecturer in Resource Economics in the School of Agriculture and Food Science, University College Dublin. Her research and teaching interests include agricultural and rural policy analysis, with particular reference to the impact of EU policy on rural communities; social farming and green care in the Irish and European context and food policy – especially the issue of food poverty in Ireland. She was awarded a UCD Values in Action Award in 2020 for her work on raising awareness about Invisible Disabilities.
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Martin O’Connor is a clinical psychologist working in Primary Care Psychology Services with people in rural communities across the lifespan. He is also an adjunct Lecturer / Assistant Professor at the UCD School of Psychology. Martin has completed the UCD School of Psychology PhD Research Programme and Doctoral Programme in Clinical Psychology. Martin’s research interests include evaluating the efficacy of psychological interventions and investigating their processes of change.
Dr Noel Richardson is a senior lecturer and director of the National Centre for Men’s Health within the Department of Health and Sport Sciences, SETU, Carlow. He has extensive experience in the area of men’s health at a research, policy and advocacy level. He was principal author of Ireland’s National Men’s Health Policy (2009) and has served as a policy advisor on men’s health at the Department of Health for the past fifteen years. He was co-author of the first European Union Report on Men’s Health (2011) and also collaborated on the WHO European Region Men’s Health Report and Men’s Health Strategy (2018). He has published a broad range of research reports and academic papers in the area of men’s health. His current research interests include men’s health and masculinities; men, mental health and suicide prevention; and health promotion interventions targeted at ‘hard to reach’ groups of men in community and workplace settings. He is a board member of the Men’s Health Forum in Ireland
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Dr. Barbara Moore is a post-doctoral researcher with the Department of Sport and Health Sciences in South East Technological University and a visiting researcher in the School of Psychology in UCD and a lecturer in Social Policy at the Institute of Public Administration. She completed her IRC funded PhD in the School of Sociology, UCD and her topics of interest are ‘Social Policy’, ‘Health and Wellbeing’, Gender Equality, ‘Family Life’ and ‘Education’. Barbara has extensive qualitative research experience with the NCCA and DES funded, national ‘Children’s School Lives’ study in UCD. She is also a fully accredited Psychotherapist, with the Irish Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy, and is a member of their research committee. Barbara is actively involved in the promotion and provision of ‘low-cost’ counselling in local communities, particularly in the area of eMental Health.
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Dr. Nigel Vahey is a lecturer in psychology and head of research for the School of Social Sciences, Law and Education (SSLE) at Technological University Dublin (TU Dublin), Ireland. He is also President of the Association of Contextual Behavioral Science Foundation; and associate editor for both the Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science and the Psychological Record. His research has attracted 689+ academic citations and ~€1.2 million of academic grants/awards/scholarships. His work with the UCD Agri Mental Health group is mainly concerned with facilitating authentic communication and collaboration between farmers and policy makers regarding emerging climate change dilemmas (see the Sow what?! project).
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Pádraig Lacey is a Research Assistant with the UCD Agri Mental Health Group. His primary involvement is with the ‘Sow What?’ research project. This initiative focuses on connecting farmers and policy makers on climate change. Pádraig holds a BSc in Psychology from UCD and a Masters in Clinical Health Psychology from Queen’s University Belfast. Pádraig’s research interests lie in mental health and well-being in rural and community settings.
Conor McCloskey is a lecturer with Dublin Business School and a researcher with the University College Dublin Agri Mental Health Group. His research focuses on behavioural theories of language with a focus on relational frame theory, with additional interest in philosophy of science, motivational interviewing, and social policy. Conor has served as president of the Philosophy of Science Special Interest Group in the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science, and is currently a board member of the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science UK and Ireland Chapter.
Paul Nangle is a Research Assistant with the UCD Agri Mental Health Group. He holds a BSc in Agricultural Science from UCD and a Masters in Agricultural Extension and Innovation from UCD. His focus is to assist in the development of evidence-based interventions to enhance farmer mental health. Paul conducted research around credible mental health speakers and mental health stigma for his minor thesis as part of his master’s degree.
Dr Sean Boyle is a Chartered Psychologist of the Psychological Society of Ireland and Postdoctoral Researcher at Technological University Dublin. Sean has over three decades of experience working in business, education and behavioural research. He has a B.A., an M.Sc., and Ph.D. in Psychology from Maynooth University and also has lectured in Undergraduate and Postgraduate Psychology at Dublin Business School and Carlow College, St. Patrick’s. In 2015, and while operating Ireland's only Human Fear Laboratory, Sean was awarded the John & Pat Hume Ph.D. Scholarship in Psychology at Maynooth University which helped establish a robust scientific reputation in the field of behavioural research across Europe and the US. As a result, Sean brings a diverse skill set and a strong track record in behavioural change to the “Sow what?” project.