- Collaborative research projects
- Building Capa-Cities: Embedding behavioural science in public policy for climate action
- Mitigating the impact of air pollution on health in Ireland
- A brush with Climate
- BEHAV-I-AIR: Behaviour and Impacts on Air Quality
- Community connections and conservation
- Happy Places for All
- Agency and Ageing in Rural Ireland
- Douglas Shopping Centre Fire Study
- Pedestrian Cork Survey
- OutLET (“Outdoor Lived Environment as Brain Training”)
- Health x Nature
- ACME Lab
- Research Supervision
Collaborative research projects
I have led and been involved in several research projects in the area of sustainable behaviours and wellbeing, and person-environment interactions. Some of the projects are listed below
Building Capa-Cities: Embedding behavioural science in public policy for climate action
September 2024 – Ongoing: This project led by Cork and Dublin City Council is part of the EU Mission: Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities. As part of this initiative, I am leading a Research Master’s project which aims to evaluate employees’ experiences of the implementation of behavioural science and insights into the operations of a local authority to advance policy for climate action. This is in collaboration with colleagues in UCC School of Applied Psychology, Cork University Business School and UCC Sustainability Institute. I am also involved in the development of a micro-credential to train local authorities on how to embed behavioural science in their work.
Mitigating the impact of air pollution on health in Ireland
October 2024 – Ongoing: I am collaborator in a project led by the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) funded by the Environmental Protection Agency to develop a multi-pronged approach to advancing policy on air quality and health for Ireland. More info here.
A brush with Climate
January 2025 – Ongoing: I am collaborator in a project led by UCC Office of Sustainability and Climate Action funded by Research Ireland Discover which aims to work with hairstylists will co-develop resources to support conversations on local climate mitigation and adaptation actions. More info at https://www.marei.ie/project/a-brush-with-climate/
BEHAV-I-AIR: Behaviour and Impacts on Air Quality
June 2023 – March 2025: BEHAV-I-AIR was funded by Taighde Éireann Research Ireland (previously) Science Foundation Ireland) under the National Challenge Fund, as part of the Healthy Environment for All challenge. The project aimed to combine advancements in air quality monitoring and forecasting with participatory design thinking approaches to raise public awareness on air pollution risks and promote behavioural change around air quality.
I led this project with Dr. Dean Venables (School of Chemistry, Centre for Research into Atmospheric Chemistry, UCC) as co-PI and Dr. Kevin Ryan (Cork City Council) as Societal Impact Champion. Key partners include Cork Healthy Cities, Cork Public Participation Network, and UCC academics in Psychology, Human-Computer Interaction and Computer Science.
This project built on, and has informed, ongoing collaborations with academic community partners in Cork and beyond to advance policy and practice for healthy air.
For more information, visit https://behaviair.org/
Project publications:
Community connections and conservation
April 2022-July 2023: I was co-PI in a project aimed at exploring the efficacy of UCC as outdoor classroom for promoting biodiversity and climate awareness in local primary school children. The project is in collaboration with UCC School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, and was funded by UCC Green Campus Living Lab Programme.
Happy Places for All
Feb 2020 – Ongoing. This interdisciplinary cross-national collbration aims to enhance our understanding of how the built environment contributes to wellbeing, particularly in vulnerable populations. I am co-leading the project with Dr. Sara Biscaya, Reader in Architecture and Built Environment, University of Huddersfield, and Dr. Sina Shahab, Lecturer in Planning and Environmental Policy at Cardiff University. The collaboration has received funding support from the British Academy Knowledge Frontiers Network Seed Funding (2020) and the ESRC Impact Acceleration Accounts Fund (2023). A list of our outputs is included in the publication page.
Agency and Ageing in Rural Ireland
Between 2020 and 2022, I was a Collaborator in an Irish Research Council New Foundations project led by School of Applied Social Studies, UCC, in collaboration with Age Action. The project used a participatory approach to investigate older people’s living circumstances and housing decision-making in rural Ireland. A report of this work is available at https://www.ageaction.ie/agency-and-ageing-place-rural-ireland
Douglas Shopping Centre Fire Study
Dec 2019 – Ongoing. Drawing from theories of place attachment and place loss, I am leading this cross-departmental collaborative project investigates the experiences and impact of a major fire that caused the closure of a local shopping centre in Douglas, Cork City (Ireland). The project sees the collaboration from researchers at the School of Applied Psychology and the School of Applied Social Studies, UCC. Data collection of the first wave (after the fire and before re-opening) was completed in June 2020, with data analysis ongoing. The second wave of data collection will take place after the centre reopening (expected November 2020). The project has been partly supported by Seed Funding from the School of Applied Psychology, UCC.
Pedestrian Cork Survey
January-July 2020. As a member of the Pedestrian Cork community group, I have led the co-development of a survey to explore experiences of walkability of outdoor spaces in Cork City and County. The findings inform the group’s advocacy activities and have been adopted by Cork City Council as informing document for the Cork City Development Plan 2022-2028.
OutLET (“Outdoor Lived Environment as Brain Training”)
Apr 2016 – July 2020. As a member of the ACME lab (https://www.acmelab.science/) at UCC, I have co-led a multidisciplinary mixed-methods project exploring how the built environment can support cognitive wellbeing in older age. The project sees the collaboration of researchers from Environmental Psychology, Cognitive Sciences and Social Studies at UCC. Methods include walk-along interviews, focus groups, survey and experimental design to capture the multidimensional nature of the environmental impact on cognition.
Health x Nature
I am a collaborator in an interdisciplinary cross-national project between the School of Applied Psychology, UCC and the School of Natural and Social Science, University of Gloucestershire (UK) to develop a multidisciplinary approach to green spaces and health with the aim to better understand the dynamics driving the health/nature relationship.
ACME Lab
Jun 2017 – Jun 2022. I was a Co-PI of the Ageing, Cognition, Multisensory perception and Environments (ACME) research Lab (PIs: Dr. Annalisa Setti and Dr. Jason Chan), School of Applied Psychology, UCC. Ongoing projects: Brain impact of nature (wearable EEG); community impact on cognitive wellbeing.
Research Supervision
Postgraduate supervision
2025-2026
| Programme | Student | Project |
| MPhil Applied Psychology (Research) | Romina Landeo | Embedding behavioural science in public policy for climate action: A process evaluation |
| Ph.D. by Research in Human-Computer Interaction (Co-supervisor) | Giorgia Anile | Digital technologies for circular practices |
| Ph.D. by Research in Economics (Co-supervisor) | Ming Xu | Employer-paid parking strategies and travel commute |
2024-2025
| Programme | Student | Project |
| M.A. Applied Psychology Mental Health | Nessa Healy | Group Nature-Based Volunteering in Older Adulthood: A Qualitative Exploration of Social Connections and Well-Being in Ireland |
| M.A. Work and Organisational Psychology | Clara Burke Valera | |
| Ph.D. by Research in Psychology (Co-supervisor) | Topaz Shrestha | Nature-based solutions for wellbeing |
| Ph.D. by Research in Human-Computer Interaction (Co-supervisor) | Giorgia Anile | Digital technologies for circular practices |
| Ph.D. by Research in Economics (Co-supervisor) | Ming Xu | Employer-paid parking strategies and travel commute |
2022-2023
| Programme | Student | Project |
| M.A. Coaching and Positive Psychology | Anna Finnegan | Young people’s perceptions of the climate crisis in Ireland (co-supervised with Dr. James Richardson UCC School of BEES) |
| M.A. in Work and Organisational Behaviour | Regina O’Loughlin | The cognitive effects of real vs. virtual nature exposure: An experimental study |
| Interdisciplinary M.Res. | Lydia Elliott | Community Connections and Conservation |
| Ph.D. by Research (Co-supervisor) | Topaz Shrestha | Nature-based solutions for wellbeing |
2021-2022
| Programme | Student | Project |
| M.A. Applied Psychology | Laura Somers | Secondary trauma and wellbeing in nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| M.A. Applied Psychology Mental Health | Patrick Clancy | Burnout in healthcare workers working with intellectual disabilities |
| M.A. in Work and Organisational Behaviour | Jennifer Costello | Workplace online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| M.A. in Work and Organisational Behaviour | Hope Obediah | Work-related stress and contextual performance in employees working remotely |
| Ph.D. by Research (Co-supervisor) | Topaz Shrestha | Nature-based solutions for wellbeing |
2020-2021
| Programme | Student | Project |
| M.A. in Work and Organisational Psychology | Maria Bulz | Workspace biophilic design, employee productivity, and the mediating role of employee satisfaction |
| M.A. in Work and Organisational Psychology | Jennifer Rawle | Factors of emotional exhaustion among primary school teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| M.A. in Work and Organisational Behaviour | Colm Scully | Changes to commuting and employees experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| M.A. in Work and Organisational Behaviour | Sarah Jane O’Mahoney | The impact of working from home on communication and social interaction in the workplace |
| M.Sc. Public Health (co-supervisor) | Hannah Nash | Sea swimming and wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic |
2019-2020
| Programme | Student | Project |
| M.A. Applied Psychology Mental Health | Darragh Long | Impact of Work Environment on Stress Related Health in Irish Homeless Shelter Staff |
| M.A. Coaching and Positive Psychology | Nicole Lee | Gratitude as a predictor of pro-environmental behaviour? A survey investigation considering the role of environmental values and nature connectedness [published] |
| M.A. Coaching and Positive Psychology | Topaz Shrestha | Natural or Urban Campus Walks and Vitality in University Students: Exploratory Qualitative Findings from a Pilot Randomised Controlled Study [published] |
| M.A. Coaching and Positive Psychology | Sin Yee Kerk | Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace – A qualitative research of the experience of international employees in Ireland and reflections on the role of coaching |
| M.A. Work and Organisational Psychology | Paul Murtagh | Workplace biophilic design and employees’ wellbeing |
Undergraduate supervision
2023-2024
| Programme | Student | Project |
| B.A. Applied Psychology | Fia Clery | Exploring experience of place attachment, social support and psychological wellbeing among third level students who have moved away from home: A qualitative study |
| B.A. Applied Psychology | Nessa Healy | Understanding the role of message framing in altering Irish consumers’ intention to buy sustainable fashion products and how much they are willing to pay. |
| B.A. Applied Psychology | Bartosz Sztyber | Private home spaces & wellbeing in adolescence: A qualitative study |
| B.A. Applied Psychology | Jessica Twomey | What makes a Happy Blue Space? |
| B.A. Psychology & Computing [Group project] | Craig Hill Ciara O’Riordan Ben McManus Kellie O’Donovan | Investigating the role of gamification for the promotion of clean air awareness and behaviours in Ireland |
2022-2023
| Programme | Student | Project |
| B.A. Applied Psychology | Aoileann O’Toole | The Restorative Potential of Public Art Spaces in Urban Environments: A Photo- Elicitation study |
| B.A. Applied Psychology | Sarah Buckley | A photovoice investigation of place attachment and identity development in an Irish youth centre. |
| B.A. Applied Psychology | Roisin O’Sullivan | The role of nature on students’ coping strategies and pro-environmental behaviours |
| B.A. Psychology & Computing [Group project] | Clíodhna Fullam Laura Horgan Hazel Tyner Yomna Waleed Faisal Mohamed | Persuasive technology to promote sustainable energy consumption through food and diet: Eco Cart |
2021-2022
| Programme | Student | Project |
| B.A. Applied Psychology | Aisling Tobin | Environmental optimism, self-efficacy and wellbeing among students |
| B.A. Applied Psychology | Lydia Lehane | Experiences with classism, social self-efficacy and wellbeing among student |
2020-2021
| Programme | Student | Project |
| B.A. Applied Psychology | Rachel Atkins | Understanding the Experiences of COVID-19 Spatial and Social Restrictions Among Young People with Physical Disabilities [preprint] |
| B.A. Applied Psychology | Abigale Owens | A qualitative exploration of the psychological impact of COVID-19 lockdown measures on Irish university students [preprint] |
| B.A. Applied Psychology | Sophie Cronin | Online learning, self-efficacy and online engagement among university students |
| B.A. Applied Psychology | Caoimhe Twomey | Spatial inequities and mental wellbeing associated with COVID-19 for older people |
2019-2020
| Programme | Student | Project |
| B.A. Applied Psychology (visiting student) | Alina Venjakob | Multilingualism and cognitive empathy |
Previous years
| 2018-19 | M.Sc. in Advanced Healthcare Studies, UL, 1 student, primary supervisor M.Sc. in Occupational Therapy, UL, 1 student, co-supervisor |
| 2015-16 | M.Sc. in Applied Psychology, UCC, 2 students (Cognitive Psychology), co-supervisor |
Marica Cassarino, Ph.D. 