Dr Lisa O'Leary

Post Nominals	PhD, ILM, FHEA, PGCE, MA (Hons), BA (Hons)
Biography	Dr Lisa O’Leary is a lecturer and researcher in the School of Health and Social Care. She is a national and international recognised scholar within the area of intellectual disabilities. This is evidenced by her recently competitive appointment as co-editor in chief for a leading journal entitled Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities (JARID). She was appointed due to her recognition as an expert in the field of intellectual disability research and her excellent track record of publications and conference presentations. In 2024, she was also competitively appointed to serve as chair for IASSIDD International Association for the Scientific Study of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities) Health special interest group. This is the largest special interest group for international researchers within the area of intellectual and developmental disabilities (comprising 174 members). She is also regularly invited to deliver guest talks, review funding applications/papers and contribute to book chapters within the area of intellectual disabilities. Research Profile: Lisa is currently principle investigator for two separate studies funded by the Burdett Trust for Nursing and the Bailey Thomas Foundation. Her current research program is focused on investigating approaches to manage chronic health conditions in people with intellectual disabilities (ID). For example In 2023, she obtained £68,270.41 as a principle investigator on a project funded by the Burdett Trust for Nursing entitled Co-creation of a Continuing Professional Development Toolkit to enable pre-registration nursing students acquire the skills and knowledge to enable individuals with learning disabilities to self-manage respiratory health issues. She is leading a multidisciplinary team of researchers based at Edinburgh Napier University to deliver this project. A mixed method approach is being used in this study. This includes the application of coproduction methods to inform the co-design of the CPD toolkit. In 2024, she obtained £89,970.71 as Principal investigator on a project funded by the Bailey Thomas Foundation entitled ‘Co-design and adaptation of the Swallowing, Oral Health and Nutrition Knowledge and Skills (SONKS) training programme for carers who support people with Intellectual Disabilities (ID) who have eating, drinking and swallowing difficulties. She is leading a team of researchers who are renowned experts in the intellectual disability fields (based at Ulster University, University of Glasgow and University of Leeds) and clinicians based at NHS Forth Valley) to deliver this project. She has published research which has demonstrated that individuals with intellectual disabilites are more likely to die from causes that would be preventable and amenable to better health care interventions. Her research outputs have had a national and international impact on policy, practice and research activity. Her research has been referenced in international policy documents such as from the World Health Orgnaisation (eg. Global Report on health equity for people with disabilities published in 2022) and National Policy documents (e.g. Learning/Intellectual Disability and Autism Towards Transformation from the Scottish Government published in 2021. One of her papers is also one of the top cited articles in the Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities. Leadership and service: Lisa has assumed several leadership positions during her tenure at Edinburgh Napier University. These included deputy research degree lead (2020-2023), where she led a seminar series for PGR students and engaged in activities on the university research degree committee (such as reviewing funding applications for bodies such as the Carnegie Trust). She led the development of an innovative new MSc in Research Methods for Health and Social Practice (2021-2023) , which was highly validated on an internal and external level. She chaired the Masters development group from 2021-2023 (comprising a range of post-graduate programmes such as the MSc in Research Methods for Health and Social Care Practice , Masters in Public Health). She is continuing to lead the development of research skills modules for CPD. She serves on various committees at Edinburgh Napier University (including the strategic working group for the Centre for Mental Health and Capacity Law (2022-present), Knowledge into Action Research group for people with Learning Disabilities (2023-present) , She served on the School Research Degree Committee (2018-2023) School Quality committee (2017-2018) and School Research Integrity committee (2019-2021). In her previous postdoctoral researcher role at the University of Glasgow (2015-2017), she chaired the Seminars and Conference Group and Early Career Research network . She was also a core member of one of the Athena Swan working groups in the Institute of Health and Well Being at the University of Glasgow. Supervision, management and coaching: Lisa has four current doctoral students. These include three PhD students, two of which are competitively funded ENU studentships (one as Director of Studies) and 1 MRes student. She is currently supervising the following doctoral candidates: 1. Louise Allan, Exploration and development of self-management strategies for people with intellectual disabilities who have asthma (director of studies) 2. Xia, Mengxue, A Cross-Cultural Exploration into Caring for Someone with Cancer: A Qualitative Study in Scotland (2nd supervisor) 3. Chloe Kennedy, Helpfulness of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) for People with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) towards the Development of Evidence-based Framework for the Adaptation of CBT (2nd supervisor) Lisa has supervised approximately twenty MBA and MSc students to completion . She also manages early career researchers who are employed on her research projects. She is committed to professional development and coaching/mentoring researchers with their development. She has recently completed and been awarded the ILM qualification in senior executive coaching and mentoring. The demonstrates external recognition of her excellent leadership and coaching style. She is applying this qualification in supporting the development of researchers within the school, university and researchers in HSR UK (https://hsruk.org/). She also applies a coaching approach in her management and supervision duties.
Research Interests	Lisa's programme of research is focussed on investigating approaches to improve management of chronic conditions in people with intellectual disabilities, to improve quantity and quality of life of this population. Learning disabilities Intellectual disabilities Management of chronic conditions Respiratory Health Mental Health Health Promotion Social Inclusion Sociology Nursing Qualitative research methods Systematic Review Behaviour Change Complex interventions
Teaching and Learning	Lisa has a PG certificate in Higher Education (acquired in 2018) and is a fellow of the Higher Education Academy. She led and taught online, face-to face and blended modules for pre and postgraduate programmes. Lisa's current and past teaching primarily focusses on research methods and addressing the health needs of vulnerable groups such as people with intellectual disabilities. She developed, led and taught on modules for both UK and international students. She has consistently got positive feedback from students. She is a committed to taking the feedback from students on board to improve their learning experience. In recent years, she was shortlisted for a Nursing Time Awards for Teaching and Innovation. This demonstrates her excellence in teaching at pre and postgraduate levels. Please see below details of current and past module leadership/involvement: Current module leadership and membership at Edinburgh Napier University: Advancing Practice Through Research (NUR09718), Module Member (2023-Present), Teaching/ assessment of research methods for cohort of over 200 international students. Exploring Evidence to Improve Practice (NMS11174), Level 11, Module Leader (2024- present), Leading module team, developing content, liaising with academic skills, teaching research methods to over 30 international and home based students. Achieved 100% satisfaction according to Cognas. Healthcare Management Project (XL002899), Level 11, (2022-present). Supervising research projects Managing Healthcare Resources (HSC11175), Level 11, Module Leader (2024). Leading a team of lecturers to develop content and deliver this module to over 30 health care management students. Colloborating with experts in the SHSC ( health technology), NHS (quality improvement) and university wide experts from finance (Dr Fawad Khaleel), project management (Brent Hurley) etc to inform development and delivery of content for this module. This helped ensure that students had a positive experience of the module and that it was grounded in up-to-date evidence. Previous module leadership and membership at Edinburgh Napier University: Module member for Occupational Therapy Research Questions and Methodology (HSC11132), Level 11. 2023 (delivered lecture and tutorial focussed on mixed methods drawing on own published research) Module member for Physiotherapy Research Questions and Methodology (HSC11141), Level 11. 2023 (delivered lecture and tutorial focussed on mixed methods drawing on own published research) Module Leader for Professional, Ethical and Legal Issues in Healthcare, Level 8 for international nursing students, NUR08004, 2019-2021) (ran for all trimesters each year) .The module was consistently highly rated (100% satisfaction according to Cognas) Supervisor for MBA/MSc projects on a wide range of health related topics (2019-2023) Module member for Effective Leadership in Healthcare Theory (XL001667), BN programme, 2019-2021, Lead for Learning Disability Nursing student cohort who were taking this module (delivered and developed content for tutorials/lectures) Module member for Effective Interagency working in Healthcare A Theory 4A Generic, BN programme, ( 2018-2020) Lead for Learning Disability Nursing student cohort who were taking this module (delivered and developed content for tutorials/lectures) Module Leader for Nursing Practice 3, BN pre-registration nursing programme LDN08115, 2018-2019 Module member for Critical Perspectives of Learning disabilities, BN programme (2017-2018), Developed content and led/delivered tutorials for learning disability nursing students Teaching experience prior to ENU: In her previous postdoctoral role at the University of Glasgow, she taught modules and supervised MSc dissertations within the area of Global Mental Health. She delivered tutorials to students who were undertaking an intercalated degree in primary care, whilst occupying this position. Her experience reflects a diverse portfolio of teaching on diverse programs at different Higher Education Institutions.
PhD Supervision Availability	Yes