Dr Lisa O'Leary

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 the fact that she was recently competitively appointed as co-editor 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. 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: She has secured over £343,222.12 in competitive funding(internal and external). She 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 Principle 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. For example one of her papers is one of the top cited articles in the Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities and has been cited in a key Scottish Government Document entitled ‘Towards Transformation see p.15 of this document: https://shorturl.at/GgOSp Teaching: She has a PG certificate in Higher Education (acquired in 2018) and is a fellow of the Higher Education. Academy. She has led and taught online, face-to face and blended modules for undergraduate and postgraduate programs. She has coordinated , 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 a member of a core under-graduate teaching team that was shortlisted for a Nursing Time Awards for Teaching and Innovation. This demonstrates her excellence in teaching at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. She currently is module Leader for Exploring Evidence to Improve Practice and Managing HealthCare Resources on the Health Care Management MSc programme. She delivers these modules to international students. She has developed and co-developed several modules based on research methods. In her previous postdoctoral role at the University of Glasgow, she also 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 at University of Glasgow. Her experience reflects a diverse portfolio of teaching on diverse programs at different Higher Education Institutions. 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 was also involved in the working group that informed the development of the Masters in the Public Health. She chaired the Masters development group from 2021-2023 (comprising the MSc in Research Methods for Health and Social Care Practice and Masters in Public Health). This involved conducting consultations (alongside the programme lead for the Masters in public health) with stakeholders of both programmes. 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, she chaired the Seminars and Conference Group. 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) 4. Understanding of Integrative Nursing Practice Among Nursing Staff in Nigeria: A Cross-Sectional Survey (2nd supervisor) Lisa has supervised over 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. She completed twenty hours of coaching with researchers at different institutions and completed a portfolio of reflective practice to gain this qualification. 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	Learning disabilities Intellectual disabilities Respiratory Health Mental Health Health Promotion Social Inclusion Health and Social Care Integration Sociology Qualitative research methods Systematic Review Behaviour Change Complex interventions
Teaching and Learning	Programme Lead for MSc in Research Methods in Health and Social Care Practice
PhD Supervision Availability	Yes