معرفی
Grace McMahon is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Limerick (UL), affiliated with the Centre for Social Issues Research (CSI-R) and the Study of Anxiety, Stress, and Health Laboratory (SASHLab). Her research focuses on health psychology, particularly the impact of stress and trauma on psychological and physiological health, with an emphasis on adolescents and young adults. She investigates how social relationships, support systems, and group membership mediate stress effects. Her postdoctoral work under Prof. Orla Muldoon examines trauma’s psychological impact via the ERC-funded SIMTIC project.
Dr. McMahon holds a PhD in Psychology from UL (2020), supervised by Prof. Stephen Gallagher and Dr. Ann-Marie Creaven. Her doctoral research explored attachment styles and social support as buffers against stress-related health issues. She has held roles as a Module Leader at Limerick College of Further Education, a Lecturer Below the Bar at UL (2020–2021), and a Part-Time Lecturer at Mary Immaculate College. She is also a member of UL’s Health Research Institute (HRI).
Her research interests span health psychology intersections with social and developmental psychology, including posttraumatic growth, cardiovascular health, and identity changes post-trauma. Recent work addresses group membership’s role in mitigating distress in crises (e.g., mass gatherings, displacement) and explores cultural contexts of mental health interventions (e.g., PTSD models in Nepal).
Her publications emphasize biomarkers of stress, social identity dynamics in trauma recovery, and public health responses to crises like the pandemic. She contributes to UN SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being) and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities) through her work on health disparities and social integration.
Teaching expertise includes research methods, statistics, and health/developmental psychology modules at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
