Yvonne Cunningham

Dr Yvonne Cunningham is a Researcher affiliated with the School of Health & Wellbeing and an Associate in the School of Social & Political Sciences at the University of Glasgow. Her roles include research in General Practice and Primary Care, with expertise in qualitative methods and public engagement in healthcare research. She leads projects funded by CRUK, CSO, and Scottish Government, focusing on topics like lung cancer symptom recognition, Long COVID interventions, and global health initiatives in Malawi. Previously, she worked as a part-time lecturer in communications and conducted science communication research in Ireland.

Education:

• PhD in Communications (2014), Dublin City University
• BSc in Applied Science, Dublin Institute of Technology

Research Interests: Qualitative methods, health communication, media representations of illness, and patient/public involvement in research. She contributes to the IHW Public Engagement and Knowledge Exchange Group, emphasizing community-driven research approaches.

Grants & Projects: Key projects include the ReDIRECT trial for Long COVID, evaluations of NHS primary care models, and a Malawi school-based salt reduction program. She also worked on EU-funded science communication projects (AVSA, MASIS, PLACES) analyzing audience engagement with science media.

Professional Roles: Evaluator for initiatives like the Dublin Science Gallery and the Festival of Curiosity. Collaborated with the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland on radiation policy strategies.

Labs/Teams: Active member of the Institute of Health and Wellbeing’s Public Engagement Group, integrating community perspectives into healthcare research.