"It's dangerous to go alone--take this!"
Bio
If someone asked me to describe myself in three words, I would say that I am pragmatic, motivated, and a hardcore nerd. OK, so that's technically 4 words, but the 'hardcore' was required.
I am one part researcher, one part gamer, and one part developer. I utilise my psychological background not only to discern the most important aspects of video games, but also to apply this knowledge to my own game development. Please see the rest of my site for further details on my profressional experience, education, skills, and blog posts with my video game insights.
Professional Experience
Indie Game Developer
December 2022-Current
I am currently working as a self-employed indie game developer. I have one commercially released game, Too Many Cooks, and am also working on a second project developing a farming simulator. Through this post I have learned an object-oriented programming language, knowledge which I can apply to any programming language.
Research Assistant
May 2023-December 2023
I have recently finished a temporary position for the Vice President for Research and Innovation at Maynooth University. This role has required me to collect, collate, and overall summarise a vast amount of data regarding sabbatical policies across the world. I am also versed in programming in Python which has allowed me to scrape data from websites and analyse the large datasets that have been gathered. I have provided lectures on export controls which required me to learn an entirely new subject area. Lastly, I have gathered and analysed a large dataset regarding different research outputs for universities across the globe.
Researcher
January 2022-December 2022
I worked as a researcher with LERO and the Esports Science Research Lab at the University of Limerick. The project I was involved with is concerned with quantified performance of esports gamers. More specifically, we examined different combinations of mice and mousepads to determine if there is an optimal combination for esports gaming.
Postdoctoral Researcher
January 2021-June 2021
I worked as a postdoctoral researcher at Dublin City University for two different funded projects regarding behavioural interventions and cancer. My duties included conducting systematic searches for a systematic review, data analysis, and manuscript writing/editing. This position will lead to several publications and has provided me with experience in joining new research teams outside of my primary area.
Lecturer in Psychology
September 2019-March 2021
I have lectured at Mary Immaculate College in Limerick since the Autumn semester of 2019. My lecturing duties have involved being module coordinator for various undergraduate psychology modules including cognitive psychology as well assisting on abnormal psychology, research methods, and intermediate statistics modules. Further, I have supervised three undergraduate dissertations to completion.
I assisted the Dean of the Faculty of Education and Health Sciences on several projects on two different occasions. Specifically, I organised references in Endnote, conducted complex statistical analyses using SPSS and Excel, wrote up the results section of a paper, and helped to edit the other sections. This work has resulted in my co-authorship a paper, which has since been published in PLoS One. The second project is currently in preparation for submission.
March 2018-May 2019; January 2021-March 2021
Research Assistant
Education
PhD in Psychology
University of Limerick
September 2016-September 2019
During my PhD, I examined the positive effects of video games on well-being. I used this research opportunity to demonstrate that video games can indeed be beneficial for individuals. My thesis was awarded the "Award for outstanding Student Dissertation in Media Psychology & Technology Dissertation by APA div 46"
Click 'Learn More' for a link to my review on positive effects of video games.
MSc in Psychological Science
University of Limerick
September 2015-September 2016
My master's thesis focused on how childhood abuse can predict non-suicidal self-injury. My findings ultimately demonstrated that the more abuse a child experiences, the higher the likelihood they will engage in self-injurious behaviour. The thesis won an 'Excellence in Research' award from the Irish Association of Suicidology.
BA in Psychology
California State University, Fresno
August 2010-May 2015
My bachelor's degree was my first proper introduction to psychology. I gained invaluable psychological knowledge that I was then able to apply to my postgraduate studies.
Skills
"Video games are bad for you? That's what they said about Rock-n-Roll."