Meet the DARE UK team

Project Team

Dr Enya Redican

Dr Enya Redican is a Research Associate at the Administrative Data Research Centre within the School of Psychology, Ulster University. She completed her PhD in 2023, titled "Trauma, PTSD and complex PTSD: An analysis of the 'Children and Young People's Mental Health in Northern Ireland Survey'," and received the Ulster University Outstanding Thesis Award for this work. Her current research uses routinely collected administrative data to generate insights into key issues affecting Northern Ireland society. She also conducts research on trauma, bereavement, and their psychological impacts, has co-authored numerous publications in these areas, and co-supervises a PhD student in bereavement-related research. Dr Redican is a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Traumatology.

Prof. Mark Shevlin

Prof. Mark Shevlin is a Professor of psychology at Ulster University (Coleraine) and an Honorary Professor of Psychological Research Methods and Statistics at the Southern University of Denmark. He has worked at Ulster University since 1998. His duties involve teaching research methods and statistics, and supervising research projects, at undergraduate and postgraduate level. He has published extensively in academic journals and has contributed to the advancement of knowledge in areas such as psychological measurement, latent variable modelling, and the assessment and understanding of mental health issues (PTSD and Complex PTSD in particular). He is currently the statistical editor for the Journal of Traumatic Stress and Child Clinical Psychology and Psychiatry.

Prof. Jamie Murphy

Prof. Jamie Murphy is a Professor of Psychology at Ulster University and Deputy Director of the Administrative Data Research Centre in Northern Ireland. Funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, the ESRC Secondary Data Analysis Initiative, Horizon 2020 and the Health and Social Care Board, Jamie has secured over£25m in research funding to date. His research focuses on a broad array of mental health phenomena and entails (i) secondary analysis of administrative and household population data, (ii) mental health researcher training and (iii) population survey research. To date, Jamie has published over 150 peer reviewed research papers and was recognised as a Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher in 2023.

Dr Una O'Connor

Dr Una O'Connor is a Senior Lecturer and Research Director (Education) and is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. She has over 25 years teaching and research experience, focusing on policy and practice in a range of contexts that underline the wider social, cultural, economic and political influences  on where and how education takes place. As a qualified teacher and social researcher, she has extensive research awards, including ESRC Secondary Data Analysis Initiative, Atlantic Philanthropies, Department of Education, and Integrated Education Fund. Her work was returned in RAE2008, REF2014, REF2021, and was included as an Impact Case Study in the two REF cycles.

Prof. April Hargreaves

Prof. April Hargreaves is Programme Director for Psychology at ICEP Europe. A cognitive neuropsychologist by background, April completed her doctorate in neuropsychology and genetics at Trinity College Dublin, where she explored the cognitive profile of schizophrenia risk variants using genome-wide association data.

Her early research also investigated cognitive remediation therapy and CoQ10 supplementation as potential interventions for cognitive decline in psychosis. April has held senior academic roles in higher education for over 15 years and has a strong track record in programme development, teaching, and research.

She co-founded the SAMI (Stigma  and Mental Health Ireland) Laboratory with Dr David Mothersill and Dr Gerard Loughnane, through which she leads international research into mental health and neurological stigma, with active projects in Ireland, Romania, Liberia, and the USA. She is also actively involved with Neurodiversity SPARK, a Northern Ireland-based organisation supporting neurodivergent adults and promoting inclusive practices across education and employment.

Project Funder – DARE UK

DARE UK (Data and Analytics Research Environments UK) is a programme that aims to establish a safe and collaborative network of Trusted Research Environments (TREs) where approved researchers can efficiently access and analyse sensitive data to advance research for public benefit. By co-creating this network with relevant communities and the public, we aim to enhance research while maintaining the security and confidentiality of sensitive data.

Stakeholder Members

Neurodiversity Spark

Neurodiversity Spark is a lived-experience-led organisation supporting neurodivergent people and the organisations they interact with. Our vision is to create an inclusion-first society where belonging is built in from the start and every mind is valued for its strengths. We are here to ease harm and help people grow. Through compassionate, trauma-informed, and evidence-based work, we support neurodivergent people and their communities to feel safe, understood, and empowered. We bring together empathy, research, and lived experience to raise the standard of care and inclusion wherever we work.

ADD-NI

ADD-NI was originally established in 1997 as a support network for children, young people and families of those affected by AD/HD: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Our sole aim is to promote and support the needs of those affected by AD/HD. At ADD-NI we firmly believe ’all children with AD/HD deserve the best start in life’ and that this can be best achieved by ’supporting and empowering children, parents and adults’ with early interventions in order to nurture their ability to achieve their full potential and to cope better with difficulties associated with living with the effects of AD/HD.

The Northern Ireland Department of Health

The Northern Ireland Department of Health is responsible for Health and Social Care (HSC), which includes policy and legislation for hospitals, family practitioner services and community health and personal social services. This includes Public Health, which covers policy, legislation and administrative action to promote and protect the health and well-being of the population, and Public Safety, which covers policy and legislation for fire and rescue services. The Department’s overall aim and mission is to improve the health and social well-being of the people of Northern Ireland.

The Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS)

The Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) promotes emotional wellbeing and delivers mental health services to children and young people with mental health concerns up to the age of 18. CAMHS is made up of a number of services who provide a range of supports. CAMHS mental health workers help children and young people with complex mental health needs and support their parents and/or carers.

The Royal College of Psychiatrists

The Royal College of Psychiatrists is the professional medical body responsible for supporting psychiatrists throughout their careers from training through to retirement, and in setting and raising standards of psychiatry in the United Kingdom. It works to secure the best outcomes for people with mental illness, learning difficulties and developmental disorders by promoting excellent mental health services, training outstanding psychiatrists, promoting quality and research, setting standards and being the voice of psychiatry.

The Centre for Effective Services

The Centre for Effective Services is a not-for-profit, all-island organisation. We aim to improve services and supports for people in Ireland and Northern Ireland​. We work with government departments & agencies, not-for-profit & voluntary and community organisations​, as well as in sectors including education, health, justice, children and young people, and social services. Our goal is to make evidence useful by connecting resources and knowledge and by building capacity to create change.

VOYPIC

VOYPIC was created up in 1993 by a group of young people in care and professionals. Our job is to promote the rights and voice of children in care and care leavers. We want every child in care to feel safe, valued and loved. We want every young person leaving care to do so with dignity and respect, and thrive into adulthood. We listen, we learn, and together we create change.

Elizabeth Nelson

Elizabeth Nelson is a specialist in engaging people, communities and organisations to talk about complex issues facing society. She works with the ADRC NI as engagement lead involving communities, experts by experience, and policymakers in data-driven research. She has been at the forefront of this field for nearly a decade, driving how data-driven researchers and institutions engage with and involve publics in conversations about data, how it is used, what public benefit means, and how to shape research projects to be responsive to the people to whom the data belongs - the public.