Coughlan, Dr Barry

Assistant Professor in Psychology

barry.coughlan@ncirl.ie

Overview

Dr Barry Coughlan is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at the National College of Ireland and a Visiting Researcher at the University of Cambridge. Before returning to Ireland, Barry completed a PhD in Public Health and Primary Care at the University of Cambridge, where he was also Deputy Head of the Applied Social Science Group.

To date, Barry has secured over €2 million in competitive grant funding as PI, co-applicant, and/or collaborator. A key focus of his research involves using real-world data to improve health and social care services. He is a mixed-methods researcher and has expertise in co-production, evidence synthesis, psychological epidemiology, and mental health services research.

In 2023, Barry won a Vice-Chancellor’s Early Career Award for Research and Impact at the University of Cambridge for his work on mental health in underserved groups. In 2023, he also won an award for ‘Kindest Colleague’ at the Department of Public Health and Primary Care at the University of Cambridge.

In October 2025, his paper titled “Risk rates and profiles at intake in child and adolescent mental health services: A cohort and latent class analyses of 21,688 young people in South London” was highly commended in the category of JCPP Advances’ Best Paper of the Year award. This open-access publication can be found here: https://doi.org/10.1002/jcv2.12246

Barry is currently a member of the HSE Midwest Region’s Research Ethics Committee.

Education

  • PhD in Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge
  • MSc in Applied Psychology (Distinction), Trinity College Dublin
  • BA (Hons) in Psychology (First Class Honours), Dublin Business School

Academic Experience

  • Assistant Professor in Psychology, National College of Ireland (2024-present)
  • Visiting Researcher at the Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge (2024-present)
  • Affiliated Lecturer at the Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Cambridge (2022-2024)
  • British Academy Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Cambridge (2022-2024)
  • Wellcome Trust Research Associate, University of Cambridge (2020-2022)
  • Director of Studies (external), Sidney Sussex College, University of Cambridge (2021-2022)
  • Deputy Head of the Applied Social Science Group, University of Cambridge (2020-2024)

Teaching and Supervision

Barry teaches across the core areas of psychology, including developmental psychology and final year project. He is actively supervising undergraduate and postgraduate students.

Publications

Journal Articles

Blog Post

Reports

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