Miss Samantha McDowell

I am currently working towards my PhD within health psychology at the University of Stirling (UK). My research surrounds accessibility within primary healthcare spaces for the queer and autistic, and how we can better consider and improve the experiences of these individuals throughout their healthcare journey.

I am extremely passionate about multidisciplinary team working, with particular interest within the digital and social spheres. I previously completed a Cyberpsychology MSc at Nottingham Trent University (UK) which heavily involved working with teams within these spheres. More recently, I have completed an internship with Scottish Government in which I worked with internal teams across research and policy departments, but also external third sector and charity organisations. Furthermore, my PhD is currently funded by IAS, which has allowed me access to additional multidiscipline working and networking opportunities.

Across all areas of my current and previous research, I have sought to develop understandings of how sociocultural characteristics influence not only our own behaviours, but the perceptions of experiences within our individual worlds. It is this focus on our sociocultural differences which I believe needs to be pulled to the forefront of research in order to truly produce applicable findings to members of our rich, multifaceted society.

• Neurodiversity and Mental Health
• Accessibility
• Health Psychology
• Digital/Cyberpsychology (HCI)