Qualifications:  Bachelor of Arts (1st Hons) in Psychology and Sociology at the University of Limerick.

Project Title: Type D Personality and Cardiovascular Reactivity to Acute Psychological Stress.

Project Supervisors: Professor Stephen Gallagher & Dr Siobhán Howard.

Project Description: The current research project examines the cardio-toxic personality known as Type D. This personality trait has been consistently associated with adverse health outcomes in cardiac populations. This research examines cardiovascular reactivity to acute stress as a potential mechanism facilitating this association.

Awards and Honours:

• Education Health Science PhD Fee Waiver Bursary (2018)
• Most Outstanding Academic Performance Award for obtaining top QCA in my course, from the Department of Psychology, August 2017.
• University of Limerick’s Presidential List for Outstanding QCA Spring Semester 2015/2016 (QCA: 3.60)
• University of Limerick’s Presidential List for Outstanding QCA in Spring Semester 2016/2017 (QCA: 3.76)

Conference/academic presentations:

• O' Riordan, A., Howard, S. & Gallagher, S. (2018). Social context and sex moderate the association between Type D personality and cardiovascular reactivity. Limerick Postgraduate Research Conference, Mary Immaculate College, 24^th May 2018.
• O' Riordan, A., & Gallagher, S. (2017). Type D Personality and Cardiovascular Reactivity to Acute Psychological Stress. 14th Annual Psychology, Health, and Medicine Conference, Royal College of Surgeons, 3rd March 2017.
• O' Riordan, A., Howard, S. & Gallagher, S. (2018). Social context and sex moderate the association between Type D personality and cardiovascular reactivity. Thesis in Three Competition, University of Limerick, 24^th March 2018.
• O' Riordan, A., & Gallagher, S. (2017). Type D Personality is associated with blunted cardiovascular reactivity to acute psychological stress. 4th Annual All-Ireland Conference for Undergraduate Research, University of Limerick, 23rd March 2017.

Publications:

• Gallagher, S., O'Riordan, A., McMahon, G., & Creaven, A. M. (2018). Evaluating personality as a moderator of the association between life events stress and cardiovascular reactivity to acute stress. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 126, 52-59.
• Howard, S., O’Riordan, A., & Nolan, M. (2018). Cognitive Bias of Interpretation in Type D Personality: Associations with Physiological Indices of Arousal. Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback, 1-9.

Memberships:

• Member of Health Research Institute, University of Limerick.
• Member of the Study of Anxiety, Stress and Health Laboratory (SASH Lab), University of Limerick : http://www.sashlab.com/