ADLIFE Q&A

Dr Lisa McCann
(PhD, MSc, BSc Hons)

Senior Lecturer in Digital Health and Care
University of Strathclyde

Tell us about your background and current role…..

My journey into health and care research began with my Undergraduate Honours Degree in Psychology. I then went onto complete a Master of Science Degree in Health Psychology, which then opened the door for my first junior Research Assistant role in the field of cancer care research. After a couple of years working as an RA on a range of people-orientated projects, including the development and evaluation of one of the first remote patient monitoring systems for people with cancer receiving chemotherapy treatment - I was successfully awarded a Fellowship from the Chief Scientist Office in Scotland for my PhD research. My PhD research focused on the experiences of young adult survivors of childhood cancer and their transition from paediatric to adult cancer services. During my PhD Fellowship and for many years since, I have increasingly worked in the digital health domain and have worked with Professor Roma Maguire (Co-Lead for WP2 of ADLIFE) on scaling up that very first eHealth intervention we developed for people with cancer receiving chemotherapy and trialling that with people across Europe and beyond.

Currently I work within the Computer and Information Sciences Department at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, UK, and I am co-lead for our Digital Health and Wellness Group. I am involved in a range of digital health research projects and initiatives and am particularly focused developing and evaluating digital solutions for underrepresented groups. I am also heavily involved in both our Undergraduate and Postgraduate Teaching Programmes and I am the Co-Programme Director for our Masters Degree in Digital Health Systems. I am module lead for the Digital Health Implementation module within this Masters programme and really enjoy working with students and the next generation of digital health innovators, researchers and leaders.

Tell us about your role in ADLIFE?

I co-lead Work Package 2 (WP2): “Dissemination and Communication” with Professor Roma Maguire and members of the project team from Strathclyde. I, and the rest of that team, also work closely with our clinical colleagues from NHS Lanarkshire in this project as one of the pilot sites for the study and work across a number of the other interlinked Work Packages in ADLIFE.

Tell us about why you wanted to be involved in ADLIFE?

The ADLIFE project is really important for developing new pathways of care for patients, carers and clinicians and to understand where and how digital interventions can make a difference to people's lives. The innovation within ADLIFE lies not only within the toolkit of technologies but also the implementation and scaling up of digital interventions - and it is this combination which makes ADLIFE a really exciting and novel project to be part of.

What most excites you about working on ADLIFE and with the Consortium?

There is a wealth of experience across this Consortium - we have people from all different disciplines, countries, cultures, contexts, skill sets and experiences - and the opportunity that ADLIFE has presented to bring this diversity together is one of the best things about being part of collaborative European projects like this. There are opportunities for us all to learn from each other and to bring our collective expertise together to make a difference to the lives of people affected by COPD and Chronic Heart Failure. Ultimately that is the driver and motivation for this work, knowing we are doing something which could positively impact people's lives now and in the future if we get this right.

Finally, tell us something about you that people may not know…..?

I have climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa! It was one of the most amazing and fulfilling experiences I’ve ever had. I made so many lasting memories during my time in such a special environment.