Dr. Shona McGuinness is a Postdoctoral Research Associate on the Improving Communication with Adults with Learning Disabilities (ICALD) research project at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, at King's College London.

Shona’s research focuses on enhancing the structures that underpin effective, person-centred disability services across the lifespan. She holds a BSc, MPsychSc, and PhD in Psychology. Her PhD, completed at the School of Psychology, University College Dublin, focused on understanding interprofessional supervision in the context of major systems change within the Irish disability sector.

While completing her PhD, she held several research assistant roles in health and disability care settings. After completing her PhD, she held a role as a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Cerebral Palsy Lifespan Health and Well-being Research Centre at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, where she led the evaluation of the Ignition 2 transition programme, an educational intervention aimed at empowering young people with childhood-onset physical disabilities as they move from paediatric to adult healthcare.

Shona is passionate about promoting equity through collaborative approaches that translate research into practice, empowering individuals with lifelong disabilities to achieve full participation and improved quality of life.