DrGrace Lavelle

Dr. Grace Lavelle joined RCSI in 2024 as the Irish Cerebral Palsy Registry manager, based in the CP-Life Centre in the School of Physiotherapy. RCSI. She has 10 years’ experience managing clinical trials, with significant experience of interdisciplinary research on physical disability, and the co-development and evaluation of interventions. Grace's expertise crosses the domains of both physical and mental health. While a Research Fellow in the Department of Psychological Medicine, King’s College London she oversaw the research arm of IMPARTS, a service for patients with a physical health condition experiencing psychological distress.

Grace has worked extensively using quantitative and qualitative approaches to address the needs of people across the lifespan including those with childhood-onset physical disability. She has conducted large-scale feasibility trials investigating the role of digital technologies as preventative and interventional modalities for people with long-term conditions. She was also co-investigator on two projects exploring transition to adults’ services for young people with cerebral palsy in Ireland. Facilitating public engagement to steer interventions and guide service improvements has been core to her research. This has included the co-design of “CommonGround” an online peer support platform to support the mental wellbeing of people with long-term conditions. Grace strives to embed the voices of people with lived experiences thorughout the research process, to ultimately improve health and social services for people with long-term physical health conditions.