Karyn arrived at the University of Galway, her alma mater in September 2024 after working as an academic in the UK and Denmark for nearly 20 years.An economist and econometrician by training, and using her skills in Big Data and large-scale population modelling,the main focus of Karyns research has become the economic drivers of, and socioeconomic and health impacts of climate change, particularly in our oceans and coastal environments. Here Karyn has linked her work on health and marine and coastal economics to understand the direct and indirect impacts of climate change on the marine environment on society, and the changes needed to make human-marine interactions more sustainable.

Regarding climate action specifically, Karyn believes that to stimulate action on climate change, research must shift from scientific and technical perspectives to understanding the social and political elements that will motivate the society to undertake the urgent action that is required to mitigate and adapt the very real effects of Climate Change.

To this end,she is one of the co-authors of the Lancet Commissions Countdown on Climate Change and Human Health since 2016, where she has developed a set of indicators to understand the adaption preparedness, needs and barriers of cities in regard to the health-related impacts of climate change.

Karyn is particularly interested in the science-community-policy interface and has worked local, national and international bodies through her career, as well as community engagement groups. Her commitment to engagement is further highlighted with her contribution to approx. 500  policy documents, particularly in the areas of climate change across 50 countries.

Oceans and Human Health, Environmental and Marine Economics, Climate Change, Adaptation, Digital Twins

Marine Economics

Economics of Sustainability

Oceans and Human Health

Statistics for Social Scientists

Project and Research Design