Geography, Archaeology & Irish Studies

Karen is a palaeolimnologist, who studies lake sediment records to reconstruct past climatic and environmental changes, working in the fields of Geography, Environmental Archaeology and Environmental Science. Karen completed her PhD in Geography at the University of Galway in 2017, funded by the Irish Research Council for Science, Engineering and Technology, Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship and the Hardiman Research Scholarship. Her doctoral research explored the utility of chironomid autecology combined with pollen and geochemical indicators, in the investigation of prehistoric farming impacts on freshwater lake systems. Her control site was then used to develop the first mid to late Holocene chironomid-inferred temperature record for Ireland as part of her doctoral research.

Since completion of her PhD, Karen has held several academic positions, as a Lecturer and Senior Post-Doctoral Researcher at University College Cork. Karen has taught a broad range of Physical Geography, communication and research competence modules during her time as a full-time Lecturer in the Department of Geography. In 2022, she joined the School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Science (BEES) as a Senior Post-Doctoral Researcher. Karen was involved in a collaborative research project, entitled 'Addressing Projected Climate Change Risk to Water Quality in Ireland'. The research position involved an extensive scientific literature review on the impact of climate change on water quality in Ireland and a detailed analysis of European legislation and Irish policy documents (funded by An Fóram Uisce). More recently, Karen joined the United Nations Environmental Programme, GEMS/Water Capacity Development Centre housed within the School of BEES, as a Senior Post-Doctoral Researcher. This role involved updating, designing and developing taught and open-access online training material for data handling, statistical analysis and presentation for freshwater quality monitoring programmes.

Karen's research interests also include innovative pedagogical developments to enhance learning and improve accessibility and staff-student engagement. In particular, the application of a flipped classroom approach which arose from the transition to online teaching during the pandemic, as a means of creating a dynamic, interactive learning environment for students.

In 2023, Karen re-joined the Discipline of Geography at the University of Galway and is currently working as a Senior Post-Doctoral Researcher and PI for the CORE project. Karen was awarded an SFI-IRC Pathway research grant, which is co-funded by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Met Éireann. The CORE project aims to establish a long-term record of natural climate variability to inform future climate predictions for Ireland. The four-year project is hosted by the Palaeoenvironmental Research Unit (PRU) within the School of Geography, Archaeology and Irish Studies, in collaboration with Dr Aaron Potito, Dr Karen Molloy and Jacob Nguyen. 

Follow our progress on our educational Instagram page (@core_project23)