Kerry began her Psychology journey by taking the BSc Psychology undergraduate degree, during which she developed an interest in how dogs affected human stress levels.  Following this, she completed a Masters degree in Animal Welfare and Behaviour which looked at animal cognition, emotion and behaviour. 

During her masters studies Kerry spent two years volunteering with the QUB sniffer dogs lab, based at the Psychology Animal Behaviour Centre.  She gained valuable research experience with collecting data, recruiting and working with both human and animal participants, and the outcomes of this research will be published shortly.

Alongside all of this, and during the pandemic, Kerry also spent time working in the Covid centre assisting with hygiene as well as testing.  However, helping people through research had always been a motivator for her and she wished to continue with something that combined both elements.  She therefore applied for a PhD in "Understanding overdose risk perception amongst those who use heroin and other drugs" and is looking forward to beginning this project in October. 

Currently, Kerry is working for Professor Martin Dempster as a research assistant as part of the CoHeRe research project which aims to help create a health intervention for the public in the future.