About
Dr Warren Donnellan is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Liverpool and a Senior Fellow of Advance HE. His work spans research, education and educational scholarship, exploring how people—and the systems around them—adapt, develop and thrive across the life course.
Warren’s research focuses on resilience, ageing and dementia care, particularly the experiences of unpaid carers and the relationships, services and resources that support them. He leads the Ageing and Resilience Research Group https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/population-health/about/psychology/research-themes/lifespan-health-and-wellbeing/ageing-and-resilience-research/, which investigates how people adapt to adversity across the life course and how relationships, services and wider systems can support resilience. He welcomes enquiries from prospective PhD students in the above areas.
Warren coordinates two modules at third-year level: Psychology of Ageing and Positive Psychology. His teaching, scholarship and curriculum development have received several awards, including a prestigious University Learning and Teaching Fellowship. Inclusive education and student wellbeing are central to his practice: he co-developed multi-award-winning resilience workshops and developed a peer support network for students with disabilities, neurodivergence and long-term health conditions. He serves as the Departmental Disability Lead and chairs the University Disability Network. He is also an experienced LEGO® Serious Play® facilitator and has embedded the approach across the Department of Psychology and the wider Institute of Population Health.
As Scholarship Lead for the Institute of Population Health, Warren supports colleagues to develop and communicate their educational scholarship and its impact. He recently established Scholarship Matters, a community of practice designed to make educational scholarship more visible, accessible, connected and supported across the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences.
Warren is invited to provide consultancy and training for non-academic organisations, including third sector organisations and local authorities, and regularly shares his work through invited contributions to blogs, articles and podcasts. He also hosts The PsychLiverpool Podcast https://open.spotify.com/show/5KKtYXBmrVJDYDhmxeP9ZK?si=ceb38946c57d4c99, bringing psychological research to a wider audience and sharing the stories of those who study, teach and apply it in their everyday work and lives.
Prizes or Honours
- Staff Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Student Experience (Institute of Population Health, 2026)
- Most Dedicated Member of Staff (University of Liverpool, 2024)
- Most Inspiring Member of Staff (University of Liverpool, 2024)
- Learning and Teaching Fellowship (University of Liverpool, 2022)
- Learning, Teaching, and Student Experience Award (University of Liverpool, 2022)
- Greatest Contribution to the Student Experience (University of Liverpool Staff Awards, 2020)
- Academic Advisor of the Year (University of Liverpool, 2019)
- Dennis Basil Bromley Prize for High Academic Achievement in Psychological Aspects of Human Ageing (University of Liverpool, 2012)