Kathryn K. Irish

Kathryn Irish, PhD, LMSW, CAADC, has 10+ years of clinical practice experience across a diverse range of settings including community mental health, private practice and methadone maintenance. She has also worked as a clinician for the U.S. Federal Criminal Justice System and held administrative roles in managed health care as a senior clinical-quality consultant. Irish has a clinical specialization in alcohol and drug treatment (CAADC). She recently completed her PhD in social work at Michigan State University with a doctoral cognate in neuroscience. Currently, she holds an appointment as assistant professor (fixed term) in neuroscience at Michigan State University, where she also acts as the program director of the Neuroscience Microcredential, an interdisciplinary continuing education program. Irish's research centers on understanding empathy as a dynamic perceptual process. She employs transcranial magnetic stimulation to investigate and refine neural models of empathy, with a focus on translational applications aimed at enhancing interpersonal relationships, intergroup dynamics and diplomacy across ideological divides.