Dr Tracey McConnell is a Marie Curie Senior Research Fellow in the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Queen’s University Belfast and Honorary Research Lead at Marie Curie Northern Ireland. Tracey has over 10 years’ experience in conducting research involving people with a terminal illness, their families and staff involved in their care.  Her main areas of research focus on equitable access to palliative care for both malignant and non-malignant conditions, along with music therapy for improving psychosocial outcomes for patients their families and staff involved in their care. Tracey’s methodological expertise includes mixed methodologies, in particular realist methods for evaluating complex healthcare interventions, and co-designing health care service delivery that meets the needs of patients, carers and health care professionals. She is co-chair of the Marie Curie Northern Ireland Research Governance Group and has led on research governance for Marie Curie Northern Ireland for several years.  She is a member of the Palliative Care Research Network (PCRN) aligned with the All-Ireland Institute of Hospice and Palliative Care (AIIHPC). Tracey also has a strong track record in knowledge exchange; her research findings on alleviating loneliness for those impacted by terminal illness have recently been debated in the Northern Ireland Parliament and have led to parliamentary questions.