Mary Keeling is a research leader at RAND. Focusing on defence and security at RAND Europe, her main role is as the research manager of the Forces in Mind Trust Research Centre. Prior to joining RAND, she worked in academia.
Using quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods approaches, her research has broadly focused on understanding the social and psychological impact of military service on military personnel, veterans, and service-connected families, to inform policy and practice. To date, this has concentrated on four key areas: military to civilian transition; romantic relationships and military families; mental health stigma and help-seeking; and the psychosocial impact of service-connected physical injuries.
Keeling completed her Ph.D. in psychological medicine at the King’s Centre for Military Health Research (KCMHR), which focused on understanding the impact of deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan on the romantic relationships of service personnel. She has since held positions as postdoctoral research fellow at KCMHR, postdoctoral fellow at the University of Southern California in the Centre for Innovation and Research in Veterans and Families Research (CIR), and as senior research fellow at the University of the West of England, Bristol, in the Centre for Appearance Research.
Ph.D. in psychological medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King's College London; M.Sc. in psychological research methods, Birkbeck, University of London; B.A. (Hons) in psychology with media and cultural studies, Northampton University
