Mary Josephine McIvor was awarded a 2:1 BSc (Hons) Molecular Science from the Open University in 2008 and a PhD in the "development of novel methods for the detection of chemical and microbiological contaminants in the agri-food chain" from Queen's University Belfast in 2013.

Josephine is industry-trained with fifteen years’ experience in accredited laboratories for the pharmaceutical, food, veterinary and medical industries, with a further ten years’ experience, at graduate and postdoctoral level, in research laboratories for academia. Her studies and work experience have given her sound knowledge and skills in cell biology, cell culture, microbiology and molecular biology.

Josephine became a Research Associate (RA) with Ulster University (UU) Jordanstown in March 2018, in the Nanotechnology and Integrated Bioengineering Centre (NIBEC) within the School of Engineering (SoE). Her role was to determine the biocompatibility of novel biomaterials intended for biomedical applications and in doing so she worked between the cell biology, cell culture and nano-characterisation laboratories. An important part of her role during was to, (i) investigate the use of Raman Spectroscopy to monitor cell function and determine its usefulness as a characterisation tool for biocompatibility over that of traditional cell biology assays and (ii) create a novel advanced in vitro cardiac tissue model, using 3D printing, with specific emphasis on representation of the physiological function of cardiac tissue.

In October 2022, Josephine transitioned over as a RA to the Composites Research Group, SoE, UU Belfast, under the leadership of Professor Alistair McIlhagger and Dr Atefeh Golbang, initially composing several market analysis reviews of the Composites Industry, identifying current market position, limitations and opportunities, with the aim of identifying potential new enterprises in Northern Ireland.

During the last year, Josephine, under the leadership of Dr Atefeh Golbang, has been performing research aligned to the needs of the local marine industry, Artemis Technologies Ltd., to develop and test antifouling strategies to apply to carbon fibre-based composite structures used within their zero-emission marine vehicles. As part of this collaboration, Josephine has set-up a new biofilm/biofouling capability at UU Belfast, capability of characterising the anti-bacterial/fouling potential of materials. The set-up allows for a number of testing variables such as, bacterial type, temperature, material type and static or dynamic fluid conditions.

In early 2025, Josephine plans to use the learnings from the development of anti- fouling strategies to develop anti-bacterial surfaces for multi-industry use.