I am a Reader in Speech and Language Therapy with a research interest in exploring typical and atypical speech and language production processes across the life span.

My current research focuses on dysarthria, describing its acoustic properties and determining its impact on communication in children and adults. I am also interested in understanding how speech changes as children grow, and how older age affects speech production processes.

I gained my PhD on intonation in foreign accent syndrome from the University of Strathclyde. A subsequent British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship enabled me to extend my work in this field and investigate intonation and prosody in children with dysarthria due to cerebral palsy.

My work is funded by the British Academy, the Economic and Social Research Council, The Cunningham Trust, and Parkinson's UK.

Ongoing projects include:

• ESRC funded research on how children‘s speech changes as they grow (Variability in Child Speech - VariCS) with Prof Joanne Cleland, Dr David Young (University of Strathclyde) and Prof Jane Stuart-Smith (University of Glasgow)
• ESRC funded research into the role of cognition and speech in older adults’ communication patterns (PhD student: Laura Manderson; with Prof Louise Brown Nicholls and Prof Anja Lowit, University of Strathclyde)
• Cunningham Trust funded research investigating Technology-enriched Integrated Rehabilitation - Development and evaluation of an integrated approach to speech and language therapy and physiotherapy for stroke survivors (PhD student: Evelyn Hamilton; with Dr Andy Kerr; University of Strathclyde)
• Parkinson's UK funded research examining language treatment options for people living with Parkinson's with Prof Anja Lowit as Principal Investigator (University of Strathclyde)

I am a member of the ESRC's Peer Review College, and Associate Editor for Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics. I am currently the Department’s Director of Internationalisation, and have previously served as both Chair and Deputy Chair of the Department's Athena SWAN group.

• Motor speech disorders in adults and children 
• Typical speech production across the life span
• Acoustic analyses of typical and atypical speech
• Language treatment in adults with acquired communication disorders

My research focuses on dysarthria in children and adults. I am interested in understanding the underlying nature of their speech problems, how these problems manifest, and how current treatment approaches target these difficulties. I harness the power of detailed acoustic analyses to aid the understanding of these aspects. My goal is to undertake research that advances our theoretical understanding of speech disorders and drives clinical practices, which can improve well-being, social and communication participation for those affected by motor speech disorders.

While my main focus is on understanding patterns of disordered speech, I am also interested in exploring speech processes in typical speech across the life span, with a particular focus on determining variability in typical speech patterns and what these can tell us about disordered speech.

Current PhD and MRes students

• Evelyn Hamilton, PhD candidate: Development and evaluation of an integrated approach to speech and language therapy and physiotherapy for stroke survivors
• Amy Smith, PhD candidate: Measuring Variability in Child Speech Using Instrumental Articulatory Techniques
• Laura Manderson, PhD candidate: Ageing and communication: Understanding the roles of cognition, speech production, and social participation
• Devika Thattat: CPP analyses for typical and atypical child spech

I am happy to supervise students with research interests involving any area of motor speech disorders.

I teach on the BSc Hons Speech and Language Pathology undergraduate programme and supervise MRes and PhD students. I am also the course lead for the MRes in Speech and Language Sciences.

My undergraduate teaching covers the following areas:

• Psycholinguistics
• Neurology and Paediatrics (Module lead)
• Childhood Dysarthria – Assessment and Intervention
• Multilingualism
• Research Investigation