Research assistants
Our research assistants make a valuable contribution to the various research projects that are currently running at LCS. Some of them are former LCS students! On this page you will find short biographies and links to the projects they are working on.
Bernadette Coulthrust / Anna Caute / Kathryn Mason / Heather Payne / Jo Piper / Abi Roper / Kate Rowley / Zoe Shergold
Bernadette Coulthrust
I graduated from City University in 2003, having completed a BSc in Speech and Language Therapy. In my final year of study I carried out a research project on Black British English and its relationship with the accent of English which we have dubbed 'Streetalk'. For the past six years, I have worked with Allen Hirson in the City Phonetics Labs, in my chosen field of Forensic speech analysis - the phonetic analysis of evidential recordings.
Anna Caute
I graduated from the PGDip Speech and Language Therapy course at City University in 2003. I worked for Waltham Forest Primary Care Trust until 2007, when I started working on the project, Enhancing Communication in Aphasia through Gesture. The project is led by Jane Marshall and the other grant holders are Wendy Best, Naomi Cocks, Madeline Cruice, Julie Hickin and Tim Pring. This exciting project is investigating the use of gesture in therapy for people with severe aphasia. We are comparing the benefits of gesture and naming therapy and of involving a conversation partner in therapy.
Kathryn Mason
I received my BSc in Psychology from the University of Manchester in 2004. During my undergraduate studies my primary interests were the neuropsychology of language processing and Deaf children's development. I also have an MSc in Psychological Research Methods from the Open University. As a Research Assistant at City University and DCAL, I am working with a research team including Gary Morgan, Chloe Marshall, Ros Herman and Kate Rowley on a project looking at Specific Language Impairment (SLI) in deaf children who use BSL. This is the first major study of language impairment in signing deaf children. Our research aims to better understand and characterise SLI in deaf children and to develop tests in order to identify SLI in deaf children who use sign language. Once we have determined how many deaf children have SLI, we intend to work with Deaf and hearing professionals in schools in order to create intervention tools to help maximize the child's learning.
Heather Payne
I have recently completed an MSc in Neuroscience, Language & Communication at UCL, having studied a BA Linguistics degree at SOAS. I am now a full-time research assistant working with David Williams and Chloe Marshall. We are using a novel test of nonsense word repetition to investigate whether language impairment in autism and Specific Language Impairment can be attributed to similar cognitive causes. I am thoroughly enjoying researching genetic, neurobiological, cognitive and behavioural perspectives on language impairment. I hope to learn more about research methodologies and data analysis before starting a PhD or clinical training. My main area of interest is language delay in pre-school children with early diagnoses of autism and the cognitive underpinnings of restricted and repetitive behaviour.
Jo Piper
I graduated from the PGDip Speech and Language Therapy course at City University in 2007. In the autumn of 2007 I was given the chance to work as a temporary research assistant on Vicky Joffe's ELCISS project, which sparked my interest in research. In early 2008 I moved to Scotland where I worked as a speech and language therapist with children with disabilities in mainstream primary schools. I am currently working as a research assistant on a project led by Penny Roy, Shula Chiat and Barbara Dodd entitled Is language as poor as it looks? This exciting project is investigating the language potential of socially disadvantaged preschoolers, with a view to differentiating between environmental and intrinsic causes of low language performance. The outcomes of this research are likely to have important implications for the way we assess, diagnose and deliver intervention to young children with language difficulties. I am thrilled to be back at City University.
Abi Roper
I graduated from the University of Exeter in 2003 with a BSc in Cognitive Science. I have subsequently qualified as a Speech and Language Therapist - gaining an MMedSci in Clinical Communication Studies from the University of Sheffield in 2008. Presently, I work as a Research Clinician on the Gesture Recognition in Aphasia Therapy (GReAT) project being carried out at City University with Stephanie Wilson, Julia Galliers, Jane Marshall, Tim Pring and Naomi Cocks. The project involves developing newly available technology - such as the Nintendo Wii - to aid home-based gesture therapy for people who experience aphasia (a difficulty understanding and/or expressing language) following stroke. Consultants with aphasia are working with us to develop the technology before the therapy approach is evaluated within a short pilot study.
I am presently also working on two projects at the University of Sheffield. The first examines the efficacy of a computer-delivered therapy for people who have acquired apraxia of speech following stroke. The second explores mathematical abilities in children who have been diagnosed with specific language impairment. I work alongside Professor Rosemary Varley, Dr Sandra Whiteside, Dr Patricia Cowell and Dr Hilary Gardner on these two projects.
Kate Rowley
I completed my MA linguistics at UCL in September 2006. I am now working as a part-time Research Assistant on a project with Gary Morgan, Kathryn Mason, Chloe Marshall and Ros Herman investigating Specific Language Impairment (SLI) in deaf children who use BSL. My main area of interest is deaf or young signing children's language development. I am pleased to be working on the SLI project as this covers my main research interest.
Zoe Shergold
I have recently graduated from the PGDip Speech and Language Therapy course at City University and am now working as a full-time research assistant on a project with Ros Herman, Penny Roy and Fiona Kyle, who is based at Cambridge University. The project will look into the reading capabilities of deaf children with a view to developing literacy norms for deaf children. As part of the same project, we will investigate dyslexia in deaf children as this is currently difficult for teachers to pick up.
I am originally from the Isle of Man and previously studied at the University of Liverpool and the University of Bonn, Germany. I have lived in London for two years since starting the PGDip course, and I am particularly interested in German language and culture and British Sign Language.