How long have you been at UCL and what is your current role?
I joined UCL at the start of 2012. I am Professor of Acquired Language Disorders, and leading a group that investigates language and associated cognitive impairments in conditions such as stroke, dementia, and schizophrenia. I am also head of the Department of Language and Cognition, part of the Division of Psychology and Language Sciences.
What working achievements are you most proud of?
Enriching collaborations with scientists and clinicians from across the world; supporting early career researchers to navigate research pathways; identifying and working with an important patient cohort who enable research into interactions between language and other cognitive capacities.
What is your favourite album, film, and novel?
Movie is easy: V for Vendetta, but book and music favourites vary by time, place and mood. Music – Vaughan Williams, Springsteen, Motown, Clapton…..; Books – H G Wells The Time Machine is a favourite, but then there is Dorothy L Sayers, PD James, Robert Harris, PG Wodehouse, Siegfried Sassoon, Austen…
What do you like best about working in the Faculty of Brain Sciences?
The Faculty has a strong collegiate ethos. There is enthusiasm for collaboration and willingness to explore new ideas, irrespective of a person’s background or status. The Faculty has clear values with regard to integrity, openness and respect, and it lives those values.
What are your future goals?
To innovate diagnostics and therapies for sentence processing impairments in aphasia, and to tidy my office.