Dr. Anja Kuschmann (Project lead)
Dr. Anja Kuschmann is a Reader in Speech and Language Therapy at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow. Her research interests centre around motor speech disorders in children and adults, with a particular focus on understanding typical and atypical speech production across the life span and the cognitive, linguistic and cultural factors influencing these processes.
Dr. Joanne Cleland (Co-investigator)
Dr. Joanne Cleland is a Reader in Speech and Language Therapy at the University of Strathclyde. Her research focuses on instrumental techniques for the assessment and treatment of children’s speech sound disorders. She is particularly interested in the “articulation” subsystem in the VariCS project including the nested study on using ultrasound technology to analyse tongue movements.
Dr. David Young (Co-investigator)
Dr. David Young is a Senior Lecturer in Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Strathclyde. David will be critically involved in the statistical analysis employed during data analysis throughout the VariCS project.
Prof. Jane Stuart-Smith (Co-investigator)
Prof. Jane Stuart-Smith is a Professor in English Language and Linguistics at the University of Glasgow. Her research interests lie in phonological variation and change in the Glasgow accent and English more generally, and in articulatory sociolinguistics.
Dr. Mridhula Murali (Postdoctoral researcher)
Mridhula is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Strathclyde. She is interested in motor speech disorders and tracking speech change in typical and atypical speech in adults and children. She also has an interest in engaging in interdisciplinary research that will detangle the social and cognitive areas of impact on speech production.
Amy Smith (PhD Student)
Amy is a newly qualified Speech and Language Therapist (SLT) from the University of Strathclyde. She decided to continue her studies with Strathclyde and is currently in her first year of a PhD in Speech and Language Therapy. She has a special interest in clinical phonetics, speech sound disorders and the instrumental analysis of these, including ultrasound imaging. Amy’s project focuses on lingual articulatory variability in typically developing children which she will be investigating as part of the VariCS sub-project.
Lauren Taylor (Research Assistant)
Lauren’s primary interest lies in the cognitive and linguistic capabilities of children across various age groups, a topic she is passionate about. As a research assistant for the VariCS project, her chief duties revolve around collecting and analysing data from primary schools across the central belt of Scotland. Moreover, alongside working on this project, Lauren is also pursuing her PhD at the University of Stirling, delving into the connection between counterfactual thinking and episodic memory.