Research Environment

The VoCoLab has two sites: UCL Speech, Hearing and Phonetic Sciences, and the Centre for Brain and Behaviour in the Department of Psychology at Queen Mary, University of London.

UCL Speech, Hearing and Phonetic Sciences (UCL SHaPS) is located right in the centre of London's Bloomsbury neighbourhood and close to King's Cross and Russell Square stations. UCL SHaPs is a centre of excellence for speech research, with state-of-the-art facilities including an anechoic recording chamber, soundproof testing booths, multiple EEG labs, TMS and fNIRS. We are part of the broader Division of Psychology and Language Sciences (PALS), which includes a wide range of research departments such as UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Experimental Psychology, and Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology. Our divisional context means we can carry out our fMRI research at BUCNI (Birkbeck-UCL Centre for NeuroImaging) located at UCL Experimental Psychology. Furthermore, postdoctoral researchers in the VoCoLab at UCL can enjoy access to numerous research seminars and interest groups across the division, forge collaborations within and outside the department, and gain experience in BSc/MSc student supervision.

The Department of Psychology at QMUL is located in London's vibrant East End. The department has an interdisciplinary approach to research focused on the interface between psychology (cognition, communication, and social life) and biology (genomics, neuroscience, and ethology). We have to specialised equipment for studying human cognition (electroencephalography, eye movement tracking, transcranial magnetic stimulation), sleep and exercise labs, a portable social observation lab, as well as various recording facilities available on QMUL campus. We also do bee and zebrafish research - although it's a bit more challenging link these lovely facilities to voice perception research. The department is based in the Faculty of Science and Engineering and has links to other researchers around QMUL who study sound, music, and speech based in the Department of Linguistics and the school of Elecronic Engineering and Computer Science at QMUL.

Postdoctoral Fellowships

We can host postdoctoral fellowship holders (e.g.ESRC, Marie Curie, British Academy, Royal Society Newton Fellowship, UKRI Future Leader) at either UCL or QMUL.

Supervision of PhD students is possible subject to funding. Where fully-funded places are not already available, the student may have to compete for funding at UCL or QMUL, or seek financial support from elsewhere.

PhD studentships

If you are interested in pursuing a visit to the VoCoLab or an application for PhD/postdoctoral funding then please contact both Nadine and Carolyn with the following:

An up-to-date CV
For PhD applicants: all degree transcripts and results
An outline of your research interests
Details of the opportunity you wish to apply for

How to get in touch

Visiting students and researchers

We are able to host students from other institutions for short research visits or placements. Depending on the duration, these may be subject to tuition and/or bench fees.