Human speech production: From the brain to the vocal tract

Applications are invited for a three-year fully funded PhD studentship within the School of Psychology and Sport Science, Bangor University. The studentship covers the full cost of tuition fees, plus a maintenance stipend (approx. £19,237 per annum for 3 years) as well as a generous research allowance.

Start Date:  October 1^st 2024.

Project:

Speech production is one of the most complex processes that humans perform. In just one second of speech, we can produce approximately ten speech sounds that require the precise coordination of over 100 muscles. However, producing fluent speech is not always easy. Dr Wiltshire’s research aims to understand how the brain controls speech production in typical and diverse speaker populations. Her research addresses the entire speech production system, from the brain to the vocal tract. To do this, she takes an interdisciplinary approach, often combining tools from cognitive neuroscience (brain MRI, brain stimulation) and phonetics (vocal tract MRI, electromagnetic articulography, acoustics). For example, a recent project combined Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) with techniques that record the movement of the articulators (lips, tongue, velum) to understand the role of the Supplementary Motor Area in rhythmic speech production in people who stutter and people who do not stutter (Wiltshire & Hoole, 2022; preprint available here: https://osf.io/umcnb/).

Project proposals can be developed in two ways:

1.   The project is developed by the applicant with support from Dr. Wiltshire. Any topic within the scope of speech production is considered.

2.   The applicant expresses an interest in a specific project that has already been developed by Dr. Wiltshire. This project involves using MRI and brain stimulation to study sensory-motor control in speech production.

Please email Dr. Wiltshire for more information: [email protected]  

For full information go to: https://www.bangor.ac.uk/studentfinance/postgraduate/funding#psychology

Supervision:

Dr Wiltshire received her doctoral degree in cognitive neuroscience from the University of Oxford in 2019. She then went on to complete a postdoctoral fellowship at the Institute for Phonetics and Speech Processing at Ludwig-Maximilians-University in Munich. She currently supervises three PGR students. For more information and to access recent publications, see www.charlottewiltshire.com

Requirements:

Essential requirements:

·        First or upper second class in psychology, neuroscience, phonetics or a cognate subject.

·        Basic skills in coding and a willingness to learn (Matlab, R, Python).

Desirable qualities:

·        A masters level qualification in psychology, neuroscience, phonetics or a cognate subject and/OR extended experience working in a research laboratory.

·        Experience of conducting research studies with adults.

·        An interest in working with the public and participant groups to develop, conduct, and report on research activities.

·        An interest in Open Science practices.

Research Environment:

There are extensive facilities for behavioural, physiological and neuroscientific studies, including a brand-new research-dedicated 3T MRI centre, TMS lab and fNIRS.

Residency requirements:

This studentship is primarily aimed at UK students. However, international students should contact Dr Wiltshire to discuss funding options.

How to apply:

All application must be received through our online application system: https://apps.bangor.ac.uk/applicant/

Applications must contain the following documents:

1.   A covering letter.

2.   Two academic references (included with their application).

3.   Curriculum Vitae (2 pages max)

4.   Research Proposal (3 pages max)