Liliia Bespala

Liliia Bespala is a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Oxford, working across the Faculty of Linguistics, Philology and Phonetics and the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences. As part of the NDPCHS Clinical Communication team, her research sits at the intersection of linguistics, social science and applied healthcare, focusing on language aspects of clinical interactions.

Dr. Bespala holds a BA, MA, and PhD. With over a decade of experience teaching English and clinical communication to medical students in Ukraine, she brings practical insights to her academic work.

Her research focuses on Communication in clinical settings, Conversation analysis, and Discourse analysis, investigating how clinicians use language to navigate advice-giving sensitivities, maintain rapport, and support behavior change—particularly in weight management contexts. Her work bridges theoretical linguistics with practical healthcare applications, translating linguistic insights into communication strategies for healthcare providers.

Analysis of her recent publications reveals a strong clinical linguistics focus with significant contributions to understanding weight management discussions and diabetes care communication. Her work uniquely combines conversation analysis with healthcare outcomes research while maintaining interests in sociolinguistics, as seen in her cross-linguistic studies of coloronyms and Caribbean English variation.

Her scientific achievements include:

• Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship
• British Academy fellowship

Dr. Bespala serves as co-investigator on an NIHR policy research programme grant and previously held a British Academy fellowship. Her experience as an OSCE interpreter for election observation missions has provided unique insights into high-stakes communication contexts. She is committed to interdisciplinary collaboration, international academic exchange, and public engagement.

She leads initiatives like the Clinical Communication Club for Ukraine-based students, demonstrating dedication to maintaining academic bridges during challenging geopolitical circumstances.