Merle Mahon

Dr. Merle Mahon is an Associate Professor in the Language & Cognition department within the Division of Psychology and Language Science at University College London. She also serves as the DMEC Chair for the ImPACT Trial at the University of Nottingham starting July 2025. Her academic career spans several decades with continuous contributions to deaf education and language development research.

Her educational background includes a PhD from University College London (1998), a BA (Hons) from the University of South Africa, Pretoria (1978), and a BA from the University of the Witwatersrand (1972). She holds professional certifications including Stage I Communication Skills with Deaf People (1985) and a Certificate of Advanced Clinical Studies in Speech Therapy for Deaf People.

Dr. Mahon's research program focuses on deaf children's spoken language development, the role of gesture in language acquisition, and bi/multilingualism, particularly examining how children learn spoken English when it's an additional language at home. She employs both qualitative and quantitative methods including Conversation Analysis, questionnaire techniques, and experimental designs, with significant emphasis on longitudinal video data collection and analysis.

Her publication record reveals consistent research productivity with 61 outputs, including numerous high-impact studies published in leading journals. Her work demonstrates strong thematic continuity in deaf education, cochlear implant outcomes, and language development, with recent expansion into virtual reality rehabilitation approaches through the BEARS project and international comparative studies in Chile.

• Member of UCL Academic Board and Research Degrees Committee (since 2023)
• Departmental Graduate Tutor at UCL (since 2016)
• Member of Centre for Literacy and Multilingualism CeLM, Reading University (since 2013)
• Associate Member of British Association of Teachers of the Deaf (since 2012)
• Founding member of Consortium for Research in Deaf Education (CRIDE) (since 2007)
• Editorial board member for Deafness and Education International (since 2005)
• Member of Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (since 1977)

As Departmental Graduate Tutor, Dr. Mahon supervises PhD students including Mario Bustos (with Dr. Fiona Kyle) and Disa Witkowska (with Prof. Courtenay Norbury). She currently leads the multi-centre BEARS study funded by the NIHR, examining outcomes for deaf children and teenagers who use bilateral cochlear implants. Her collaborative network spans institutions including Cambridge University, Imperial College London, and Guys and St Thomas' Hospitals Trust.