معرفی
Professor Carmel Houston-Price is Professor of Language & Cognitive Development and Head of the School of Psychology & Clinical Language Sciences at the University of Reading. She also serves as Associate Pro-Vice Chancellor (Academic Workload), demonstrating her significant leadership role within the institution. Her research bridges developmental psychology, language acquisition, and child nutrition, creating impactful interdisciplinary connections.
Her academic credentials include:
- BSc Psychology from Royal Holloway
- DPhil Experimental Psychology from Oxford
- Graduate Certificate in Tertiary Education Management from Melbourne
Houston-Price's research focuses on how infants and young children learn about their world, with two primary interconnected strands. Her language development work examines vocabulary acquisition across age groups, investigating how social, attentional, and contextual cues influence word learning in both monolingual and multilingual children. Her groundbreaking food preference research has established that familiarity with foods extends beyond taste to include visual, olfactory, and tactile dimensions. She has demonstrated that preschoolers consume more vegetables when exposed to them through picture books or hands-on activities prior to mealtimes.
Her publication record shows consistent interdisciplinary work bridging cognitive psychology and nutritional science, with increasing emphasis on digital interventions and cross-cultural applications. A unifying theme across her research is examining how multisensory exposure influences learning and behavior in young children, with practical implications for parents, educators, and healthcare professionals.
Her scientific recognition includes:
- Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
Houston-Price leads the EIT Food-funded SEE & EAT research group and is central to the Food, Health & Behaviour Change/Kids' Food Choices research group. She has supervised numerous undergraduate and postgraduate students while securing funding from organizations including EIT Food and Netmums. Her work has practical applications through evidence-based resources for parents and professionals seeking to encourage healthy eating and support language development in young children.
She maintains active engagement with professional organizations including the ESRC Peer Review College and the Experimental Psychology Society, contributing to both academic advancement and practical implementation of developmental science.
