معرفی
Rachael Hulme is an Assistant Professor in Psychology at Heriot-Watt University (since 2023). Previously, she held Research Fellow positions at University College London (2021-2023) and Aston University (2018-2021). She earned a PhD in Experimental Psychology from University College London (2018), an MSc in Cognitive Neuroscience from the University of York (2014), and an MA in Psychology and French from the University of Glasgow (2012).
Her research focuses on language learning, comprehension, and reading, with a particular emphasis on factors influencing vocabulary acquisition through reading. Key areas include contextual diversity, spelling-to-sound mappings, and the impact of prior language experience. She employs web-based experimental paradigms to investigate word learning mechanisms.
Recent projects include an ESRC-funded study on high-quality lexical-semantic knowledge and an Aston University-funded project exploring reading-vocabulary learning relationships. She also investigates phonics courses for low-literacy adults to improve parental support for children’s reading.
Rachael has received awards such as the Cecily de Monchaux Research Poster Prize (2016) and the British Association for Applied Linguistics’ best student presentation (2018). She is an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (2024) and serves on the Experimental Psychology Society Committee.
Her work contributes to UN Sustainable Development Goals related to quality education and reducing inequalities. She is affiliated with Heriot-Watt’s Centre for Applied Behavioural Sciences.
