Spotlight on the Nominees: Sophie Roberts (Rising Star)

As the Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging’s 2021 Public Engagement Awards draw closer, we shine a spotlight on each of the nominees to celebrate their contribution to another year of outstanding public engagement at the Centre.

PLORAS team PhD student and Research Assistant Sophie Roberts’ year has been filled with public engagement. From presenting her speech therapy project at World Stroke Day Forum 2020, to developing the PLORAS digital advisory board’s self-rated language questionnaire, Sophie’s interest in public engagement stems from a passion for improving the lives of stroke survivors.

People with aphasia (a condition affecting the ability to understand or formulate language) are traditionally underrepresented in research due to challenges surrounding communication. But using her background in speech and language, Sophie is adept at breaking down complicated research jargon into accessible, aphasia-friendly terms to strengthen participants’ understanding and engagement.

She has demonstrated a strong commitment to developing her engagement skills by helping with others’ projects – both within her own team and throughout the Centre. For example, this year Sophie played an important role in helping ensure The Hearing Brain project was accessible for people with aphasia.

Despite juggling a busy workload to complete her PhD, Sophie’s dedication to public engagement is obvious. With her already impressive portfolio of projects and enthusiasm to learn more, Sophie’s future in public engagement is looking very bright indeed.