Noel Lam
PhD Student

Profile

Biography

I graduated from Oxford University with a BA in Psychology and Linguistics in 2017, when I was a research assistant and completed my dissertation in the Oxford Babylab, examining categorization and generalization of novel words. I have always been interested in language learning over the course of development, especially how it interacts with the development of other cognitive abilities. Following my degree, I took up a research assistant position at the University of Hong Kong under Dr Puisan Wong, examining the perception of emotional prosody and Cantonese lexical tones in children with and without dyslexia and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). After completing a Master of Research in Psychology at the University of York in 2020, I extended my focus in characterizing individual differences in people with ASD with a research assistant position at the Autism Research Centre at the University of Cambridge.

My PhD project at the University of York is a culmination of my passion in language development, individual and neurodevelopmental differences, exmaining the role of prior knowledge can work alongside offline consolidation mechanism to support word learning in adults and children.

Career

• PhD in Psychology, University of York, 2021 – present
• Research Assistant, Autism Research Centre, University of Cambridge, UK, 2021
• MRes in Psychology, University of York, 2019-2020
• Research Assistant, Department of Speech and Language Sciences, University of Hong Kong, 2017-2019

Departmental roles

• Developmental Group coordinator
• Graduate Teaching Assistant

Research

Overview

Individual and Developmental Differences in the Time-course of Word Learning

Projects

Vocabulary learning is a gradual process and serves as a foundation key development in literacy, communication and attainment. In this project, I examine the role prior semantic knowledge and sleep consolidation processes are used in supporting word learning in adults and children. I hope to understand the developmental differences in the mechanisms supporting vocabulary learning and consolidation, and how these may be impacted by individual differences in vocabulary skills.

Research group(s)

• Developmental Group; Sleep
• Language and Memory lab (SLAM)

Collaborators

• Professor Lisa Henderson
• Dr Emma Hayiou-Thomas

Teaching

Publications