Birkbeck research fellow announced a Rising Star by the Association for Psychological Science
Dr Kyle Jasmin, an early career researcher, was named as a Rising Star by the Association for Psychological Science for his outstanding contribution to the field.
Dr Kyle Jasmin, a research fellow in the AlphaLab at Birkbeck, has been named by the Association for Psychological Science (APS) as one of their Rising Stars. The award recognises members of the organisation who, at an early stage in their career, have demonstrated great potential through innovative research. The nominations are judged by a committee of academics from around the world.
Dr Jasmin completed a PhD from the University College London – National Institute of Mental Health Training Program in Neuroscience, then came to Birkbeck where he undertook his postdoctoral training and is now a research fellow in the Department of Psychological Sciences. His research into speech and brain activity has earned him recognition from the Leverhulme Trust, who awarded him a prestigious Early Career Fellowship in 2018, and since then Dr Jasmin has won two grants from the Society for Music, Psychology and Education Research. His work has garnered significant attention from media outlets including The Wall Street Journal, Wired, The Atlantic and The Economist.
Professor Mike Oaksford, Professor of Psychology and Head of the Department of Psychological Sciences said: "I am delighted that Kyle has been selected as an APS Rising Star. His highly innovative research has spanned many areas, such as the neural bases of autism and speech perception in tone-deafness, metaphors for time in speech and gesture, and the role of the spatial cortex in non-spatial cognition and perception. His work is not only theoretically important with implications for the neural foundations of language but also has practical applications for improving impaired speech perception and production."
Dr Jasmin said: "I feel very honoured to be selected and I'm grateful to the APS and those who organised and supported my nomination. Science is a team effort and I'm fortunate to have had excellent mentors, most recently Dr Adam Tierney and Professor Fred Dick here at Birkbeck, as well as fantastic colleagues and research support."
Dr Jasmin is currently studying how brain structures that evolved for spatial navigation can be used to understand sounds. He is also examining how individuals with different perceptual and social abilities, such as autism, produce and perceive speech differently, and how those language-related differences are reflected in the brain. In the future, he will study how our societal shift toward communication mediated by Zoom may be systematically shaping how we communicate with and perceive one another.