Fern Rodgers

I am a Research Assistant in the UCL Department of Language & Cognition working on the UTILISE project, which is investigating the effectiveness of a novel behavioural therapy, rooted in usage-based Construction Grammar, in sentence-level rehabilitation of post-stroke aphasia.

My role involves, though is not limited to, recruitment and screening of people with aphasia, conducting and scoring baseline and post-intervention assessments, administering our computerised intervention, organising and supporting MRI scanning, managing data, disseminating project methods and findings, collaborating with project students and supervising interns.

I graduated in 2018 with an MSc in Cognitive Psychology and Neuropsychology from the University of Kent (distinction). During my time at Kent, I undertook a research project, under the supervision of Dr Amir-Homayoun Javadi, into syntactic attention training and non-invasive transcranial brain stimulation (tDCS) in post-stroke aphasia. This was my first experience of working with people with aphasia and inspired a keen interest in language rehabilitation.

Prior to this, I achieved a BSc in Psychology from Canterbury Christ Church University (first class).

Key publications:

• Rodgers F., Javadi, A.H., Varley R.A., Khatoonabadi, A.R. (2020). Physical inactivity during lockdown and the implications for incidence of stroke, severity, mortality, reoccurrence and rehabilitation. Disability and Rehabilitation, 43, 148-149. https://doi.org/10.1080/09638288.2020.1820588