Sophie Meekings

Member since 2023

Occupation: Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Research Fellow at University of York

My research, and my personal experience as a disabled woman in science, has given me a strong personal desire to work towards equality in society.

Bio

Sophie Meekings is a neuroscientist whose work focuses on understanding speech production in typical speakers and people with communication disabilities (like stuttering). Studying voices was an unusual choice, as Sophie is profoundly deaf—but she believes her lived experience of communication disability makes her a better researcher as she has a deep personal understanding of the complexity of spoken communication and the challenges it can pose for disabled people.

Sophie is currently a Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Postdoctoral fellow, with previous work funded by the British Academy and the ESRC. In her spare time, she volunteers for a national outdoor education charity and can teach you how to light a fire, read a map, or whittle a spoon.

Interests

  • Engaging under-represented audiences
  • Evidence based governance
  • Holistic approach
  • Impact of outside responsibilities on career progression for early career researchers
  • Long-term health conditions
  • Research culture
  • Social change
  • Societal impact of research
  • Sustainability
  • Young women in STEM