Nicole Whitworth

I am a speech scientist specialising in phonetics, speech acquisition, and applied speech technology, with a particular interest in how data‑driven approaches can deepen our understanding of human communication. My academic background spans over two decades of teaching and research in phonetics, multilingual speech development, and applied linguistics. I hold a PhD in Linguistics from the University of Leeds and an MSc in Data Science (Distinction) from Leeds Beckett University.

I work across disciplinary boundaries, collaborating with colleagues in speech and language therapy, computing, psychology, education, and applied linguistics. I have experience in strategy development and academic leadership, and have worked with external stakeholders including the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists, the British Council, and Ofsted.

My research focuses on speech acquisition, vowel production, multilingual speech development, and the pedagogy of phonetics and clinical linguistics. I am also developing work in computational approaches to speech, including a prototype Python application for acoustic vowel analysis in clinical contexts. I have contributed to UK and EU‑funded projects and continue to publish in areas that bridge phonetics, speech acquisition, and applied speech science.