Professor Jenny Gibson

My research interests lie in the interplay between linguistic and social development from childhood through to adolescence. I studied at University of Manchester where I gained a BSc (Hons) in Speech and Language Therapy, before going on to win ESRC/MRC funding to complete a Master of Research in Psychology followed by a PhD. After my PhD, I went on to do post-doctoral research in child and adolescent mental health in the Department of Developmental Psychiatry, University of Cambridge.

I held a lectureship in Developmental Language and Communication Disorders at the University of East Anglia for one year before coming to the University of Cambridge Faculty of Education as a University Lecturer in Psychology and Education in November 2014.

I am a qualified Speech and Language Therapist and, although I have focused my career mainly on research, I have maintained my clinical registration specialising in assessment and treatment of complex language disorders and autism spectrum conditions.

Current research projects: 

• Evaluating playground peer interactions in the Preschool Autism Communication Trial Follow-Up 7-11 years (PACT 7-11)
• Social cognition in children with pragmatic language impairments
• Emotional vocabulary use in looked after children and young people
• Outcomes of bullying, victimisation and friendships in childhood and adolescence