Bérengère Digard (PhD, AFHEA)
Postdoctoral Fellow
- Psychology, School of Philosophy, Psychology & Language Sciences
- Patrick Wild Centre, Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, Division of Psychiatry
- Department of Social Genetic & Developmental Psychiatry, King's College London
Contact details
Address
- Street
-
Psychology Building
- City
- 7 George Square, Edinburgh
- Post code
- EH8 9JZ
Background
I come from Lyon (France), where I got a BSc in Biology, specialised in Physiology and Genetic, a Master 1 in Integrative Biology, Physiology and Neurosciences, and a Master 2 in Research in Neurosciences. During the Master 2, I spent 5 months at the University of Cambridge on a research placement, where I studied the degenerescence patterns of subcortical structures in dementia, with Pr Michael Hornberger. It is after this placement that I decided to give academia a go!
I arrived in Edinburgh in September 2016 to start a PhD at the Patrick Wild Centre, researching how bilingualism changed the life, mind, and brain of autistic and neurotypical people. I completed my PhD during the infamous 2020 first lockdown.
I'm passionate about science communication and public engagement. I co-ordinated the Pint of Science festival in Lyon (2016) and Edinburgh (2017), and I worked as Engagment officer for the Patrick Wild Centre for a year after my PhD. I also take part in other science communication projects across the University.
In 2021 I have been awarded a 1-year Post-Doctoral Fellowship by the ESRC and the Scottish Graduate School of Social Science. I started this Fellowship on the 1st October 2021 in the Department of Psychology, where I will be continuing my reseach in autism and bilingualism under the mentorship of Dr Bonnie Auyeung and Prof Francesca Happé (King's College London).
(In a previous life, during my studies in Lyon, I worked in lingerie retail, for Princesse tam.tam. )
Qualifications
Ph.D in Psychiatry (2016-2020), University of Edinburgh
Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (2019), Higher Education Academy
Master 2 by Research in Neurosciences (2014 - 2015), Université Claude Bernard de Lyon (France)
Master 1 in Integrative Biology, Physiology & Neurosciences (2013 - 2014), Université Claude Bernard de Lyon (France)
BSc in Biology (2010 - 2013), Université Claude Bernard de Lyon (France)
Undergraduate teaching
Tutor for Research & Evidence-Based Medicine (2020-current)
Tutor for Student Selected Component 2 (2019)
Tutor for Psychology 2 (2017-2020)
Tutor for the PPLS Writing Centre (2017-2020)
Tutor for Child Bilingualism: Language & Cognition (2018)
Postgraduate teaching
Dissertations:
Ellie Johnson, SSC5a project, MBChB (2021-2022).
Hanlin Wong, SSC5a project, MBChB (2021-2022).
Zsofia Blair, SSC5a project, MBChB (2020-2021).
Li Wang, MSc in Education CAP (2019). Co-supervisor: Gale MacLeod.
Kathryn Nolte, MSc in Developemental Linguistics (2018).
Research summary
My research focuses on the link between bilingualism and a socio-cognitive process called perspective-taking, in neurotypical and autistic adults. During my fellowship I will be continuing this work and setting up new projects.
Fellowship mentors: Dr Bonnie Auyeung and Prof Francesca Happé (King's College London).
Thesis title: Bilingualism in autism: A neurocognitive investigation of the influence of bilingualism on perspective-taking in autistic adults.
PhD Supervisors: Prof Sue Fletcher-Watson, Dr Andrew Stanfield, Prof Antonella Sorace.
You can read more about this here: http://dart.ed.ac.uk/research/berengere/ and https://patrickwildcentre.com/autism-bilingualism-and-cognition-mind/
Project activity
ESRC Post-Doctoral Fellowship:
During this fellowship I will focus on
- publishing my PhD research
- communicating and expanding the impact of my PhD research
- acquiring additional skills
- developping new funding proposals
Current project grants
ESRC Post-Doctoral Fellowship - Scottish Graduate School of Social Science