Professor Pamela Heaton appointed RNCM Honorary Research Fellow (Professor)

We are delighted to announce the appointment of Professor Pamela Heaton as Honorary Research Fellow (Professor).

Pamela Heaton is Emeritus Professor of Psychology, at Goldsmiths University of London, UK. As a mature student, working on her PhD thesis, Professor Heaton drew on her undergraduate studies in music in her exploration of music perception in autistic children. This work was awarded the British Psychological Society prize for outstanding doctoral research contributions in 2002. Her subsequent research into perception and cognition in autism, and experience of developing and delivering the cross-departmental Psychology of Music module at Goldsmiths University fuelled her interest in developing a cross-disciplinary approach to studying music in neurodevelopmental conditions.

This three-year fellowship will see Professor Heaton work with RNCM staff, students, and PhD researchers to support and contribute to research and teaching linked to music psychology and education. These will lead to new research findings around music and autism, as well as on understanding neurodiversity in the context of musical experience.

Welcoming Professor Heaton to her new appointment, Dr Michelle Phillips, Head of Enterprise and Senior Lecturer in Music Psychology, commented: ‘We are hugely excited that Pam is joining our RNCM family for the next 3 years as Honorary Research Fellow (Professor). Pam brings not only huge expertise, but also dedication and passion to support researchers at earlier stages of their careers, and all and any scholars interested in the role of music in our lives. Her new book ‘The Psychology of Music and Autism: Hearing, Feeling, Thinking, Doing’ was released just this month and contributes important new knowledge to what we know about music and neurodivergence, and is timely and relevant to much of our work at the RNCM.’

Professor Pamela Heaton will lead on the first RNCM Research Forum event of the year at the Carole Nash Recital Room on 29 January. In this public lecture, entitled ‘A re-evaluation of approaches to understanding musicality in autism’, she will focus on recent work exploring the development of musical skills in autistic performers and composers with the aim of stimulating debate around methodological approaches to studying musicality in neurodiverse and neurotypical populations.

Watch the RNCM Research Forum live on Wednesday 29 January, 4.15pm.

28 January 2025