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News

Here you will find news and updates about the research and researchers in LAURA.

University of Oxford Presentation: Video & Photo Highlights from Xsara Helmi’s Second Annual ‘The Numinous Ear’ Presentation at Sacred Arts 2026

Presenting for her second consecutive year, LAURA PhD researcher Xsara Helmi shared the next stage of her research, The Numinous Ear: Autistic Listening and Aural Diversity as Sacred Art. Her presentation explored neurodivergent auditory perception as a potential site of relational and numinous consciousness. It challenged standard ideas about hearing, inviting the audience to consider how […]

Survey of Auditory Imagery in Musicians

Neesa Suncheuri Sunar has released her first survey, which seeks to learn about the musical experiences of musicians who have anauralia (auditory aphantasia) and/or other forms of aphantasia more broadly. Musicians are invited to take the survey here: https://app.onlinesurveys.jisc.ac.uk/s/salford/survey-of-auditory-aphantasia-in-musicians You can view the flyer here: Neesa is scheduled to lecture at several events in 2026, exploring […]

See the Sound, Play the Music!

A Deaf-Led Inclusive Music Workshop at Manchester Deaf Centre Project Leader Noa Nishizawa Noa Nishizawa is a Manchester-based professional brass musician and artistic researcher with profound bilateral hearing loss. She is currently completing a PhD at the University of Salford’s Leverhulme Aural Diversity Doctoral Research Hub (LAURA), exploring how visual communication can enhance musical experiences […]

LAURA PhD Students to present at SPARC 2026

This year’s Salford Postgraduate Annual Research Conference (SPARC) will take place on Tuesday 23 and Wednesday 24 June. Seven LAURA PhD Students will be presenting talks showcasing their research: Neesa Suncheuri Sunar’s SPARC talk title is: Auditory Aphantasia and Musical Cognition: Rethinking Inner Hearing and Audiation. Neesa will present during the first ‘Sound’ session on Tuesday morning. Addie […]

Assessing the Impact of Hearing Differences on Music Mixing Practices of Audio Engineers

The below post was written by Lorenzo Bonoldi about his upcoming conference presentation. I am pleased to share that my study exploring how hearing differences shape professional music mixing practices has been accepted for presentation at the Society for Music Production Research (SMPR) Conference 2026, marking what I see as an important contribution to the […]

LAURA PhD Researcher Xsara Helmi article selected for Bristol University Press Editors’ Choice Collection

PhD researcher Xsara Helmi is pleased to share that the article “Hospital noises: sonic autobiography and the embodied experience of autistic auditory perception – a transdisciplinary arts-practice enquiry,” published in the Journal of Creative Research Methods, has been selected for the latest Editors’ Choice Collection from Bristol University Press. Previously announced on publication, the article has now been […]

Research Visit to Cambridge Digital Humanities

PhD researcher Xsara Helmi will be a visiting student at Cambridge Digital Humanities at the University of Cambridge during Michaelmas term 2026.  During the visit, Helmi will be supervised by her external advisor, Prof. John L. Drever.  and will further develop and share her research within the Cambridge Digital Humanities community. Helmi’s project, The Numinous Ear: Autistic Listening and Aural Diversity […]

SAVE THE DATE

The Leverhulme Trust Aural Diversity Doctoral Research Hub (LAURA) at the University of Salford will hold its secondAural Diversity Conference Date 3 September 2026 Location This conference will be held in-person at the University of Salford, MediaCityUK B4, Orange Tower, Salford M50 2HE, with an option for virtual/hybrid attendance. What is aural diversity? The concept […]

EPS Newcastle Poster presentation

PhD students Sena Dokmeci and Paula Schneider recently presented their posters at the Experimental Psychology Society meeting in Newcastle. The meeting was an opportunity to share a research plan for the first study of their PhDs. See the conference programme here. Sena Dokmeci Sena shared the following about the experience: ‘I had the opportunity to […]