Associate Professor Yasaman Rafat is a researcher in the Department of Languages and Cultures at Western University. Her primary investigative work centers on sociophonetics, experimental phonology, and second language acquisition with a focus on heritage speakers. She seeks to understand how multi-dialectal and multilingual environments influence speech production and perception across diverse linguistic communities. Previously a researcher at the University of Toronto, she holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Spanish Linguistics. She teaches courses on Hispanic linguistics and phonetics while supervising students in the Speech and Language Laboratory, currently welcoming inquiries from prospective graduate researchers.