Cristina McKean is Professor of Child Language Development & Disorders and a Senior Academic Research Leader at the Department of Education, University of Oxford. Before joining the department and after a career as a speech and language therapist, Cristina held academic positions at Newcastle University and the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (Melbourne, Australia) where she continues to hold honorary positions. She was previously editor in chief for the International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders, the official journal of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists. She leads interdisciplinary research with global reach which develops and evaluates public health and educational practices to promote robust language development for all children. Her work is conducted through multi-disciplinary collaboration and partnerships with young people, parents, professionals and policymakers.