Susan Elizabeth Gathercole OBE FBA was the Unit Director at the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit.^[1] from 2011 until 2018. She is a research psychologist, best known for her studies into working memory deficits in children. She has worked extensively with Professor Alan Baddeley, the co-creator, along with Professor Graham Hitch, of arguably the most well-researched working memory model. In 2014 she was elected a Fellow of the British Academy, the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and social sciences.^[2]

This biography of a living person relies too much on references to primary sources. (October 2011)

Gathercole's findings have demonstrated the link between working memory deficits in children and poor academic performance. Furthermore, she has contributed to recent research showing that working memory deficits can be overcome with computerised, adaptive working memory training.^[3]

Gathercole was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2016 Birthday Honours for services to psychology and education.^[4]