Recognising Bec’s research engagement and impact, she was awarded the Curtin University Research and Engagement STEM Award 2022 – Early Career Researcher. The Awards night was held on 29 November 2022.
Bec demonstrated excellence in courage, integrity and respect in her research and actively supports others to grow.
As a clinical audiologist and Research Lead at Ear Science and an Adjunct Senior Clinical Research Fellow at the Curtin Medical School, Bec’s research focuses on hearing loss’s social and emotional impact. She leads an interventional program of research, guided by behaviour change principles, aiming to improve how audiologists detect, discuss and provide support for patients’ emotional well-being in the clinical setting.
Bec’s doctoral work has influenced national policy. Evaluating hearing aid management skills as part of the routine evaluation of rehabilitation outcomes is now emphasised in the Audiology Australia Professional Practice Standards.
As a strong advocate for clinicians, she was one of the first researchers internationally to actively tackle the deficit in audiologists’ skills for providing mental well-being support to adults with hearing loss. She is passionate about partnering with consumers and the community in research planning, execution and translation. She works closely with industry to ensure that her research has a clear pathway to benefit consumers and the community directly.
