Inaugural Lecture – “Hearing Matters” presented by Professor Tracey Newman

About

Biography of Speaker: Tracey Newman became a Lecturer in the Faculty of Medicine in 2010. Working within the education team, Tracey established and then led the Masters in Medical Sciences, a research-intense programme for medical students from 2016-2021. She earned her Senior Fellowship of the HEA in 2018. In 2021, Tracey was appointed to the role of Faculty Director of Post-Graduate Research overseeing and enhancing the support, progression and professional development of DM and PhD students in Medicine. Tracey supports student and staff experience through enhancing EDI and by supporting individuals while a harassment contact. Tracey is the scientific advisor to the University of Southampton auditory implant service, 1 of 19 services across the UK, and plays a key role on external research panels. Tracey is leading work to embed Public and Patient Involvement and Engagement for people with hearing loss into the research agenda with a focus on reaching and engaging with under-served communities.

Synopsis of Presentation: Global improvements in sanitation, medicine and food security have been accompanied by increased life expectancy. Despite this, the number of people affected by non-communicable conditions in the last two decades of life is growing. Rather than being an inevitable consequence of aging, many older people live with good health, it may be possible to intervene and slow common disabling conditions such as acquired hearing loss. To do this we need to understand the mechanisms and interplay between conditions. Hearing loss affects as many as 70% of people over 70 and may be a modifiable risk factor for the development of dementia. Building on my early research into inflammation and injury to the nervous system in Multiple Sclerosis and dementia, I now lead research to understand the role of inflammation in the progression of hearing loss and in hearing outcomes after cochlear implantation.

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