EARLIER IDENTIFICATION AND EARLY INTERVENTION FOR CHILDREN WHO ARE DEAF OR HARD OF HEARING
With
Professor Greg Leigh AO, Director
NextSense Institute, Australia &
Conjoint Professor, Macquarie School of Education
Macquarie University, Sydney
RESEARCHER PROFILE
Filmed in Sydney, Australia | June 2025
As Director of NextSense Institute, Professor Leigh is responsible for leading the not-for-profit organisation’s world-class research and education programs and facilities.
Professor Leigh held a variety of positions in the education of children who are deaf or hard of hearing before entering academia. He holds a degree in Special Education from Griffith University, a Master of Science (Speech and Hearing) from Washington University and a PhD in Special Education from Monash University. In 2001, he was made a Fellow of the Australian College of Educators and in 2014, he was invested as an Officer in the Order of Australia (AO) for distinguished services to the deaf and hard of hearing community.
He is a member of the Editorial Board of The Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education and has researched widely on issues related to the early development and education of children who are deaf or hard of hearing.
A former National President of the Education Commission for the World Congress of the World Federation of the Deaf, Professor Leigh has also Chaired the International Steering Committees of both the Asia-Pacific Congress on Deafness (APCD) and the International Congress on Education of the Deaf (ICED).
He has served on several Australian Government consultative committees, including the New South Wales Ministerial Standing Committee on Hearing, the National Neonatal Hearing Screening Working Party, and the Key Scientists Committee of the Hearing Cooperative Research Centre.
For the last 19 years, Professor Leigh has chaired the Australasian Newborn Hearing Screening Committee.
In his spare time, Professor Leigh is an active member/supporter of the Sydney Swans Football Club, and he and his wife enjoy symphonic music. He is also actively involved in the work of the St Vincent de Paul Society as a volunteer for the Vinnie’s Van program.
Source: Supplied
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Podiatric Research In Children, the workforce and the LGBTQIA+ community
Professor Williams holds the role of Deputy Head of School, School of Primary and Allied Health Care, and course coordinator of the Doctor of Podiatric Medicine degree. She is a podiatrist, and has held professional roles in community health, acute and subacute services in child health care teams, research leadership and professional governance.
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CASE STUDY Next Generation Condom Contraception
Eudaemon Technologies, an early-stage medtech company with a focus on sexual reproductive health, is developing a hydrogel condom to address the need for a better feeling, next generation condom, with the potential to improve user experience and address issues with traditional latex condoms.
“Over 1 million STI’s being diagnosed every day and up to 120 million unplanned pregnancies every year result in a $60 billion health burden across the globe”, says Co-Founder and Executive Director of Operations, Dr Simon Cook.
Formed in 2018, the company focuses on developing tough hydrogels as an alternative to address issues with odour, colour, and taste commonly associated with latex condoms. This technology can be loaded with small molecule drugs for flavours or anti-STI compounds, and was developed in response to a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to address unplanned pregnancies and STIs.
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CASE STUDY increasing survival, free of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) in extremely preterm infants
The aim of the PLUSS trial was to find out if installation of budesonide (a steroid) with surfactant to the lungs of extremely preterm babies helps to prevent lung disease, or Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD).
