Melanie Ferguson
Associate Professor at Curtin University | Dementia & Ageing Researcher
Professional Area: Brain and Hearing
My research focuses on
- The connection of hearing health and dementia and cognition.
- Psychosocial and mental health impacts of hearing loss.
- Investigating multimorbidities of dementia.
My research aims to
- Improve hearing healthcare with a clear route to impact and innovation.
I work closely with
- Royal National Institute for Deaf
- Hearing Link
- Ear Foundation
- Hearing Matters Australia
- Soundfair
- Audiology Australia
- William Demant Foundation
Mel’s Story
Since moving to Australia 3 years ago, I had been working in the UK as a hearing researcher for over 30 years. As a clinical scientist in audiology, I’ve worked at the Medical Research Council, Institute of Hearing Research, the National Institute for Health Research, Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre and University of Nottingham. Throughout my career I have led multidisciplinary research teams that focus on adult hearing loss.
My work primarily focuses on improving hearing healthcare, but most importantly to acknowledge and investigate the other impacts hearing loss can have on someones mental health, behaviours and the way they self-manage in every day life. Working with patient groups and people who have lived experience of hearing loss reinforces to me how multidisciplinary our research needs to be to best help these groups of people. Working with those with hearing loss ensures that together we can align our research with their hearing and communication needs. True consumer involvement has shown clear benefits for research and I am a big advocate to have consumers involved on my research projects from the beginning.
Working with consumer groups and people with lived experience really motivates me as a researcher, and shows me how much change we can make by working together. My work now at Curtin University focuses on developing and evaluating an auditory-cognitive training program for hearing loss and associated behaviour change, while continuing to investigate this and other morbidities of dementia. From rowing competitively at the Henley Royal Regatta to strolling down the beaches of Fremantle, I am thrilled to be calling Perth home and continuing my research journey.