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		Vanessa Surowiecki BAppSci(Hons) Research Fellow CRC for Cochlear Implant and Hearing Aid Innovation 384-388 Albert Street East Melbourne VIC 3002 Australia Ph: +61 3 9667 7555 Fax: +61 3 9667 7518 E-mail: v.surowiecki@unimelb.edu.au Personal Statement Research Interests Curriculum Vitae Oral Presentations Poster Invited Speaker Presentations Publications Professional registration and memberships Related skills and experience Leadership and Professional Development Personal interests Personal Statement I believe that researchers, clinicians, educators and parents need to work collaboratively to achieve the best outcomes for children who are deaf or hard of hearing. I believe much more can be done to maximise the educational, social, and personal opportunities for these children. I believe this requires a coordinated approach that is individualised and considers the child from a holistic perspective. Research Interests My research work examines the role of cognitive development to sensory perception. My research interests include: Networks between the prefrontal cortex and temporal lobes; o The role of attention to speech perception, o Relationships between the quality of the auditory signal and working memory. Audiovisual speech perception, Habilitation practices for children with different learning styles, Adolescent issues for children with different learning styles and/or sensory differences, Mnemonic strategy use in children with hearing loss or other conditions that may impact on language development, Learning preferences in children with sensory differences, The role of language to cognitive development, Bilingual communication for children with hearing loss, Second language learning in children. My PhD project is being undertaken at the University of Melbourne’s Department of Otolaryngology and at The Bionic Ear Institute. I am fortunate to be supervised by Dr. David Grayden, Professor Paul Maruff, Professor Graeme Clark and Professor Richard Dowell. PhD Project “Learning to hear: The influence of cognition on developing speech feature perception skills in children using a cochlear implant.” Over time, many children using a cochlear implant develop improved speech perception, vocabularies and language skills although the rate and extent of this development varies greatly amongst children. To date, researchers have focused on audiological, physiological and technological factors as contributors to performance with a cochlear implant. We know many important factors that influence the long-term device performance. However, if only these factors are considered, a large proportion of the variance remains unaccounted for. A parallel stream of research suggests that cognitive skills may develop differently in children who are deaf or hard of hearing. These studies suggest that long-term reliance on visual information for communication is likely to produce different cognitive skills. The literature abounds with conflicting reports and it remains unclear whether children who are deaf or hard of hearing do develop different cognitive skills. My PhD project combined the two streams of thought to examine the development of speech feature perception skills in relation to developing cognitive processes in children using a cochlear implant. Specifically, I examined the ability of implanted children to attend to, retain, manipulate and recall non-verbal information. I then compared these cognitive skills to the children’s speech feature perception skills. Children using hearing aids and children with normal hearing were also included as comparison groups. It is hoped that the findings from this PhD will provide guidance to specialists developing habilitation programs for children who are deaf or hard of hearing. The funding for this project was generously donated by the Mazda Foundation. The foresight of the Mazda Foundation resulted in a three-year partnership allowing for the most thorough investigation of cognitive functioning in children who are hard of hearing to date. The Victorian Lions Foundation Incorporated has supported this research since 2002. The Victorian Lions Foundation Incorporated has been an important partner of The Bionic Ear Institute for many years, enabling greater outcomes for children using a cochlear implant throughout the world. Curriculum Vitae 1993 Completed VCE at St. Leonard’s College, Brighton, Victoria. 1994-1996 Bachelor of Applied Science at Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, Victoria o Co-Major in Psychology/Psychophysiology o Top Academic Student award for “Neurophysiology of the Normal Brain” (3^rd year subject). 1997 Honours in Psychophysiology. I investigated subjective perceptions of memory loss in healthy elderly people at The Mental Health Research Institute, Parkville. 1998 + PhD student at The University of Melbourne’s Department of Otolaryngology and The Bionic Ear Institute. 2002 Completed Assessment and Professional Skills (4^th year Psychology Subject) at The University of Melbourne. 2002 Employed as the Victorian Lions Foundation Research Fellow at The Bionic Ear Institute. 2003 Enrolled in a Masters of Educational Psychology at The University of Melbourne and employed part-time as Victorian Lions Foundation Research Fellow at The Bionic Ear Institute. 2004 Enrolled in a Masters of Educational Psychology degree and employed as a part-time Research Fellow with the CRC for Cochlear Implant and Hearing Aid Innovations. Oral Presentations 2001 The 8^th International Symposium on Cochlear Implants in Children, Los Angeles. 2001 The 13^th Annual Language and Speech Conference, Sydney. 2002 The 29^th Annual Australasian Experimental Psychology Conference, Adelaide. 2002 The 9^th Australian International Conference on Speech Science and Technology, Melbourne. 2003 The 22^nd Australian and New Zealand Conference for Educators of the Deaf, Fremantle. 2003 The 9^th International Symposium on Cochlear Implants in Children, Washington. 2003 The 14^th Australian Language and Speech Conference, December 4^th – 6^th, 2003, Brisbane. Poster Surowiecki, V.N. , Grayden, D., Dowell,R.C., Clark, G.M., & Maruff, P. (2003) The influence of visual articulations on the auditory perception of voiced plosives: Comparison between children using a cochlear implant and children with normal hearing. Poster presented at The 9th International Symposium on Cochlear Implants in Children, Washington, April. Invited Speaker Presentations 2003 Teacher of the Deaf Annual Conference, Melbourne. 2003 Guest speaker at St. Leonard’s College Speech Night, Melbourne. Publications Surowiecki, V.N., Maruff, P., Grayden, D., Clark, G.M., & Dowell, R.C. (2003). Cognitive processing in children using cochlear implants: The relationship betSpatial working memory and strategy: Comparison between children using a cochlear implant and healthy control participants. The proceedings of the The 9th International Symposium on Cochlear Implants in Children, Washington, April. Surowiecki, V.N (2003) The relationship between memory, speech perception, speechreading and language skills in children using a cochlear implant and children using hearing aids. The proceedings of the Teacher of the Deaf Annual Conference, October. Surowiecki. V.N., Maruff. P., Grayden, D., Clark, G.M., & Dowell, R.C. (2003). The relationship between hearing loss, cognitive strategies, memory and language: Implications for language learning. The proceedings of The 14th Australian Language and Speech Conference, University of Queensland, Dec 4th-6th. Surowiecki, V.N. , Grayden, D., Dowell, R.C., Clark, G.M., & Maruff, P. (2003). Audiovisual perception by children using a cochlear implant: The influence of auditory- and visual-speech stimuli and working memory. The proceedings of The 14th Australian Language and Speech Conference, University of Queensland, Dec 4th-6th. Surowiecki, V. N., Sarant, J., Maruff, P., Blamey, P. J., Busby, P. A., & Clark, G. M. (2002). Cognitive processing in children using cochlear implants: The relationship between visual memory, attention and executive functions and developing language skills. Annals of Otology, Rhinology and Laryngology, 111(5.2 Supplement 189), 119-126. Surowiecki, V., Grayden, D., & Dowell, R. (2002). The influence of visual cues on the perception of synthetic voiced stop consonants by children using cochlear implants. Proceedings of the 29th Annual Australasian Experimental Psychology Conference, The University of Adelaide, North Terrace Campus, Adelaide, April, pp.62. Surowiecki, V., Grayden, D., Dowell, R., Clark, G., & Maruff, P. (2002). The role of visual speech cues in the auditory perception of synthetic stimuli by children using a cochlear implant and children with normal hearing. Proceedings of the 9th Australian International Conference on Speech Science & Technology, Melbourne, December 2 –5, pp. 433-437. Surowiecki, V., Sarant, J., Maruff, P., Blamey, P., Busby, P., & Clark, G. (2001). Cognitive processing in children using cochlear implants: The relationship between visual memory, attention and executive functions and developing language skills. Paper presented at the 13th Australian Language and Speech Conference, Macquarie University, Sydney, December, pp.183. Professional registration and memberships · Probationary Psychologist registration with the Psychologist’s Registration Board of Victoria · The Australian Psychological Society. · The Australian Speech Science and Technology Association (ASSTA) · Society for Research in Child Development Related skills and experience Sign language skills: o One-year of Signing in English classes at PEJS o One-year of AUSLAN classes at PEJS · Experienced working with 150 children who are deaf or hard of hearing and children with normal hearing. Research conducted in the child’s home or school. · Experienced in administering, scoring and reporting results from a range of measures including; o The Cambridge Neuropsychological Automated Test Battery (CANTAB), o The Weschler Intelligence Scale for Children, o The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Scale, o The Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals, o The Speech Feature Test. Experience in designing and implementing a range of research investigations. o Longitudinal investigations, o Mixed between – within examinations, o T-tests, ANOVA, ANCOVA, MANOVA, MANCOVA, o Regression modelling, o Factor analysis, o Multidimensional scaling. Report writing skills; o Scientific publications, o Reports to professional bodies/ethics committees, o Reports to children, parents, schools and clinicians. 1994 – 1996 Employed by The Australian Drug Foundation to educate adolescents about alcohol using the harm minimisation approach. 1995 – 1997 Volunteer running weekly activities for elderly residents with dementia in Anglican Homes for the Elderly. 1996 – 1998 Employed to create activities and care for 3 – 7 year old children attending a short-term crèche. 1997-1998 Volunteer work at OzChild Foster Care providing activities and support for a seriously intellectually disabled child. Leadership and Professional Development 1993 Elected Vice Captain of St. Leonard’s College. 1994 Elected President of the Psychophysiology Society, Swinburne University. 1996 Mentor for first-year Psychophysiology Students, Swinburne University. 1998 Completed a 12 week program in Public Speaking with Communicators, Melbourne. 1999 Completed a six-day workshop on Leadership and Professional Development at The University of Melbourne. 2001 Supervised an international visiting student who conducted a research investigation of rhyming skill in children with hearing loss. Personal interests o 2002 + Studying Polish in the Slovac Department at Monash University, Clayton. o Travel Cooking Theatre Sculpture Mental health Environmental issues



Author: v.surowiecki@unimelb.edu.au Last Updated: Monday August 16 2004