Education and Community Engagement

The team at the Swallowing Neurorehabilitation Research Lab values engaging with the community around swallowing impairment and has a presence at many national and international conferences. Listed below are a few recent examples of our activities and presentations.

2020 Critically Appraised Topics (CATs)

In Semester 2 2020, our Master of Speech Pathology students at Flinders University completed a CAT assignment as part of their degree. See below a few examples of CATs relating to swallowing and dysphagia.

Millicent Bush, Georgia Brewster and Jordan Samson – How does the average oesophageal transit time for people with Motor Neuron Disease differ from that of healthy controls of a similar age?
Rochelle Hunt, Eliza Falconer and Jami Weinel – An Exploration of the Effectiveness of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in the Rehabilitation of swallowing Function in Adults Post-stroke
Ashleigh Langton, Louisa Crotti and Subhapriya Mohan – Impact of early speech pathology intervention in ICU settings

2019 Professional engagement activity “Clinical Reasoning and Risk Management in Dysphagia”

In August 2019, Dr Jo Murray and Sebastian hosted a professional engagement activity in Adelaide on the topic of clinical reasoning and risk management in dysphagia. Over 50 people attended and engaged in a lively discussion.

2019 Annual Meeting of the Dysphagia Research Society, San Diego, California

Sebastian presented an invited talk on ‘The development of clinical expertise” at the Annual Meeting of the Dysphagia Research Society in San Diego. Copious amount of coffee helped fight off the jet lag…

2018 Radio interview to raise awareness for dysphagia with nurses

In August 2018, Sebastian gave a podcast interview with Nursing Review on the impact of dysphagia.

2018 Brain Food event, National Science Week, Adelaide

Sebastian shared his passion for neuroscience with children and families at the 2018 Brain Food event. Visitors to the Flinders University Centre for Neuroscience stall explored how their brain communicates with their muscles and how biofeedback technology can visually “listen in” on this communication.

2018 Speech Pathology Australia National Conference, Adelaide

Sebastian represented researchers in the Australian Speech Pathology profession on a panel discussion entitled “Inspiring the Future” at the 2018 National Conference of Speech Pathology Australia in Adelaide. This panel was led by the inspiring Rosie Martin, Flinders University alumna and 2017 Tasmanian of the Year.

2018 Satellite Meeting of the Australian Society for Medical Research (ASMR)

Speech Pathology Honours students Rebecca Francis and Shannon Maloney presented their research at the 2018 Satellite Meeting of the Australian Society for Medical Research (ASMR).

2018 CCLHD Professional Development Workshop, Gosford

Sebastian presented an invited one-day workshop on “New Frontiers in Dysphagia Assessment and Management” to Speech Pathologists at the Central Coast Local Health District in Gosford, NSW.

2018 Annual Meeting of the Dysphagia Research Society, Baltimore, Maryland

Sebastian attended the 26th Annual Meeting of the Dysphagia Research Society in Baltimore, Maryland. He presented a panel presentation on clinical reasoning during clinical swallowing examination, a poster on the impact of dysphagia on health care expenditure and length of stay in hospital, and chaired a scientific session on new directions in dysphagia management. He was also elected as Councillor on the Board of Directors of the Research Society.

2017 Satellite Meeting of the Australian Society for Medical Research (ASMR)

Speech Pathology Honours students Kaitlyn Underdown and Allison Barker, as well as PhD student Jen Baldock (right to left) presented their research at the 2017 Satellite Meeting of the Australian Society for Medical Research.

2017 Annual Meeting of the Dysphagia Research Society, Portland Oregon

Sebastian attended the 25th Annual Meeting of the Dysphagia Research Society in Portland, Oregon. He presented a poster on a study exploring the effects of non-invasive brain stimulation on swallowing biomechanics and chaired a scientific session of panel presentations.

2016 Swallowing Awareness Day at Flinders University

The Swallowing Neurorehabilitation Research Lab and collaborator Dr Joanne Murray from the Flinders University Speech Pathology discipline promoted their research and teaching activities during the 2016 Swallowing Awareness Day. At a stall positioned in the brand-new Flinders University Student Hub, the team spoke to staff and students about the detrimental impact of swallowing impairment on health, safety and quality of life. Interested staff and students were able to sample a variety of texture-modified fluids, a common strategy employed clinically to enable safer, more efficient swallowing. There was also a station where passers-by were able to trial a new computer-based swallowing intervention currently trialled in the lab.

Serving thickened fluids at the 2016 Swallowing Awareness Day stall at Flinders University

2016 Satellite Meeting of the Australian Society for Medical Research (ASMR)

Speech Pathology Honours student Sarah Coupe, PhD student Emily Lively, and Speech Pathology Honours students Esther Telfer and Lakkari Rigney (right to left) presented their research at the 2016 Satellite Meeting of the Australian Society for Medical Research.

2015 Stroke Rehab: From No-Tech to Go-Tech conference in Christchurch, New Zealand

Sebastian attended the inaugural Stroke Rehab: From No-Tech to Go-Tech conference in Christchurch, New Zealand in 2015. This conference provided a wide range of educational sessions across multidisciplinary boundaries and was attended by leading experts from a variety of rehabilitation professions. Sebastian presented his work on behavioural interventions and their effects on swallowing biomechanics as assessed using high resolution pharyngeal impedance manometry.