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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New treatments for patients with mental illness
Associate Professor Bernadette Fitzgibbon is a neuroscientist with several decades of experience in researching, developing, and translating novel therapies for mental health and chronic pain conditions. This includes the application and optimisation of brain stimulation and psychedelic therapies, overseeing large multi-site intervention trials, both within Australia and abroad. Through her work, she has developed meaningful collaborations with consumers, volunteers, policy makers, and services providers, ensuring that the outcomes of her work contribute towards real-world clinical impact.
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Life-changing donor milk for preterm babies
Dr Laura Klein is National Milk Research Leader at Australian Red Cross Lifeblood. Australian Red Cross Lifeblood is funded by Australian governments to provide life-giving blood, plasma, and transplantation and biological products.
Dr Klein works with clinicians and researchers across Australia to understand how donated breast milk can be used to improve outcomes for vulnerable babies. She’s passionate about generating evidence to improve the products and services that milk banks provide to donors and the families who receive donated breast milk.
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Identifying and treating autoimmune neurological disorders
Associate Professor Sudarshini Ramanathan is a neurologist and clinician scientist whose work focuses on autoimmune neurological disorders. Her research has helped identify new neurological syndromes due to antibody-mediated demyelination and encephalitis, and improve diagnostic tools and treatment guidelines for patients with autoimmune diseases affecting the brain, spinal cord, muscles and nerves.
