Welcome 2008 Marion Downs Lecturer De Wet Swanepoel, PhD
The American Academy of Audiology Foundation is pleased to announce that De Wet Swanepoel, PhD will present the Marion Downs Lecture in Pediatric Audiology at AudiologyNOW! 2008. Swanepoel is a senior researcher and clinical audiologist at the University of Pretoria, South Africa who has dedicated most of his career as an academic and clinician to promote and develop early identification and intervention programs for infant hearing loss in developing countries such as South Africa. His presentation, Infant Hearing Loss: Silent Epidemic of Developing Countries, is scheduled for April 4, 2008 at the Charlotte Convention Center.
Dr. Swanepoel’s presentation will focus on how almost 90% of infants born with hearing loss live in developing countries where there is virtually no prospect of early identification or intervention. In these countries the high prevalence of childhood hearing loss, the lack of early clinical signs to signal the condition and the low priority for non life-threatening conditions has consigned infant hearing loss to a silent epidemic. He will discuss the extent of this silent global epidemic with critical consideration of the unique risks and challenges posed by developing contexts such as HIV/AIDS. The case for early identification and intervention for hearing loss in developing countries will be presented through the review of pilot programs, analysis of global healthcare expenditure, and a discussion of ethical imperatives.
Dr. Swanepoel was born in Pretoria, South Africa in 1978 where he also spent his childhood years until 11th grade when he moved to Little Rock, Arkansas. Despite several opportunities to pursue graduate studies in the US, he returned to South Africa to conduct his undergraduate studies in audiology and speech-language pathology at the University of Pretoria. He pursued a research master’s degree at the same institution for which his work on the first clinical auditory steady-state response system from Cuba was acknowledged by the National Science and Technology Forum of South Africa’s Department of Science and Technology as outstanding. He continued his doctoral studies in audiology on the development and implementation of early hearing detection and intervention programs at primary healthcare clinics in rural South African communities. The findings were published as a novel infant hearing screening model for developing countries.
As an academic and clinician Dr. Swanepoel has pursued his research and clinical interests in the fields of early identification and diagnostic audiology for infants and young children with a specific emphasis on the challenges posed by developing world contexts. His efforts to advance early identification of hearing loss is evident in the first international conference for Early Hearing Detection and Intervention in Africa which was held in South Africa during 2007, for which Dr Swanepoel was one of the main organizers and invited speakers. Swanepoel has received several awards and research grants from organizations including the Mellon Foundation, UK Hearing Conservation Council, SKYE foundation, National Research Foundation and the National Advisory Council on Innovation. The Medical Research Council of South Africa is also currently supporting his work in the development of a newborn and infant hearing screening programs in a public healthcare hospital serving previously disadvantaged communities.
Dr. Swanepoel serves on several national and international committees and was recently commissioned by the Health Professions Council of South Africa to compile an Early Hearing Detection and Intervention position statement for South Africa, published in 2007. He is also an editor for the International Journal of Audiology. He is closely involved in the collaborations on contextual challenges to audiology in developing countries around the world and is currently editing a text on HIV/AIDS and its effect on communication disorders. He has published more than 30 articles, has supervised numerous postgraduate research projects, and has presented extensively at international conferences around the world,.
Dr. Swanepoel is married to Marli who is a physician and they make their home in a quiet suburb on the outskirts of Pretoria. The great continent of Africa is very dear to them and they are both involved in humanitarian projects in their professional capacity.
The American Academy of Audiology Foundation is pleased to sponsor the presentation of distinguished international audiologist, Dr. Swanepoel, at AudiologyNOW! 2008 and thanks the Oticon Foundation for its continued generous support of the Marion Downs Lecture in Pediatric Audiology.