Background and QualificationsIn February 2003, Rena Lyons was appointed by NUI Galway, as a Senior Lecturer, to establish a new BSc degree programme in speech and language therapy. Prior to this position, she worked as aspeech and language therapy manager in Community Services in the HSE (formerly known as the Western Health Board) from 1998-2003, as a senior speech and language therapist from 1991-1998 and as a basic grade therapist from 1987-1991. She has a broad range of clinical experience with children and adults with developmental speech and language impairments and voice disorders. In addition to clinical experience, she has experience of management and planning of services for people with communication disability.Her research interests are in the areas of developmental speech and language disorders, listening to the perspectives of service users, evidence-based practice, and qualitative methodologies. She has published her research in peer-reviewed international journals. She has won three editors prizes for her papers: two prizes for papers in the International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology (2017, 2023)and a prize for her paper in the Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research (2018). She is a peer reviewer for a number of international journals e.g., International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders, Journal of Clinical Speech and Language Studies, Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics, Child Language Teaching and Therapy, Journal of Speech, Language amp; Hearing Research, Journal of Communication Disorders and Occupational Therapy International.Qualifications2014PhD,University of West England 2011Narrative Inquiry, Karolinska University, Sweden (Masters level module) 2008Listening to Children: Research and Consultation, University of Edinburgh (Masters level module) 2006Postgrad. Cert. in Teaching amp; Learning at Third Level, Centre for Excellence in Learning amp;Teaching, NUI Galway1999MSc by Research (part-time), University of Dublin, TCD1987BSc (Hons) in Remedial Linguistics (First class Honours) amp; gold medal awarded, University of Dublin, Trinity College DublinMembership of Professional AssociationsMember of the Irish Association of Speech and Language Therapists (IASLT) Teaching Responsibilities:Her undergraduate and postgraduate teaching responsibilities include: Professional Studies, Developmental Speech and Language Disorders,Voice Disorders, Evidence-Based Practice. Rena also supervises undergraduate and postgraduatedissertations.

Developmental speech and language impairments, qualitative research, service delivery models,listening to theperspectives of people with communication impairments, evidence-based practice, evaluating the outcomes of intervention, sociocultural perspectives in communication disordersResearch projects completed Exploring identity and well-being in children with primary speech and language impairments (PhD thesis)Diagnosis of children with specific language impairment, funded by NUI GalwayServices for children with central auditory processing disorders in Ireland, funded by HSEEvaluation of different modes of delivery for interprofessional CPD, funded by HSEEvaluation of an intervention for children at risk for literacy difficulties, in collaboration with the Child and Family Research Centre, funded by BarnardosCurrent research projects Evaluating a Communication Awareness ProgrammeNarratives in typically developing childrenMultiple baseline studies on speech sound disordersImplementing telemedicine in speech and language therapy, in collaboration with Discipline of General Practice, funded by ITTSDeveloping norms for auditory processing tests in Ireland, in collaboration with the Departments of Audiology and Speech and Language Therapy, Childrens University Hospital Temple Street Hospital, Dublin and Prof Terri Bellis, University of Dakota.

My teaching interests are:Developmental language impairmentsVoice disordersEvidence based practiceHealth promotion and speech and language therapySocial model of disabilityQualitative researchEthicsResearch methods