Ruth McMenamin joined the Discipline of Speech and Language Therapy at NUI Galway in November 2004. Prior to taking up this position she worked as a senior speech and language therapist in Neurology at the Mater Misericordiae hospital. She obtained a BSc with 1st class honours in Speecha and Language Therapy from the University of Ulster, at Jordanstown in 1996 and awards for both academic excellence and clinical excellence. Ruth is a member of the Irish Association of Speech and Language Therapists (IASLT)and is registered with CORU. Ruth studied for a MSc degree in Health Informatics at the University of Dublin, TCD and graduated in 2004. In 2010 Ruth obtained a Postgraduate Diploma (Pg Dip)in Academic Practice at the National University of Ireland, Galway. Ruth was awarded a PhD at NUI Galway in 2016. Her PhD researchused a Participatory Learning and Action Researchapproach to explore amultiperspectivalevaluation of a Conversation intervention involving people with aphasia, therapists and students as co-researchers. Ruth is the co-lead for thePublic - No restriction and Patient Involvement (PPI) Ignite Network at NUI, Galway and a member of the PPI Ignite Network at NUI Galway Steering Committee. Ruth is a member of the Executive Committee of the Collaboration of Aphasia Trialists (CATs) and she is also a member of the International Collaboration of Participatory Health Researchers. Ruths research interests include: Communication disability; Aphasia; Public - No restriction and Patient Involvement (PPI) in research and other activities; Civic engagement through the promotion of university-community partnerships. Ruth has particular experience and expertise in involvement research with people with communication disabilities; students; community partners and academics using participatory health research approaches.

My research interests include: Communication disability; Aphasia; Public - No restriction and Patient Involvement (PPI) in research and other activities; Civic engagement through the promotion of university-community partnerships; Qualitative participatory research approaches. I have particular experience and expertise in involvement research with people with communication disabilities; students; community partners and academics using participatory health research approaches.

My current teaching responsibilities in the undergraduate BSc programme cross a number of strands and include the design, delivery, assessment and marking of acquired communication and swallowing disorders in all four years of the course. I am committed to integrating civic values at the centre of student learning experiences therefore I introduced and embedded Service learning as a pedagogical tool in the undergraduate BSc programme in 2005 to underpin the conversation partner programme. This communication intervention is run in collaboration with the local community Speech and Language Therapy service and people living with chronic communication disability in the community. Speech and Language Therapists working in the local community refer approximately 520 new people with aphasia into the programme annually. The majority of PWA choose to continue their participation across several iterations of the programme (one iteration equates to 7-10 conversation visits) over a number of years. For third-year students, a 1 day training course and participation in the SL CPP module is a mandatory requirement. Conversation Partner Programme training is delivered collaboratively by academic staff and aphasia trainers (PWA who volunteered to be trained as trainers). Following training, students are paired with a peer and matched with a person with aphasia based on interests and hobbies. Geographical location of both the person with aphasia and the student is also taken into consideration. The weekly conversation visits to PWAs homes or other agreed locations (for example, nursing homes, coffee shops, restaurants) provide unique opportunities for students to learn about the lived experience of aphasia and apply theory to practice in a community setting. Equally the people with aphasia benefit from the opportunity to practice conversation skills with unfamiliar interlocutors (the students) and increase feelings of social connectedness. I am a co-director of the MSc Advanced Healthcare Practice and Research which is run in collaboration with General Practice. This Masters provides an interdisciplinary learning opportunity and attracts students from a range of healthcare professions. I contribute to teaching and assessment on the Using Evidence in Practice module for all students registered on the MSc Childhood Speech, Language and Communication Needs and the MSc Advanced Healthcare Practice and Research. This module focuses on critical evaluation of the literature, reflection and communication skills.