1. Biogenetic Markers and Stuttering Disorders2. Psychosocial Treatment for Head and Neck Cancer survivors3. Virtual Reality and Student Learning

1. To identify genetic variation affecting susceptibility to stuttering through association functional mapping and conduct fMRI imaging of effected family members.

2. Research of a novel group-based intervention program for people with head and neck cancer. The intervention is based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, which has demonstrated efficacy for communication disorders and other cancers. The intervention is expected to facilitate the use of acceptance-based coping strategies to reduce the impact of communication impairment and improve distress, mood and quality of life.

3. Enhancing student learning through simulations provides safe, repeatable, and standardized environments in which students practice necessary clinical skills. The use of simulation techniques, including virtual humans, trained actors, or mannequins, is appealing in the current health care training environment, where demand for external clinical placements often outweighs resources. This project aims to extend successful collaborations to develop The Empathy Simulator™ for use in allied health students’ clinical education.

University

The successful candidate will be based in the School of Psychology and Speech Pathology at Curtin University (http://healthsciences.curtin.edu.au/teaching/psych_home.cfm). Psychology at Curtin was ranked 4 our of 5 in the most recent Excellent in Research for Australia (ERA) exercise (corresponding to ‘Above World Ranking’) and the QS World University Rankings® by Subject list the School of Psychology and Speech Pathology in the world top 150. We have recently opened the extensive new Psychology Experimental Research Laboratories at Curtin (PERL-C), a world-class research facility located directly adjacent to our office space. Curtin University is ranked in the Top 50 Under 50, a ranking of the world’s top 50 universities established within the last 50 years, based on the highest performing young institutions in the QS World University Rankings®:
http://www.topuniversities.com/top-50-under-50/2013#sorting=rank+region=+country=+faculty=+stars=false+search=
The successful candidate will be aligned with one of the School’s research groups, which represent the key areas of research in the School (http://healthsciences.curtin.edu.au/teaching/psych_research.cfm).

Location

The university is located in Perth, Western Australia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perth), rated the 9th most liveable city in the world (https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/18692034/perth-in-top-ten-most-liveable-cities/.

Candidates wishing to find more information about studying for a PhD at Curtin University may wish to watch the following video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3B20-7RNCzo&feature=youtu.be