Kevin Munro

Overview

Kevin J Munro is Director (research) of the Manchester Centre for Audiology and Deafness (ManCAD). He is also an Honorary Consultant Clinical Scientist at Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. He has held a variety of professional positions including Chief Examiner for the British Association of Audiological Scientists and Chair of the British Society of Audiology. He is currently the early member of the NICE guideline committee on assessment and management of adult hearing loss and is Secretary on the Council of the  International Journal of Audiology. He is also a school governor at Well Green primary school.

ManCAD is a leading centre in three broad areas:

Bridging basic and translational hearing research

Innovative research that translates basic underpinning research into direct benefit to people who have a hearing dysfunction

• Research that underpins and delivers improved services in health care and education for adults and children with a hearing loss.

Our research underpins, and is informed by, our leading role in audiology education and audiological service delivery in the UK. Our multidisciplinary research team includes professionals in audiology, deaf education and medicine, in addition to scientists’ expert in psychophysics, electrophysiology, signal processing and neural imaging.  Our research is currently grouped into five themes although there is some overlap.  There are also a number of cross-cutting stands including electrophysiological and psychophysical methodologies.

Coding and processing [Theme Lead, Professor Chris Plack]

Clinical assessment and management [Theme Lead, Dr Kai Uus]

Plasticity and ageing [Theme Lead, Professor Kevin J Munro]

Auditory devices and technology [Theme Lead, Dr Michael Stone]

1. Improving service delivery [Theme Lead, Professor Wendy McCracken]

Kevin J Munro leads the research theme on Plasticity and ageing. This theme is concerned with understanding the changes that occur over time in the auditory system due to training, deafness, development, or restoration of input to a deaf auditory system. The translational goal of this research is to guide fitting and management options for hearing devices.

Amongst his various university roles, he is currently academic lead for philanthropy, and one of the Chairs of the University Student Discipline, Complaints and Appeals Committee. He is a former Director of Graduate Matters for SPS.

His professional roles have included Chairman of the British Society of Audiology, Chief Examiner for the Certificate of Audiological Competence (CAC) and Chairman of the Board of Senior Examiners.

He is involved in a variety of public engagement activities.

Biography

A personal chair was conferred on Kevin J Munro in 2012 in recognition of his high level of achievement in audiology research and education. His personal chair, Ewing Professor of Audiology, is named in honour of Sir Alexander and Lady Irene Ewing (OBE), distinguished leaders in paediatric audiology. The Ewings were responsible for the fundamental principles of paediatric audiology. They influenced professionals throughout the world on issues pertaining to  the identification and management of childhood deafness.Irene Rosetta Ewing (1883-1958) was awarded an OBE in 1947 for her services to audiology and deaf educaion.  Alexander William Ewing (1897-1980) was knighted for his services to audiology and deaf education in the 1958 New Year''s Honours.

The early career of Kevin J Munro was spent as a hearing health care professional within, or funded by, the National Health Service.  He is a state registered clinical scientist with clinical experience in all areas of adult and paediatric assessment and rehabilitation. He entered academia in 2002, after completing a PhD on the topic of perceptual learning and auditory acclimatisation, in order to pursue a career as a researcher of international calibre.   His research and teaching is motivated by the desire to influence and improve clinical practice for adults and children with hearing and/or balance related disorders. He has a well-established national and international reputation in hearing health care with a proven ability to plan and shape the direction of research and teaching activities.  He has an extensive track record of: i) teaching at undergraduate and postgraduate level, ii) published research, and iii) presenting research findings at conferences and professional meetings.  He attracts research grant support from a variety of sources including MRC, NIHR, charities and international industries.  His research is acknowledged to have made a significant impact on profession, industry and clinical practice. He is actively involved in professional activities at a national and international level.