How this PhD candidate is helping uncover why people stutter

Younger people who stutter are often ridiculed or bullied. As a result, people who stutter learn to hide it as much as they can.

In a way, Sarah was surprised to find herself researching stuttering – because she stutters herself.

Yet she has loved connecting with other people who stutter, first through the Stuttering Association for the Young (SAY) Australia and now her research.

“I've met hundreds of people who stutter now through this research, and I've asked every person, ‘What's stuttering been like for you?’,” she says.

“And as soon as I started meeting all these people and talking to them about their own experiences, I just thought that this is exactly where I want to be.”

How a PhD project may help explain why people stutter

“When somebody starts stuttering early in life, we don't know whether they'll be one of those people who will just stutter for a really brief period of time and then stop,” Sarah says.

Better understanding the biology of stuttering will help the genetics of stuttering research team understand what causes stuttering. It will help them better predict what outcomes people will have. And it will help better match people to therapies.

“Some kids will respond really well to the types of stuttering therapies we have at the moment. Some won't,” Sarah says.

Sarah’s PhD supervisors are Professor Angela Morgan and Professor Ingrid Scheffer. But she works with people from across the University of Melbourne, the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) and the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research.

When the team runs into a problem, they can turn to experts across the Melbourne Biomedical Precinct for help.

What a PhD in health sciences may look like

Sarah spends most of her days at her desk at the MCRI. But she also has a place at the Audiology and Speech Pathology department at the University of Melbourne.

“It's been really helpful to access the statistical support through the librarians, and help with doing literature searches and systematic reviews,” she says.

Earlier on in her PhD, Sarah spent her time conducting speech assessments, collecting medical histories and interviewing people about their lived experiences with stuttering. The School of Health Sciences Graduate Researcher Allowance helped her purchase test forms needed for assessing participants.

Now she spends more time on data analysis and writing.

The graduate research services offers workshops and resources on topics from thesis writing to presentation skills that Sarah has attended. But the rarer opportunities like attending international conferences have been the real highlight of Sarah’s experience.

“It's a bit scary presenting and contributing. But it's very exciting to be in that space and to meet a lot of other people who have that niche interest that you do, and who are also just as passionate about it,” Sarah says.

“Also just getting to travel overseas is fun.”

After her PhD, Sarah will be looking for a way to balance her interest in teaching, research and clinical work. Yet she may not have to go very far at all for her next job opportunity.

“What's been really amazing about doing this project – but also a bit overwhelming – is that I have so, so much data and there are so many things I want to do with it,” Sarah says.

“I think I could make a really good case for a postdoctoral fellowship.”

Learn more about a PhD in Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences