Professor Helen Grech is a registered audiologist and speech-language pathologist. She has headed the Department within the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of Malta for 28 years. Helen Grech was also Deputy Dean of the same Faculty for 2 terms and Chair of the University Research Ethics Committee. She is involved in cross-linguistic research projects and Inter-Governmental COST Actions. She was awarded several research grants, in particular 2 Marie Curie Action grants by the European Commission, one related to Transfer of Knowledge and the one was an Intra-European Fellowship. Helen Grech is a regular reviewer of research proposals funded by the European Commission (EC) and other national agencies.
She is a former President and Honoured member of the International Association for Communication Sciences and Disorders (IALP). Helen Grech is currently the Chair of the Child Speech Committee and a member of the Board of IALP. This is a worldwide organisation affiliated with the World Health Organisation (WHO). She is currently a technical advisor for WHO, in connection with sensory functions, disability and rehabilitation. She has over 50 peer reviewed publications.
Speech and language acquisition in bilingual children
Speech sound disorders in children
Hearing Impairment in children
Communication disorders in multilingual & multicultural populations
2023-2025 Erasmus+ Cooperation partnerships in higher education (KA220-HED) entitled “ExChange Of ExpertiSe in healthcare professionals’ education” with Acronym ECHOES
2022-24 MCST grant “A User-Experiences Based Approach for Designing Connected Speech and Language Therapeutic Toys in a Smart City” with Acronym SALTT-CITY (Co-supervision, M.Sc. (Research)
ADVISORY OR CONSULTANCY SERVICES TO INTERNATIONAL BODIES
2018- Visiting External Examiner, Speech and Language Therapy , School of Health Sciences National University of Ireland, Galway for 2 M.Sc. programmes
July 2024- Appointed Member of the Technical Advisory Group on Disability and Health. WHO, Regional Office, Europe.
Sep 2024 External Reviewer for New International B.Sc. programme, in Speech and language Pathology
RECENT ACHIEVEMENTS PROFILE
2024-2027 Supervisor, Postdoctoral Candidate, University of Malta 2024 Chair, Ph.D. candidate: Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Malta 2024 Erasmus Staff Mobility grant – University College Cork, Ireland 2023- Chair, Child Speech Committee, Formerly, Association of Communication Sciences and Disorders (IALP) 2015- Vice Chair, Recorder & Evaluator for European Commission – Calls for Research Proposals under the Horizon Europe 2022- Editor-in-Chief, Mediterranean Journal for Migration 2022- Associate Editor: Folia Phoniatrica et Logopaedica 2022- Associate Editor: Frontiers, Speech Laguage Pathology 2022- Member, Editorial Board, Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics 2022- Member, Editorial Board, Advances in Communication and Swallowing
MEMBERSHIP Consultant to the Board of the International SLT Network Member of the Malta Neuroscience Network Member of the International Expert Panel on Multilingual Children’s Speech Member of the Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists (RCSLT) Honoured Member of the International Association of Communiction Sciences & Disorders International Affiliate - American Speech, Lanaguage & Hearing Association (ASHA) Member of the Association of Speech Language Pathologists (Malta) Member of the Malta Association of Audiologists (MAA)
