Rate My Professor Lilly Leaver

Lilly Leaver serves as an Academic Casual in the Department of Linguistics within the Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences at Macquarie University. She is a PhD candidate in Linguistics, with her research centered on auditory neuroscience. Leaver holds a Master of Clinical Audiology from Macquarie University, completed between 2022 and 2023, focusing on prevention, assessment, non-medical treatment, and rehabilitation of hearing and balance disorders. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Human Biology from Macquarie University in 2019–2021, a Certificate II in Australian Sign Language from 2022, and completed training in Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation and Neuronavigation Technology in Neuroscience at the University of Western Australia in April 2024. As a Provisional Implant Audiologist, she possesses expertise in diagnostic audiology, neuroimaging, neuromodulation, electrophysiological testing, preventative audiology, and complex case management, with experience assessing and managing hearing across all age groups from newborns to adults. She develops skills in rehabilitation for implantable hearing devices and hearing care in rural and remote communities.

Leaver's research specializations encompass auditory plasticity, brain adaptation to hearing loss and noisy environments, auditory processing differences, rehabilitation following implantable hearing devices, and inclusive hearing care. Affiliated with the Macquarie University Hearing Research Centre and the Neurodivergent Listening Brain Lab, she has contributed to projects exploring these areas. In her teaching career, she acted as Unit Convenor for COGS2030 – Hearing and Brain in Session 2 2024 and Lecturer for SPHL3312 Speech Perception and Hearing Science in S1 2024, designing and leading courses in auditory neuroscience and teaching over 200 students in cognitive science, psychoacoustics, and hearing physiology. Her key publications include 'An acoustical environment survey of student music practice' (Chung et al., Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, February 2024) and 'Influence of cortical inhibition on auditory efferents in humans' (Leaver et al., Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, October 2023). She has received the Barbara Skurr Scholarship in May 2023 and the National Acoustics Laboratories Award for Research Excellence in April 2024. Additionally, Leaver serves as research publication editor for Hearing Matters Australia and was elected as graduate research student representative on the Macquarie University Academic Senate for policy development and advocacy.