DrSarah El-Wahsh

Sarah is a lecturer, clinical educator, early career researcher, and certified practicing speech pathologist working in a tertiary hospital. Sarah completed her Bachelor of Applied Science (Speech Pathology) Honours degree in 2017, graduating with Honours I, the University Medal, the Dean's Scholar Award, and the Speech Pathology Australia award for the best graduating student. Sarah was awarded a Research Training Program (RTP) scholarship and completed her PhD at the University of Sydney in 2022. Her PhD focused on communication impairment in multiple sclerosis.

Sarah has a particular interest in adult speech pathology, including progressive neurological diseases (especially motor neurone disease, Parkinson's disease, dementia, multiple sclerosis), aged care and rehabilitation, palliative care, motor speech disorders, and communication neuroscience. She also has an interest in advanced communication skills for healthcare professionals and counselling skills for non-counsellors, particularly in how these skills influence patient care, team dynamics, and the overall healthcare experience. Sarah is passionate about student learning, including supervising clinical placements, delivering lectures and tutorials, and enhancing the student experience and promoting workplace readiness. Sarah loves to help students thrive and enjoys the process of helping them learn and grow.

Sarah has several first-author publications in peer-reviewed journals and has co-authored several book chapters on communication and swallowing impairment in progressive neurological diseases. She has received multiple awards at national and international conferences for her research and has also been recognised for her work as a speech pathologist winning awards for clinical excellence. Sarah sees great value in being a clinician-researcher to ensure her research is person-centred and her clinical care is evidence-based.