Dr Nicholas Behn

Overview

Nicholas is a Speech and Language Therapist who specialises in cognitive-communication disorders after brain injury.

Nicholas graduated from The University of Sydney, Australia in 1999 with a BAppSc in Speech Pathology. He worked as a Speech and Language Therapist in Australia before moving to the UK in 2003. His clinical roles have involved working with people with neurological conditions particularly, brain injury. Some of his clinical roles included the Royal Hospital of Neuro-Disability, Brain Injury Rehabilitation Trust and Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre Headley Court.

Qualifications

• PhD, City, University of London, UK, 2013 - January 2016
• MAppSc (Communication Science and Disorders), The University of Sydney, Australia, 2007 - January 2012
• BAppSc (Speech Pathology), The University of Sydney, Australia, 1996 - January 1999

Employment

• Senior Lecturer, City, University of London, United Kingdom, August 2022 - present
• Lecturer, City, University of London, UK, October 2019 - July 2022
• Trial Manager, City, University of London, UK, June 2016 - May 2020
• Guest Lecturer, City, University of London, United Kingdom, January 2013 - September 2019
• Speech and Language Therapist, Independent practice, United Kingdom, 2011 - present
• Guest Lecturer, University of Essex, United Kingdom, 2009 - 2021
• Speech and Language Therapist, Brain Injury Rehabilitation Trust, Australia, 2006 - 2010
• Locum Speech and Language Therapist, The Royal Hospital of Neuro-Disability London, Addenbrooke's Hospital Cambridge and Headley Court Defence Medical Rehabilitation Service Surrey, United Kingdom, 2003 - 2005
• Speech and Language Therapist, Liverpool Brain Injury Rehabilitation Unit, Australia, 2001 - 2003

Memberships of committees

• Committee Member, National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) Chronic Neurological Conditions Group, February 2022 - present
• Peer Review Group for Traumatic Brain Injury, World Health Organisation, December 2021 - February 2022
• Editorial Board Member, Disability and Rehabilitation Journal, January 2020 - present
• Social Media Editor, Editorial Board, Brain Impairment Journal, January 2019 - present

Memberships of professional organisations

• Registered Speech and Language Therapist, Health Professions Council, UK, 2015 - 2017
• Certified member, Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT)
• Member, Australasian Society for the Study of Brain Impairment (ASSBI)
• Member, World Federation of NeuroRehabilitation (WFNR)
• Member, WFNR Neuropsychological Rehabilitation Special Interest Group (NR-SIG-WFNR)
• UK Student ambassador, Australasian Society for the Study of Brain Impairment (ASSBI)
• Research Affiliate, Centre of Clinical Research Excellence (CCRE) of Aphasia Rehabilitation, Australia
• Research Affiliate, Centre of Research Excellence (CRE) for Brain Recovery, Australia

Teaching

Educational Leadership

2019 - present: Joint Senior Tutor for Research for Research Degrees (MPhil/PhD) in Department of Language and Communication Science.

2020 - present; Module Lead for SLM205 Professional Studies (Postgraduate)

2021 - present; Module Lead for HCM007 Dysphagia and Disorders of Eating and Drinking (MSc in Advanced Studies)

Undergraduate Modules

SL3016 Research Project
SL3013 Acquired and Developmental Language Disorders
SL2012 Biomedical Science
SL2015 Dysphagia, Voice, Motor Speech Disorders, Dementia
SL2016 Professional Studies

Postgraduate Modules

SLM205 Professional Studies (Module Lead)
SLM203 Acquired and Developmental Language Disorders
SLM206 Research Project
SLM208 Research Project
SLM201 Evidence Based Practice and Data Analysis
SLM102 Biomedical Science
SLM105 Dysphagia, Voice, Motor Speech Disorders, Dementia

MSc Modules

HCM003 Cognitive Communication Impairments
HCM007 Dysphagia and Disorders of Eating and Drinking (Module Lead)
APM002 MSc Dissertation

Research Overview

Nicholas' core research interests relate to communication problems following brain injury and approaches to their remediation.

Nicholas is interested in understanding the nature of communication problems following a brain injury, approaches to the remediation of these problems and how to measure positive changes in communicative ability. He is interested in complex interventions, fidelity, goal-setting, dating and sex after brain injury.

Research Areas

Acquired brain injury
Cognitive-communication disorders
Communication partner training
Project-based intervention
Quality of life
Dating, Sex and Sexuality

Collaborators

A/Prof Madeline Cruice
Prof Jane Marshall
Prof Leanne Togher
Dr Emma Power
Dr Rob Heard
Prof Katerina Hilari
Prof Jacinta Douglas
Dr Sarah Northcott

Grants

2022 Behn, N. City, University of London Pump Priming Scheme, £3,000.

2022 Northcott, S., Hilari, K., Devane, N., & Behn, N. Emotional and Language Recovery for People with Aphasia (ELA): Co-designing a novel integrated intervention, City, University of London Pump Priming Grant, £11,432.

2022 Hilari, K., Behn, N., Roper, A., & Northcott, S. City, University of London Participatory Research Funding, Face-to-face and telehealth equivalence of assessment in aphasia (FATE-A), £4,800

2018, Behn, N. City, University of London Pump Priming Scheme, Communication Partner Training in Traumatic Brain Injury, £4,379

2015-2016 Behn, N. School of Health Sciences PhD Progress Award City University London, London UK, £9,750.

2015 Behn, N. School of Health Sciences City University London travel grant, London UK, £1,000.

2015 Behn, N. Moving Ahead NH&MRC Centre for Research Excellence Small Seed Grant. Sydney, Australia. http://www.moving-ahead.com.au, £1,000.

2012-2015 Behn, N. PhD Scholarship for City University London from The Worshipful Company of Saddlers, London UK, £59,500.

2012 Behn, N. British Aphasiology Society Conference Grant, UK, £250.

2011 Behn, N. Postgraduate research funding grant for MAppSc Research. The University of Sydney, Australia, £900.

2009-2010 Behn, N. Faculty funding grants for MAppSc Research. The University of Sydney, Australia, £1,500.

2008 Behn, N. AAC Technology from the Brain Injury Rehabilitation Trust, Ely, Cambridgeshire, UK, £2,500.

2002-2003 Behn, N., & Moorhouse, K. AAC Technology for Liverpool Brain Injury Rehabilitation Unit from the Motor Accidents Authority, NSW, Australia, £7,500.

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