Summary
Dr Gemma Clunie is an Honorary Research Fellow in the Department of Surgery and Cancer at Imperial College. She currently holds two post-doctoral research fellowships - an NIHR Development Skills Enhancement (DSE) award and an LSBU NIHR postdoctoral bridging fellowship.
Gemma received her undergraduate degree in English Literature (BA (Hon)) from Durham University in 2002. She went on to receive an MSc in Speech and Language Sciences with distinction from University College London in 2006. She completed her NIHR funded Clinical Doctoral Research Fellowship in 2022
She works as the Senior Clinical Academic Speech and Language Therapist (SLT) at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. Her clinical and research interests include head and neck cancer, benign ENT disorders, including laryngotracheal stenosis, respiratory disorders and critical care.
Gemma's PhD investigated the voice and swallowing concerns and outcomes of adults with laryngotracheal stenosis before and after airway surgery. This was a mixed methods study with a systematic review, qualitative project, survey and observational study. The results of this work helped to design a care pathway for patients with laryngotracheal stenosis that is individualised and robust, taking into account the likely impact on swallowing and voice of both the diagnosis and the surgery. She has four publications associated with her PhD, with a fifth currently under review. The next steps in her research are to complete a Delphi study to establish a core outcome set for laryngotracheal stenosis research. This is currently active. For a lay person summary of her PhD research please visit:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJ6m_6eGC6Y
Alongside her own research work Gemma has over 25 peer reviewed publications in the area of research capacity building for professionals outside of medicine, COVID-19 and SLT, ultrasound and as a qualitative advisor on other projects.
Gemma is a professional advisor and research champion for RCSLT and has recently joined the Council for Allied Healthcare Professionals (CAHPR) Strategy Committee as a clinical-academic representative. She is a founding member and manager of an online support group for Healthcare Professionals in Research (HPiR) https://www.facebook.com/groups/351873385356662
She is also a member of the International Ultrasound (US) group who are working to consider the steps necessary to implement US into clinical practice for SLTs and has a keen interest in developing its use with the head and neck cancer population.
She is a mentor for SLTs and other healthcare professionals interested in research, and supervises pre-doctoral and doctoral students.
Publications
Journals
Homer JJ, Winter SC, 2024, Head and Neck Cancer: United Kingdom National Multidisciplinary Guidelines, Sixth Edition, The Journal of Laryngology & Otology, Vol:138, ISSN:0022-2151, Pages:S1-S224
Chadd K, Chalmers S, Harrall K, et al., 2024, Impact of the initial COVID-19 response in the UK on speech and language therapy services: a nationwide survey of practice, Journal of Health, Organization and Management, ISSN:0268-9235
Clunie G, Roe J, Al-Yaghchi C, et al., 2024, The voice and swallowing profile of adults with laryngotracheal stenosis before and after reconstructive surgery: a prospective, descriptive observational study, Clinical Otolaryngology, ISSN:0307-7772
Chadd K, Chalmers S, Harrall K, et al., 2023, An evaluation of speech and language therapy services for people with long COVID in the UK: a call for integrated care, Journal of Integrated Care: Practical Evidence for Service Improvement, Vol:31, ISSN:1476-9018, Pages:375-388
Harrall K, Sinnott EL, Roebuck Saez L, et al., 2023, Could you give me a leg up...? Models, frameworks and support structures to help aspiring clinical academic speech and language therapists, International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders, ISSN:1368-2822