Essex speech and language expert recognised with Fellowship Award

The Dean of Health and Social Care at the University of Essex has been awarded a Fellowship of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT) in recognition of her research, clinical work and leadership in the field.

Professor Victoria Joffe is one of a handful of academics in the UK to be named among the 2023 cohort of fellows who received their prizes during The Giving Voice Awards.

The awards celebrate outstanding contributions of speech and language professionals who have made a difference to the lives of service users.

Professor Joffe, said: “It was such a wonderful surprise, and very humbling, to be told that I have been awarded Fellowship of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.

“I feel very privileged to be given an honour for doing work that I love and am passionate about.

“Exploring how best to meet the needs of children and young people with speech, language and communication needs, and their families, and contributing to the development of the future health and social care workforce is a joy and honour, and I am fortunate to work with fantastic people, both at the University, and wider afield.”

Professor Joffe, whose expertise include speech, language and communication needs in children and young people, has previously served as RCSLT Research and Development Trustee between 2011 and 2016.

During her time in post, Professor Joffe oversaw a step-change in UK speech and language therapy by establishing a research and development team at the RCSLT which helped raise the profile of evidence-based practice and research across the country.

Her “passion and endless enthusiasm” was highlighted in her nomination for a fellowship, as well as her funded projects with the likes of the NHS, NIHR, Nuffield Foundation, Association of All Speech Impaired Children (AFASIC), Communication Trust, British Stammering Association and ESRC.

One of Professor Joffe’s projects, Enhancing Language and Communication in Secondary Schools, trialled two language interventions in schools through the training of teaching assistants, which have since been distributed and used worldwide.

Professor Joffe is also Essex’s lead for the East of England NIHR Applied Research Collaboration, which aims to improve care for mental health, ageing, dementia, learning disabilities, palliative and end-of-life care and for people with multiple conditions.

Professor Joffe is taking on a new pan University role, Dean of Integrated Health and Care partnerships, where she will be leading on key innovations in education and research in health and care, including the Centre for Dental Excellence and Centre for Healthcare Science.