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  • Dr Charn Nang

    Dr Charn Nang

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Dr Charn Nang

Five minutes with Dr Charn Nang, Course Coordinator and Lecturer, Speech Pathology, School of Medical and Health Sciences

  1. What inspired you to choose Speech Pathology as your area of research and what challenges you about the discipline?

    I did not have any prior experience or exposure to speech pathology before I decided to study it. In year 12, I found a blurb on it in the university prospectus and liked how it sounded. It seemed to be a perfect combination of my interests at the time, that is, human biology, health science and languages. By the second year of the degree I was in awe of the discipline – it was so interesting and varied. The topics that challenged me were also the topics that interested me. I love how the clinical side of speech pathology allows you to be creative but at the same time, having a systematic and evidence-based approach is important too. I completed an Honours project in my final year in the area of stuttering and decided to embark on postgraduate studies soon after a year of working in early intervention.

  2. Name some of the barriers you have faced as you worked to complete your PhD. What do you think universities could do to support female students in progressing in STEMM?

    I started my PhD before coming to ECU. I was in a full-time teaching and research role at ECU for four years before I submitted my PhD thesis. I knew that completing a PhD while working would be a challenge and it was! I was in a new position, in a new university, doing tasks that I was relatively new at. However, I was committed to completing the PhD because of my position at ECU and I felt supported by ECU and my colleagues while completing it. I knew that it was a milestone to achieve and that it was important to my research career and future endeavours. My speech pathology colleagues were (and still are) important mentors to me. They advised on my research, provided me with feedback on my written work, and most importantly they supported and encouraged me through the process. They are positive role models and their commitment and support definitely helped me to complete! I found ECU’s flexible working arrangements and general support such as professional development workshops as well as initiatives to support research writing to be useful too.

  3. As an Edith Cowan Athena SWAN Advancement Scheme recipient in 2016, how have the funds supported you to fulfill your career aspirations?

    4. The Edith Cowan Athena SWAN Advancement Scheme funding supported me to attend and present at an international conference in my area of research. I was awarded the Professional Development/Travel Subsidy which also supported my husband and young child (1 year old) to travel with me. The conference was in the UK and without the funds, I would not have considered going to the conference as I did not feel comfortable leaving my young dependent child for an extended period of time. I subsequently submitted and had a manuscript accepted from attending this conference. This was a significant achievement for me as one of my current focusses is to build my track record as an early career researcher. Most importantly, with my family travelling with me, I took the opportunity to combine this trip with some family time. We travelled onto Italy after the conference to enjoy some sunshine in Tuscany!

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