Jill Preminger, PhD, director of the Program in Audiology at UofL, is co-chair of the , July 27-28 on UofL’s Health Sciences Center campus. It will be the first such meeting outside Europe.

The first two meetings were organized by Swedish researchers, Gerhard Andersson, PhD, and Thomas Lunner, PhD, in 2014 at Linköping University in Sweden and in 2015 in Denmark. Preminger presented talks at both conferences and was asked to co-chair the first one to be held in the U.S. Ariane Laplante-Lévesque, PhD, of Eriksholm Research Centre in Denmark and Linköping University in Sweden, also is an event co-chair.

“I attended the first meeting because I was beginning to conduct research in which I hoped to develop an internet-based rehabilitation program for adults with hearing loss,” Preminger said. “At the second meeting, Dr. Lunner asked if I would be interested in hosting the next meeting. They wanted to bring the meeting to the United States in order to open it up to a new audience.”

Research audiologists, engineers, clinical audiologists and student researchers are expected at this year’s event from the United States, Canada, Europe, South America, Africa and Asia. Consistent with the event’s focus, five presentations and more than half of the 84 attendees will participate from remote locations via internet connections.

Conference sessions will address four themes: Barriers and facilitators to telepractice, ethical issues related to internet-based research and services, big data, and methods for research and service delivery.

Elizabeth Buchanan, PhD, director of the Center for Applied Ethics at the University of Wisconsin – Stout, will give a keynote address on “Ethical Issues related to internet-based research and service delivery.” Internet-based programs to collect data and to provide clinical service can reach many more individuals, but new programs must consider the ethical issues that may arise. Buchanan will discuss whether it truly is possible to get informed consent for internet-based research or clinical service, and how to protect the privacy of participants and patients in online discussions.

Harvey Dillon, PhD, director of the National Acoustics Laboratory in Australia, will deliver a keynote via remote broadcast on the “Potential of Large Scale Data in Hearing Rehabilitation.” With the internet it now is possible to collect “Big Data,” from participants across a country or around the world. Dillon will address concerns about ethical and legal issues related to collecting data across countries as well as exciting possibilities for very large datasets that will allow for better decisions about the effectiveness of treatments across diverse populations.

The conference is sponsored by the Oticon Foundation and through a NIH (NIDCD) Conference Grant (1R13DC016547-01). Oticon Inc., creates hearing aids, cochlear implants, other implantable hearing devices and diagnostic equipment related to audiology.

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The ISLP is designed to encourage students to learn and serve in other countries. Since 1997 there have been 38 trips to destinations such as Belize, Botswana, Croatia, and Trinidad and Tobago.

The students typically spend their time on the trip teaching and providing much-needed services to underserved areas and populations. The December trip to the Philippines will focus on providing dental care and teaching high school students.

Here are 5 things to learn about UofL’s ISLP:

1. ISLP’s first trip was to Barbados in 1997.

2. It will take the UofL team roughly 24 hours of travel time as they make their way from Louisville to Cebu.

3. The nine School of Dentistry students who are going to the Philippines will run a dental clinic that is expected to serve more than 100 Filipinos.

4. Other students going on the trip will help in the clinic and spend 8-hour days in the classroom teaching 100 scholars from three area schools.

5. The students and faculty will also take time out for fun. They will go snorkeling and shopping and visit local landmarks including Magellan’s Cross.

For more on the ISPL, check out their .

Blair, a 2014 graduate of the College of Arts and Sciences, now works in UofL’s Office of International Student and Scholar Services and with the U.S. Department of State Institute on Contemporary American Literature hosted by UofL. The English and humanities major spoke to UofL News about her time in Turkey during the Syrian refugee crisis.

UofL News: What was the most challenging part of the trip?

Blair: A combination of the language barrier and also continually undoing my own stereotypes that arose due to the general distrust and dislike of ‘foreigners’ in my city, in particular non-Muslim Westerners. I think that language is essential to reducing the tensions that otherwise might exist between individuals of two different cultures. At the same time that I was hoping English would provide this critical bridge between my Turkish and Syrian students, I, too, needed Turkish to understand and appreciate my host culture.

UofL News: What was the best part of the trip?

Blair: The best part of my Fulbright experience was the plethora of relief organizations in my city for Syrians. It felt impossible not to become involved in various community centers, libraries, and medical organizations teaching English. My Fulbright teaching experience at the university was challenging as well as rewarding, but — as was the case during my years at UofL — my deep involvement with community organizations was what motivated me daily.

UofL News: If you could do it again, what would you do differently?

Blair: I would have taken more books on contemporary American literature with me as resources (for English language books) were scarce. Most of all, I would have studied the host-country language (Turkish) more intensely before my departure.

UofL News: Was this the type of academic and cultural experience you expected when you won your Fulbright award?

Blair: My academic and cultural experience in Turkey has exceeded my initial expectations and I am so thankful for this. I did not expect so many opportunities to design and lead community literacy projects, collaborate with relief organizations, or attend academic conferences. In other words, my experience provided me with a professionalism that I did not think possible this early in my academic career.

UofL News: What was the most surprising part of the trip?

Blair: The great amount of Syrians leading or working in medical and relief organizations with projects in Turkey and Syria. My initially naĂŻve view of ‘NGO life’ involved Europeans and Americans as the leaders helping the passive Syrians, which sadly I think is a common view. However, the leadership of Syrians helping Syrians is what defines relief efforts in Gaziantep and gives the community a unique character.

UofL News: Did the trip change your perspective? If so, how?

Blair: The trip changed so many of my different perspectives in life, but the most changed perspective involves how Americans are perceived by other cultures. Via the comments of my students and peers, my own experiences involving my nationality, witnessing how other Americans interact socially in a foreign culture, and viewing the conversations of Americans from outside of the U.S., my image of Americans has been humbled.

UofL News: What would you tell others who may be considering academic study in an unstable part of the world?

Blair: I would tell others to spend some time self-reflecting in order to decide if what they would be doing was worth the challenge and risk. At a certain point during my grant period, I was offered the chance to return home to the U.S. due to security concerns regarding my placement along the Syrian border. This moment solidified for me that staying in Gaziantep was worth the risk I was taking, for I could not imagine my life without teaching English to such a motivated, appreciative and resilient community.