Our Scientific Advisory Board

Will Sedley

Chair

Will Sedley is a Clinical Research Fellow at Newcastle University, currently funded by the Wellcome Trust, dividing his time between research into brain mechanisms for tinnitus and clinical practice in neurology. He runs a research team of around 6 people. He also works one day a week as a consultant neurologist, specialising in headache and related disorders. He obtained his medical degree from the University of Nottingham in 2007 and completed his PhD at Newcastle University in 2015.

His work in tinnitus is conducted on human volunteers, and has been ongoing since 2008, using a variety of brain recording methods including MRI and EEG. A particular area of interest is in automatic predictions made by the brain, and how these might contribute to developing tinnitus, or indeed to suppressing it. Other active projects include finding objective markers of tinnitus by looking at sound driven electrical responses in the brain, studying acute (new-onset) tinnitus and its transition to chronic tinnitus, and developing sound-based treatments to help quieten tinnitus.

Chris Cederroth

Chris is a biologist by training with 15 years of professional research experience in academia. His PhD, awarded summa cum laude in Geneva (Switzerland), aimed at understanding the effects and characterising the molecular mechanisms of endocrine disruption mediated by phytoestrogens on sexual development, reproduction and metabolism. His work was awarded the Denber-Pinard prize from the University of Geneva and the Endocrinology Prize of the Swiss Endocrinology Foundation and led to the creation of a start-up company Amazentis S.A. in the medical food sector.

As a post-doc, he developed a mouse model for tinnitus at the Rockefeller University (with Prof Hudspeth) and investigated circadian mechanisms in the peripheral and central auditory system the Karolinska Institutet (with Prof Canlon). In 2015, he opened his laboratory and further developed his
pre-clinical and clinical research focus on hearing loss and tinnitus and obtained his habilitation in 2018. He was awarded the Research Prize “Hearing and Tinnitus” from the German Tinnitus Foundation (Charité), as well as the Geraldine Dietz Fox Young Investigator Award from the Association for Research in Otolaryngology. In June 2021, he joined the NIHR Bioscience Research Centre as a permanent Associate Professor but resigned for family reasons and moved with his family to Geneva, Switzerland.

Chris worked part-time at the Swiss 3R Competence Centre, while pursuing his academic activity at the Karolinska Institutet, until he joined the University Hospital of Tübingen as Associate Professor in June 2023. In May 2022, he took the lead as Editor-in-Chief of JARO – the Journal of the Association for Research in Otolaryngology – a specialty journal in the auditory field.

Emma Dickson

My interest in Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) conditions stems from completion of ENT specialty training. Following this I made a career change to General Practice (GP) training where I recognized the scarcity of specific ENT training in the training of GPs.

In particular I recognized the medical aspects of ENT complaints such as tinnitus seemed to be sidelined both in GP training and ENT training. This led to the opportunity to be GP ENT educator for GP trainees in Northern Ireland as well as adviser on the NICE Tinnitus Guidelines.

I am passionate about GPs being better informed about tinnitus and in new ways to manage and help those with tinnitus live a full life.

James Jackson

James holds a BSc (Hons) in Biological Sciences from Heriot-Watt University, a BSc (Hons) in Psychology from the University of Sheffield, as well as an MSc in Industrial Psychology and a PhD in Psychology from the University of Hull. James was a lecturer at Hull for several years before moving to Leeds Trinity University.

His PhD thesis was: “The relationship between tinnitus, cognitive performance and demands on the individual” and as someone with both tinnitus and hearing loss, James is fascinated by the subjective nature of tinnitus and how it is perceived by different individuals. Why do some people habituate quickly, while others take longer? And why do others remain distressed over the long-term, with significant consequences for their quality of life?

Previously, James has been an unpaid scientific advisor to Hearing Power, the company behind the smartphone app MindEar (formerly Tinnibot). This work, supported by external grants, helped Tinnibot to win the third annual prestigious Hearing Technology Innovator Awards (October 2022). Alongside interventions for tinnitus in the online space, James has investigated the effects of tinnitus on diurnal hormonal cycles (specifically the stress hormone, cortisol), as well as dissatisfaction of tinnitus patients within the primary care pathway, help-seeking behaviour, and post-COVID tinnitus prevalence in the UK.

James is active in the field of Knowledge Exchange, and runs workshops for GPs, audiologists, and other healthcare professionals to better understand tinnitus, and the evidence base behind specific tinnitus interventions.

Sonja Jones

Since qualifying as an audiologist from The University of Manchester, in 2010, Sonja has had a highly varied career. She has worked in the NHS as a senior paediatric and adult audiologist. She has also worked with and consulted for two of the world’s largest hearing aid manufacturers, where she trained and mentored audiologists across both the public and private sectors.

Recognised as a specialist in her field, Sonja has been invited to give keynote presentations at a number of audiology conferences, where she has spoken about areas such as real ear measurements (REMs), relaxation therapy for tinnitus, and how to work clinically with musicians as an audiologist. Sonja has a real passion for helping those with tinnitus which is why she was delighted to be asked to join Tinnitus UK’s Scientific Advisory Board.

The education of future audiologists is important to Sonja, and so she is a clinical assessor for student audiologists and hearing care assistants.

Ear health is crucial to Sonja, not only in her working life, but also in her hobbies. She’s a talented musician as well as an audiologist and was invited to join the BBC Philharmonic in a BBC documentary about Beethoven and has worked closely with numerous prestigious orchestras and musical organisations, including the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Scottish Opera, Ulster Orchestra, and many more.

Veronica Kennedy

Dr Veronica Kennedy is a Consultant Audiovestibular Physician. While she worked for many years with adults with tinnitus, she is now the clinical lead for the Paediatric Audiology Service at Bolton NHS Foundation Trust.

She has been a long time supporter of us and was first a member of the PAC in 2007 going on to become Chair. She has since continued to work with us on its ongoing Information Standard accreditation through the development and quality assurance of its leaflets.

Veronica was part of the working group which developed the British Society of Audiology’s national Practice Guidance on the Management of Children with Tinnitus and worked with us on the development of a series of leaflets and workbooks to support children with tinnitus as well as their parents and teachers. She is also one of the facilitators of our course on the practical management of children with tinnitus.

Natalie Ronan

Natalie is a Consultant ENT Surgeon based in the South West. She has always been an advocate of research within medicine, and as such has published and presented on a wide range of ENT topics both on national and international forums. Her research focus has predominantly reflected her sub-specialty interest in audio-vestibular disorders, such as the aetiological and genetic drivers of tinnitus.

She is passionate about the future direction of ENT and Otology, particularly with respect to educating the next generation of doctors. She previously sat on the British Society of Otology Council, as well as the Royal Society of Medicine Otology Council, and is currently a member of the Joint Committee on Surgical Training.

Natalie is keen to help drive a movement towards increasing the spotlight on tinnitus through enhanced recognition and understanding of the physical and mental sequelae of the condition, with the hope of improving training, education and resources in secondary care settings.