Prof. Dr. Jeannie van der Linde

Professor Jeannie van der Linde is the Head of the Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology at the University of Pretoria. In 2019, Prof van der Linde was rated as an NRF Y2 scholar and was the recipient of the Exceptional Young Academic Achievers Award. A rising voice in her field, Prof van der Linde has also won research awards from the NRF, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Vice-Chancellor’s Academic Career Award. Her use of an interdisciplinary approach to improve early detection of developmental delays in underserved contexts has helped her forge partnerships with Vanderbilt University (US), the University of Gavle (Sweden), and with NGOs such as Future Families and The Reach Trust. Through this research, she is also helping to develop custom software applications (for smartphones) to help detect and prevent developmental delays in vulnerable children.