DanielLE Gatt, a registered speech-language pathologist and an assistant lecturer within the University of Malta's Communication Therapy Division, has been presented with the Award for Excellence in Student Research the International Association of Logopedics and Phoniatrics (IALP) which represents members from 55 countries worldwide.

The presentation took place at the association's 27th World Congress, which was held between August 5 and 9 in Copenhagen.

The award is given every three years to students or scholars producing evidence of outstanding research carried out in the field of speech-language pathology.

Ms Gatt received the award following submission of an article entitled 'Establishing the concurrent validity of a vocabulary checklist for young Maltese children', which draws on her current doctoral research. Her article will now be published in the IALP's scientific journal Folia Phoniatrica et Logopedica.

Two other Maltese professionals in the field of speech-language pathology also participated in the IALP World Congress and presented excerpts of their ongoing research.

Rachel Xuereb, a Ph.D. student within the Institute of Health Care's Communication Therapy Division, gave a presentation on her doctoral research entitled 'Literacy skills in Maltese-English bilingual children'.

Dr Helen Grech, the Communication Therapy Division co-ordinator, presented a paper co-authored with Professor Barbara Dodd from City University, UK, related to the ongoing research project, partly funded by the EU, on the speech development of Maltese children.

Dr Grech also presented another paper on the education of speech-language pathologists in Malta. She was re-elected as the international association's general secretary for the next three years.