Meet the VCIP leadership team – The Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital

Clinical Associate Professor Jaime Leigh, PhD

Senior Clinician, Cochlear Implant Clinic and Clinical Lead, Victorian Cochlear Implant Program

Assoc. Prof Jaime Leigh is Director of Cochlear Implant Service at The Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital, where she also holds a senior clinical role within the Cochlear Implant Clinic. She has over 25 years of experience as a clinical and research audiologist, with expertise spanning adult and paediatric cochlear implantation. Assoc. Prof Leigh has led the development of the Victorian Cochlear Implant Program and, since 2023, has overseen strategic service development and stakeholder engagement across cochlear implant and balance services. Assoc. Prof Leigh is Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology at the University of Melbourne. Her research focuses on translational outcomes in cochlear implantation, including candidacy, early intervention, speech and language development, and bilateral implantation. She is actively involved in teaching and the supervision of graduate research students at the University of Melbourne and La Trobe University.

Professor Robert JS Briggs FRACS

Medical Director, Cochlear Implant Clinic

Professor Robert Briggs is an Otolaryngologist with a clinical practice and research specialising in Otology and Neurotology. His current appointments are Clinical Professor in the University of Melbourne Departments of Surgery and Otolaryngology and Medical Director of the Cochlear Implant Clinic at The Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital. He has a large experience with acoustic neuroma surgery and with cochlear implantation. His research has focused on Cochlear Implant Electrode development and safety as well as Cochlear Implant outcomes, particularly in young children.

A man with glasses smiling at the camera. He wears a white shirt and a blue Eye and Ear lanyard around his neck

Mr Rod Hollow

Clinic Coordinator, Cochlear Implant Clinic and Balance Services

Rod Hollow is an audiologist and Clinic Co-ordinator for the Cochlear Implant Clinic, Audiology, and Balance Services at The Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital. Over the last 30 years, Rod has specialised in the clinical application of implantable hearing devices; supporting many adults, children, and their families through the cochlear and bone conduction implantation processes. He has also worked as a research audiologist on sound coding development. Rod has experience as a lecturer in the field of cochlear implants; being involved in international training workshops and the University of Melbourne.