Maree Maxfield is a past GWV award winner, and a current member. She is undertaking a PhD at the University of Melbourne on the self-perception of adults who are diagnosed with a corpus callosum disorder (CCD). People with CCD are born missing part or all of the corpus callosum, the bundle of more than 250 million nerve fibres connecting the two hemispheres of the brain. CCDs are extremely heterogeneous in cause and presentation, with a range of impacts from mild to severe. Professional knowledge and support can often be difficult to access.
She has recently returned from presenting papers on her PhD research to two international conferences in Chicago USA. Here is her account of her presentations and their reception. In July, I was excited to present at two international conferences for Corpus
Callosum Disorders (CCD), in Chicago. It was humbling to present to scientists who
are leaders in their field of brain research and I must admit to a few ‘fangirl’
moments!
The first was a presentation to the members of the International Research
Consortium for the Corpus Callosum and Cerebral Connectivity (IRC5). I gave an
update on my PhD progress with particular attention to using the World Cafe method
as an inclusive, data collection approach. I was also very fortunate to receive news
that my second PhD publication was to be published just after the conference. You
can download it at https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-024-03741-w
The second was an elective at a large family conference for all things corpus
callosum. This conference was attended by almost 500 people, predominantly from
the US but also from across the globe. I was honoured to be able to present my PhD
research results so far, indicating that adults with Corpus Callosum disorders have
significantly poorer subjective well-being than the general population. This was
significant in several domains but particularly so in personal relationships.
I am continuing my research, using qualitative, participatory approaches to examine
why this may be so, from the perspective of the adults with CCD.
Maree Maxfield
About halfway through a PhD
University of Melbourne.
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