Congratulations with your new position.
Why were you interested in this position in particular?
“The Hearing Systems Section at DTU is well known in the international hearing research community to be one of the best in the world, so working within the group is of course attractive. I also think this particular position is quite unique because it is shared between DTU and the three hospitals in the Copenhagen Area [Rigshospitalet, Bispebjerg, Gentofte], and as such, there are so many possibilities. I’m still focused on signal processing as I have been in recent years, but I’m looking forward to having a broader clinical focus with this position, which will allow me to have a bit more focus on how can we actually help individuals in their everyday lives,” she explains.
Abigail Kressner, who originates from Chicago (US), has been working as a postdoc at DTU, specialized in signal processing and cochlear implants. She obtained her PhD from the Georgia Institute of Technology in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (US) and has been a visiting researcher at the National Acoustic Laboratories in Sydney (AUS) as well.
“The reason I first became interested in this field was because of my own hearing loss. I have actually had a moderate, unilateral conductive hearing loss since childhood, so I’ve always been focused on helping others who also have a hearing impairment,” she says.
"This connection provides a unique opportunity for collaborating on projects that can really lead to outcomes that impact society."
Abigail Kressner, Assistant Professor, DTU Health Thech
Your position is a shared position between the Copenhagen Hospital Area and DTU. How will this impact your work?
“I think the uniqueness of this particular position is being a researcher 50% of the time at the hospital as well as an Assistant Professor 50% of the time at DTU. This connection provides a unique opportunity for collaborating on projects that can really lead to outcomes that impact society. Given that increasing collaboration with the Danish hospitals is one of the motivations behind the creation of the new institute at DTU (i.e., DTU Health Tech), I think this joint position is great for the new institute as well. I hope we can make this connection between the Hearing Systems Section and Rigshospitalet more visible in the coming years and benefit from the collaboration in a way that impacts society."
Don’t you miss the US?
I miss my family and friends of course, but I think it’s so great living in Copenhagen,” Abbie concludes with a smile.