JUST ANNOUNCED!

Jenna Brown is the winner of the Van Lawrence Prize 2026 for her research and presentation: Female Voices After Laryngectomy: Vulnerability, stigma and psychosocial impact. 

She is a UKRI-ESRC funded doctoral researcher at the UCL Institute of Education. Her research unites rigorous qualitative and mixed-methods inquiry with innovative pedagogy and practice. As a voice rehabilitation specialist, she directs Bristol Voice Care and leads the world’s first accredited course in inclusive vocal teaching for Vocal Health Education. Jenna has authored ten peer-reviewed papers and regularly contributes to Music Teacher Magazine. Her internationally presented research advances equity, diversity, and wellbeing in voice. She founded the Transformational Voice Research Network, serves on multiple editorial boards, and from 2026 will chair the UK Association of Teachers of Singing.

Jenna Brown presented her research findings at the BVA’s inaugural Voice Research Forum on 24 January. Quoting Forum Chair, Dr Rebecca Moseley-Morgan, she was chosen from “a set of finalists and presentations of  exceptional quality” which also included: Nicola Gorb (Innovative Experiential Practice to Support Children and Young People (CYP) with Voice and Complex Airway Conditions); Claire Thomas (Muscle Tension Dysphonia (MTD) in Singers: Developing tools to bridge therapy and performance); Chia-Hsin Wu (Exploring Voice Quality Modulation Through the “Three Bears Passage”: Acoustic and perceptual insights).

Over the next few months our BVA NEWS pages will be featuring summaries of the finalists’ research presentations and profiles of the authors. Watch this space!