René Gifford, PhD, is Chief of Audiology and Research at Hearts for Hearing in Oklahoma City as well as co-CEO of the clinical board of directors for the Institute for Cochlear Implant Training (ICIT), and Director of the ICIT Advanced Audiology Course (AAC). Her research has been NIH-funded for over 20 years and focuses on combined electric and acoustic stimulation (EAS) with particular emphasis on speech & music perception, spatial hearing, and development of speech, language, and literacy for children with hearing loss. She has authored over 170 peer-reviewed publications, two books, and multiple book chapters in the field of cochlear implants and auditory (re)habilitation. Dr. Gifford has been recognized with various awards for her contributions to audiology and hearing science including the 2015 Louis M. DiCarlo Award for Recent Clinical Achievement from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, the 2021 Jerger Career Award for Research in Audiology from the American Academy of Audiology, and she was a featured scientist on the National Public Radio, Science Friday broadcast entitled Breakthrough: Portraits of Women in Science—Hearing a Whole New World. She is actively involved in clinical care, research, and the training of audiologists and hearing scientists.