Melanie Buhr-Lawler, Au.D., CCC-A
Position title: Clinical Professor, Audiologist
Email: melanie.buhr@wisc.edu
Phone: (608) 890-1504
Address:
365 Goodnight Hall
1975 Willow Drive
Madison, WI 53706
Education
B.S., University of Wisconsin–Madison
M.A., University of Iowa
Au.D., University of Florida
Courses Taught
CS&D 891: Clinical Clerkship in Audiology I
CS&D 892: Clinical Clerkship in Audiology II
CS&D 899: Capstone in Audiology
CS&D 921: Seminar in Audiology
CS&D 999: Seminar: Enhancing Clinical Skills
Background and Expertise
Dr. Melanie Buhr-Lawler’s clinical specialties are diagnostic audiology and hearing technology for individuals of all ages. She is committed to providing personalized care and improving communication for her patients and their families.
With two decades of experience as a clinical audiologist, Melanie has expertise in the areas of cochlear implants, hearing aids, and audiology evaluations. Melanie serves as the director of the UW-Madison’s Hearing Aid Recycling Program (HARP). Additionally, she coordinates Listen Up UW as well as the Reach Dane hearing screenings and the UW Madison Occupational Health hearing conservation program. Melanie actively contributes as a speaker in UW Madison’s Badger Talks program. She is passionate about brining hearing healthcare to underserved communities, both in rural and urban settings.
Melanie joined the department at UW-Madison in 2010, where she finds great joy in mentoring future audiologists and speech-language pathologists. Melanie’s previous clinic experience was in hospitals, including Boston Children’s Hospital, the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, and Froedtert Kenosha Center.
Highlighted Activities
- Member, Wisconsin Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology Association
- Member, American Speech-Language Hearing Association
- Fellow, American Academy of Audiology
- Recipient of the Student Mentor Award, Wisconsin Speech-Language Hearing Association, 2019
- Awarded Audiologist of the Year, Wisconsin Speech-Language Hearing Association, 2015
- Featured in UW Madison’s L&S Exchange Teaching Network for inclusive teaching practices: What is inclusive teaching? And What instructor choices are more inclusive?, 2023
- University of Wisconsin-Madison Badger Talks Speaker, 2014-present
- American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA) Advisory Council/Committee of Ambassadors, 2017-2023
- Baldwin Wisconsin Idea Endowment Mini-Grant, 2015, 2016
- UW-Madison Statewide Outreach Incentive Grants, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017
- American Speech-Language Hearing Association’s Award for Continuing Education, 2005, 2010, 2013, 2016
Representative Publications
Buhr-Lawler, M. (2017, May). A Hearing Loss Prevention Outreach Program for Farmers and Motorsports Enthusiasts. Seminars in Hearing. 38(212-221):10.1055/s-0037-1601576.
Buhr-Lawler, M.C. (2016, October). Thinking Outside the Booth: Three Overlapping Categories of University Audiology Outreach. The Hearing Review.
Buhr-Lawler, M.C, & Hartman, A.I. (2016, July). Reflect, Mentor, Lead: A Unique Experience in Audiology Education. The Hearing Journal, 69(7):32-35.
Gartrell, B.C., Jones, H.J., Kan, A, Buhr-Lawler, M., Gubbles, S.P., Litovsky, R.L. (2014, October). Investigating Long-Term Effects of Cochlear Implantation in Single-Sided Deafness: A Best Practice Model for Longitudinal Assessment of Spatial Hearing Abilities and Tinnitus Handicap. Otology & Neurootology, 35(9):1525-32.
Smith, Z.M., Kan, A., Jones, H.J., Buhr-Lawler, M., Godar, S.P., Litovsky, R.Y. (2014, April). Hearing better with interaural time differences and bilateral cochlear implants. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 135(4):2190.