Dr. Rebecca Lewis is the Chief of Audiology in the Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery at UCSF and the Program Director of Audiology for UCSF Health. In her role, she focuses on updating clinical processes to improve patient access and outcomes, ensuring the implementation of best practices, and performing research to advance the field of audiology. Dr. Lewis actively represents Audiology services on interdisciplinary committees and fosters the professional development of her team.
A key focus of Dr. Lewis's current work is improving equity in access to hearing healthcare. She leads the Equity in Access to Rehabilitative Services (EARS) Program, a comprehensive initiative aimed at creating equitable access through innovation, standardization, and collaboration across multiple interconnected programs. These programs address critical areas such as mapping service gaps (EARS Alliance), standardizing clinical workflows with multilingual materials (EARS Care Alignment Framework), and enhancing patient education through personalized resources (Hearing Health Blueprint). The EARS program aims to ensure underserved populations receive high-quality, equitable care by integrating technology, training, and community-based solutions.
In addition to the EARS Program, Dr. Lewis is engaged in research to better understand patient outcomes for individuals with single-sided deafness, exploring appropriate management strategies for this population. She is also spearheading the Multilingual Access Project (MAP), leveraging technology to create educational videos in multiple languages, significantly improving access to patient education across UCSF rehabilitative services, with support from the Mount Zion Health Fund.
Before joining UCSF, Dr. Lewis gained extensive clinical and research experience. She completed a postdoctoral research fellowship at the Eaton Peabody Laboratory at Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Harvard Medical School, investigating mechanisms of synaptic and cellular damage and tinnitus. She also served as a research audiologist at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, studying sensorineural hearing loss and the effects of traumatic brain injury. Most recently, she was the Clinical Research Program Manager at Whisper.ai, optimizing hearing aid outcomes for patients with mild-to-moderate hearing loss using self-fitting hearing aid technologies.
Dr. Lewis holds dual doctorates in Audiology (AuD) and Philosophy (PhD) from the University of Washington, where she completed her research at the Virginia Merrill Bloedel Hearing Research Center and also earned her Bachelor of Science degree.
She maintains active leadership roles in the field, currently serving as an associate editor for Frontiers in Audiology and Otology, Chair-Elect of the Professional Development Council for the American Academy of Audiology (AAA), and moderator of public educational sessions with the American Tinnitus Association. Previously, she has previously held several local leadership positions as well as a variety of national leadership positions including Chair of the Board of Directors for the National American Board of Audiology, co-Chair of the External Relations Committee for the Association for Research in Otolaryngology, Scientific Grants Projects Officer of the American Tinnitus Association, invited member of the Hearing Health Foundation editorial committee, and continues to contribute to a variety of task forces with the AAA and ATA.
She has received numerous honors, including the AAA Presidential Award and being named an Academy Scholar in 2024.
A key focus of Dr. Lewis's current work is improving equity in access to hearing healthcare. She leads the Equity in Access to Rehabilitative Services (EARS) Program, a comprehensive initiative aimed at creating equitable access through innovation, standardization, and collaboration across multiple interconnected programs. These programs address critical areas such as mapping service gaps (EARS Alliance), standardizing clinical workflows with multilingual materials (EARS Care Alignment Framework), and enhancing patient education through personalized resources (Hearing Health Blueprint). The EARS program aims to ensure underserved populations receive high-quality, equitable care by integrating technology, training, and community-based solutions.
In addition to the EARS Program, Dr. Lewis is engaged in research to better understand patient outcomes for individuals with single-sided deafness, exploring appropriate management strategies for this population. She is also spearheading the Multilingual Access Project (MAP), leveraging technology to create educational videos in multiple languages, significantly improving access to patient education across UCSF rehabilitative services, with support from the Mount Zion Health Fund.
Before joining UCSF, Dr. Lewis gained extensive clinical and research experience. She completed a postdoctoral research fellowship at the Eaton Peabody Laboratory at Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Harvard Medical School, investigating mechanisms of synaptic and cellular damage and tinnitus. She also served as a research audiologist at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, studying sensorineural hearing loss and the effects of traumatic brain injury. Most recently, she was the Clinical Research Program Manager at Whisper.ai, optimizing hearing aid outcomes for patients with mild-to-moderate hearing loss using self-fitting hearing aid technologies.
Dr. Lewis holds dual doctorates in Audiology (AuD) and Philosophy (PhD) from the University of Washington, where she completed her research at the Virginia Merrill Bloedel Hearing Research Center and also earned her Bachelor of Science degree.
She maintains active leadership roles in the field, currently serving as an associate editor for Frontiers in Audiology and Otology, Chair-Elect of the Professional Development Council for the American Academy of Audiology (AAA), and moderator of public educational sessions with the American Tinnitus Association. Previously, she has previously held several local leadership positions as well as a variety of national leadership positions including Chair of the Board of Directors for the National American Board of Audiology, co-Chair of the External Relations Committee for the Association for Research in Otolaryngology, Scientific Grants Projects Officer of the American Tinnitus Association, invited member of the Hearing Health Foundation editorial committee, and continues to contribute to a variety of task forces with the AAA and ATA.
She has received numerous honors, including the AAA Presidential Award and being named an Academy Scholar in 2024.