kerstin.persson.waye@amm.gu.se
Prof. Kerstin Persson Waye earned a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Health in 1982 and has been with Gothenburg University’s medical faculty since 1985. She completed a PhD in Environmental Medicine, focusing on community low-frequency noise effects. Her research extended to low-frequency noise impacts on work performance and sleep, and later pioneering wind turbine noise studies. She held an associate professorship at Aalborg University from 2002 to 2005, and a visiting professorship within hearing research, at the University of Örebro during 2019-2020.
Her primary research investigates human reactions and long term health impacts to sounds, emphazising perceptual qualities. Progressing from a lectorate to a professorship in Environmental Medicine, particularly in noise research, she leads a cross-disciplinary team at the Sound and Health research unit. Their studies explore young children’s perception and reactions to noise and the effect on wellbeing, mental health and hearing. Research also focus on hearing disorders in communication-intensive workplaces, mechanisms for noise and vibration induced sleep disturbance and the long term impact of environmental noise on sleep and health. The prime aim is to comprehend sound exposure mechanisms and health outcomes.
Prof. Persson Waye continues her work at Gothenburg University, contributing internationally as a member of the WHO’s General Guideline Group for noise criteria and on the expert panel of the Canadian Council of Academies for wind turbine and health reports. She has been a member of the board of International Commission for Acoustics (ICA), chair of ICBEN team 3, and currently a member of the executive committe at ICBEN. Presently she is Vice president within I-INCE for Europe and Africa, 2022-2025.