Name: Sarah K. Schellinger, Ph.D., CCC-SLP
Title: Assistant Professor
Committee: Development Committee

The Reach for the Stars awards highlight their academic contributions and underscore UCF’s commitment to fostering groundbreaking research.  Awardees receive a $10,000 annual research grant for three years.  We are proud to announce that Lauren Bislick, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, CBIS, was a recipient of the award.  Lauren spoke on this achievement, "I was honored with this award because of my research efforts aimed at diagnosing, treating, and improving the quality of life of those living with communication disorders, such as aphasia and apraxia of speech. The big projects that helped make me competitive for this award included:

1. What sparked your interest in joining ANCDS?

I am the Social Media Lead for the Communication Committee.  I was excited to learn about this role because I am interested in, and research, implementation science.  The dissemination of research and making communication and community resources effective and efficient is a passion of mine.  ANCDS is a small, special community, and to be part of creating the online version of that was exciting.  I hope to meet member and committee needs by using social media to support, celebrate, and educate!

Name: Lilly Dennison (M.S. Candidate)
Program of study/Year in program: M.S. in Speech-Language Pathology candidate at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center.  I have now attended the program for over a year with expectations to graduate in May 2024.
University: University of Tennessee Health Science Center
ANCDS Fellow Mentor: Mary H. Purdy, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, BC-ANCDS
Area(s) of research, teaching, and/or clinical interest: The relationship between cognition and language in persons with aphasia

Name: Courtney Jewell
Program of study/Year in program: Ph.D. Candidate, The Ohio State University, 4 years
University: Ohio State University
ANCDS Fellow Mentor: Sarah Wallace, Ph.D., CCC-SLP
Area(s) of research, teaching, and/or clinical interest: Impact of psychosocial factors on post-stroke aphasia rehabilitation outcomes

Name: Melissa Ugianskis, MPH
Program of Study/Year in Program: second-year graduate student at Portland State University working on a master's degree in the Speech and Hearing Sciences
University: Portland State University
ANCDS Fellow Mentor: Jose Centeno, Ph.D., CCC-SLP
Area(s) of research, teaching, and/or clinical interest: neuroplasticity and language recovery in aphasia

Audrey came to the University of Arizona in the Fall of 1991 as a Professor and Department Head of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences.  Our department had just received NIH funding for the National Center for Neurogenic Communication Disorders, and Audrey was one of the Principal Investigators.  I had completed my Ph.D. at Arizona the year before and was working as a Research Scientist for the Department of Neurology.  Good fortune came when Audrey called me before she arrived in town to ask if I would be interested in joining the Center research team — and that began our collaboration. 

I believe, as I am sure many of you do as well, that in our careers, work, and lives, we stand on the shoulders of those who came before us, who built strong foundations that allow us to create new and exciting pathways, which in turn, will encourage the next generation of individuals — clinicians, researchers, persons with aphasia, family, and friends — to venture in even more unique and fulfilling directions.  Despite her diminutive stature, Audrey Holland had very broad and strong shoulders on which we all stand.  Everyone here today, and many people who could not be here, have been touched in one way or another by Audrey, as students, colleagues, mentees, clients, and most importantly, as humans.  We owe Audrey a debt of gratitude for the guiding light she has been to people living with aphasia and investigating aphasia.

Name: Kathryn-Anne Pertab
Earned Degree(s): B.S. in Communication Disorders
Program of study/Year in program: M.S. in Communication Disorders, second year
Mentor/Advisor: Dr. Tyson Harmon
University: Brigham Young University
ANCDS Fellowship Mentor: Dr. Kimberly Smith
Area(s) of research, teaching, and/or clinical interest: counseling role of speech-language pathologists, the psychosocial impact of communication disorders on individuals and their families

Name: Hasini Weerathunge
Earned Degree(s): Bachelor of Science in Electronic and Telecommunication Engineering, University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka; Master of Science in Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, USA
Program of study/Year in program: Doctor of Philosophy in Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, 5th year
Mentor/Advisor: Dr. Cara Stepp
University: Boston University
ANCDS Fellowship Mentor: Dr. Lynda Feenaughty
Area(s) of research, teaching, and/or clinical interest: Motor Speech Disorders, Fluency Disorders, Voice disorders

By Michael Biel, CScD, CCC-SLP, BC-ANCDS

JoAnn Silkes, Ph.D., CCC-SLP

Written By: Kimberly A. Eichhorn, M.S., CCC-SLP; BC-ANCDS; ATP

At the Syracuse University (SU) Aphasia Lab, we use behavioral and physiological measures to study the effects of biopsychosocial factors on speech and language treatment outcomes to improve recovery and quality of life for persons with aphasia.  Dr. Ellyn Riley, an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, is the Principal Investigator and director of the lab.  Current lab members include two part-time speech-language pathologists (Eve Mercer, M.S., CCC-SLP, and Danielle Kealy, M.S., CCC-SLP), a first-year doctoral student (Hannah Rembrandt, M.S., CCC-SLP), three clinical SLP Master’s students (Juliet Kibbe, Gabrielle Weinstein, and Nicole Vieyto), and two undergraduate students (Christina Piera and Mitchell Mazza).  

Name:  Amy M. Kemp
Earned Degree(s): M.A. in Communication Sciences and Disorders, B.A. in Intrapersonal Communications
Program of study/Year in program: Ph.D. Candidate in Communication Sciences and Disorders
Mentor/Advisor: Katy O’Brien
University:  University of Georgia
ANCDS Fellowship Mentor:  Melissa Duff
Area(s) of research, teaching, and/or clinical interest: Cognitive rehabilitation after traumatic brain injury, older adults/cognitive aging, and implementation science

What do Krakow, Florence, Edinburgh, Zurich, Aalborg, Sheffield, Slovenia, Montreal, and Boston all have in common?  They’ve all hosted the biennial International Aphasia Rehabilitation Conference (IARC) at some point in its esteemed 38-year history.  Philadelphia now joins this storied group of locations.  It may never be the same given the #RockingAphasia campaign, but more on that later.