Faculty Research
Faculty within the Department of Speech and Hearing Science prepare scientists and
professionals to specialize in the study of receptive and productive aspects of oral
and alternative communication and communication disorders. Research laboratories and
clinics are dedicated to improving all aspects of interpersonal communication.
See the Research Laboratories in the department.
Meet our Doctoral Students.
Faculty Research Highlights
Laura DeThorne
Assistant Professor, Speech and Hearing Science
While the vast majority of children learn to communicate through language effortlessly, as many as 15 percent of them struggle
with the process. Even within the majority, there are wide variations in the way the process unfolds. Laura DeThorne believes
that understanding the causes of language learning differences will lead to more effective interventions and preventions. Dr.
DeThorne is currently involved in a longitudinal study of twins in kindergarten through fifth grade funded by the National Institute
of Child Health and Human Development. The study has provided evidence of both genetic influences and non-shared environmental
influences. Ultimately, she would like to broaden the definition of success in the speech-language pathology field to include how
well people communicate in general, establish friendships, and build meaningful community. Read more
about Dr. DeThorne.
Matthew Dye
Assistant Professor, Speech and Hearing Science
Hailing from Long Sutton, UK, Matthew Dye completed bachelor and doctoral degrees in psychology and a master's degree in
neural computation. He was an assistant professor of deaf studies at the University of Bristol when he accepted a postdoctoral
fellowship at the University of Rochester to study the impact of deafness on the development of visual skills, an example of
cross-modal brain plasticity.
His research has identified changes in visual processing among deaf people, in the form of enhancements in attention to the
periphery of their vision. He is interested in whether the auditory cortex is involved in this process. In his Cross-Modal
Plasticity Lab, Dr. Dye will continue to explore the potential for brain changes resulting from changes in sensory experience.
His goal is to understand the effects of deafness on visual functions at the behavioral and neural levels, and to explore the
implications for learning in K-12 and higher education settings.
Read more about Dr. Dye.
Christopher Grindrod
Assistant Professor, Speech and Hearing Science
Christopher Grindrod’s research focuses on discovering which brain areas are responsible for the uniquely human capacity to
produce and understand language. With a background in communication disorders, linguistics, and cognitive neuroscience, he is
able to approach this area of study from an interdisciplinary perspective using innovative experimental techniques. His primary
area of expertise is in studying hemispheric asymmetries in language comprehension. Most notably, he was among the first to
systematically compare semantic processing in both patients with left hemisphere damage and those with right hemisphere damage.
His research has provided evidence that both hemispheres contribute to key aspects of language processing.
Read more about Dr. Grindrod.
Pamela Hadley
Associate Professor, Speech and Hearing Science
Some children experience tremendous difficulty acquiring language, although they are developing typically otherwise. Pamela
Hadley’s research focuses on this group of children, those with Specific Language Impairment (SLI). SLI affects about seven percent
of the kindergarten population. With a goal of identifying children at risk for SLI early enough to intervene during critical
language development periods, Dr. Hadley has investigated grammatical phenomena such as early sentence development, the emergence
of tense and agreement marking, and sentence production in very young children. In her current research, she and Dr. Matthew
Rispoli are investigating the growth of tense and agreement in children aged 21 to 36 months.
Read more about Dr. Hadley.
Fatima T. Husain
Fatima T. Husain Professor, Speech and Hearing Science
According to the American Tinnitus Association, the number of war veterans with tinnitus disabilities more than doubled between
2000 and 2005. The association also cites a recent study which shows that 49 percent of all soldiers exposed to blasts in Iraq and
Afghanistan developed tinnitus. About 50 million people in the United States suffer from this chronic condition, which has no cure.
While it is often associated with hearing loss, not everyone with hearing loss will develop tinnitus. Fatima Husain of the Department
of Speech and Hearing Science is determined to understand the neural networks within the brain that may be affected by tinnitus in
hopes of improving therapeutic interventions.
Read more about Dr. Husain.
Matthew Rispoli
Visiting Assistant Professor, Speech and Hearing Science
A developmental psycholinguist, Matthew Rispoli's research examines how children acquire language. Dr. Rispoli has investigated
the development of grammar and sentence production among typically developing children. Even among these children, however, there
are significant variations in the rate of learning. In his current research, Dr. Rispoli is collaborating with Dr. Pamela Hadley to
identify endogenous and exogenous factors affecting differences in developmental rate.
Read more about Dr. Rispoli.