Faculty in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders are well recognized for their expertise in wide-ranging areas within the discipline, authoring highly regarded textbooks, scholarly works, and original research articles that have been published in prestigious national and international journals. CSD boasts several faculty-led research laboratories furnished with state-of-the-art equipment. These labs not only support faculty scholarship, but also serve as a welcoming home for any undergraduate or graduate student interested in participating in research activities or in conducting their own investigations.
CSD currently supports
the following clinical, educational, and research laboratories:
School-Age Language Acquisition and Disorders Lab
Speech and Hearing Laboratory
Co-directed by Drs.
Norman Lass and
Jeremy Donai, the CSD Speech and Hearing Lab is designed to support
research that improves our knowledge of the mechanisms of both the production and
perception of speech.
View the Speech and Hearing Laboratory webpage.
Language and Literacy Laboratory
Directed by Dr. Michelle Moore, the CSD Language and Literacy Lab explores the
processes involved in language and reading, supporting the development of improved
diagnostic and treatment approaches for children with language and reading impairments.
View the Language and Literacy Lab webpage.
Laboratory for Fluency Disorders
Directed by Dr. Kenneth St. Louis, the CSD Laboratory for Fluency Disorders is
the home of the International Project on Attitudes Toward Human Attributes, or IPATHA.
Here, research on the fluency disorders of stuttering and cluttering is conducted
with the purpose of developing a greater understanding of their nature and treatment.
View the Laboratory for Fluency Disorders webpage.
Audiology Research Laboratory
Directed by Dr. Vishakha Rawool, the CSD Audiology Research Lab supports basic
and applied research in auditory processing and hearing conservation using middle
ear (e.g., tympanometry), inner ear (e.g., otoacoustic emissions), brainstem (e.g.,
acoustic reflex measures, masking level differences), and cortical (e.g., gap detection)
measures and audiometry, including extended high frequency audiometry. The Lab
also allows measurement of hearing protector effectiveness using probe tube (1000
to 6000 Hz) and behavioral measures across the frequency range.
View the Audiology Research Laboratory webpage.
Speech Motor Control Laboratory
CSD’s newest laboratory is the Speech Motor Control Lab (SPMCL). Directed by Dr. Kimberly Meigh, research in the SPMCL is focused on examining
speech production at the level of memory processing. Specifically, the Lab utilizes
an interdisciplinary approach to evaluate normal speech acquisition and transfer
effects during motor learning. The goal is to take a theoretical step-back from
traditional models of speech motor control to re-evaluate the basic premise of
“what is learned” during speech acquisition, and how this memory is represented.
View the Speech Motor Control Lab webpage
Cleft Palate—Craniofacial Laboratory
Directed by Dr. Dennis Ruscello, the CSD Cleft Palate—Craniofacial Lab is used to obtain air pressure and flow measurements for clinical and research studies of vocal-tract aerodynamics and velopharyngeal function.
Collaborative Assistive Technology Education Laboratory
The Collaborative Assistive Technology Education (CATE) Lab is a transdisciplinary
effort between CSD, Special Education, and Occupational Therapy. In the CATE Lab,
students learn how to select and use a wide range of mainstream and specialized
devices to support individuals with disabilities in the context of educational
and clinical interventions. For more information about the CATE Lab,
contact CSD faculty member Karen Haines.