蘑菇AV

Our very own Dr. Ana Maria Gonzalez Barrero was one of this year's recipients of 蘑菇AV's Belong Fellowship Awards for 2022.

Officially launched in November 2018, Belong Research Fellowships were established by the Offices of the Provost and Vice President Academic and Vice President Research and Innovation to support tenure-track faculty from equity-deserving groups to pursue small research projects of one to two years.

Up to four fellowships of $5,000 are provided annually. You can read the entire article here.

(Andrew Riley, Dal News)

Second-year SCSD speech-language pathology student Halle Loyek shared her experience of gaining professional development outside the classroom, an opportunity supported by Johnson Scholarship Foundation!

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(Angie Francalancia, Johnson Scholarship Foundation)(Photo: Global Health Office, 蘑菇AV)

The School of Communication Sciences and Disorders is proud to announce that it will be offering five renewable entrance scholarships for academic excellence. Three scholarships are open to all applicants.  

In addition, two more are open to Indigenous and/or African Nova Scotians including the Nova Scotia Scholar Award.

With the generous support of an endowment, Hearing and Speech Nova Scotia has provided funding of the Nova Scotia Scholar award. Please see Part V of the  for more information.

Information on Admissions can be found here.

The ongoing violent attacks on and deaths of Black, Indigenous, and other People of Colour (BIPOC) at the hands of the police in the United States and Canada have highlighted the need to speak out and act in meaningful ways to bring about systemic change. 

The School of Communication Sciences and Disorders affirms its opposition to all forms of oppression, racism, and discrimination and states clearly and unequivocally that Black Lives Matter and Indigenous Lives Matter. We pledge to scrutinize and change our policies and practices in order to eliminate systemic racism and discrimination in our School and achieve true diversity, inclusivity, equity, and cultural safety. This work is consistent with our strategic plan and core values. As first steps we will immediately engage in the following activities:

1. Evaluate the admissions requirements鈥攑articularly the use of GRE scores鈥攁nd revise so as to seek to eliminate systemic biases in the admissions process;
2. Review the Equity Admissions Policy and potentially expand it to include other marginalized groups;
3. Prioritize equity and diversity when hiring;
4. Develop a process for compensating BIPOC students, alumni, and external experts who are asked to consult with us on issues of diversity, oppression, racism, and discrimination;
5. Evaluate and improve how diversity is addressed in the curriculum;
6. Provide anti-oppression and trauma-informed training to faculty and staff;
7. Develop and implement a plan to support the success of BIPOC students in the program;
8. Dialogue with other speech-language-pathology and audiology organizations about dismantling systemic racism and promoting equity in the professions and in our services such as Speech-Language and Audiology Canada (SAC), Canadian Academy of Audiology (CAA), Nova Scotia College of Audiologists and Speech-Language Pathologists (NSCASLP), Hearing and Speech Nova Scotia (HSNS), and Regional Centres of Education;
9. Engage in meaningful respectful discussions with BIPOC consultants, students, staff, and faculty to identify further actions that can bring about substantive change. The action plan will be completed by December 2020;
10. Inform students, faculty, staff, and other stakeholders monthly on our progress.

Thursday's ceremonies featured the participation of 22 members of our 2019 graduating class as well as one of our professors, Dr. Elizabeth Kay-Raining Bird giving the Convocation Address.

As well, one of our graduating students, Alison Bartlett, was featured in the Dal News.

First year Speech-Language Pathology Student (Juliana McLaren) is one of ten finalists

On the evening of March 13, 2019, Juliana McLaren participated as one of the ten finalists of the Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition.

McLaren won her heat on Tuesday, March 12. Although she didn't win one of the four prizes available on March 13, she did however mention:

"...I think I did really well! It was a good way to promote my research to the public and the university. I am happy I did it! Thank you for all of your encouragement."

Juliana's topic was a presentation on the relationship between dementia and hearing loss.

As previously reported, the competition allows graduate students from across 蘑菇AV to come together and present the complexities of their research to a bigger audience --- but they only have 180 seconds to do it.

Talia Kowalchuk (2nd year Speech-Language Pathology) competed in different heat, but didn't advance.

The top prizes of this competition are 1st - $2,000; 2nd - $1,000; 3rd - $500; and Peoples' Choice - $500. The winner of the 蘑菇AV event moves on to compete in the Atlantic Regional competition in April. The Regional winner will then compete for the national title. The national 3MT Competition is sponsored by the Canadian Association of Graduate Schools (CAGS).

Congratulations to our participants in the 3MT competition!

Contributing Sources: Dr. S. Aiken, J. McLaren, Dal News, CAGS

Congratulations to first year Speech-Language Pathology student Juliana McLaren, who came 2nd and received a prize of $250 in the 2018 Halifax Science Slam!

The purpose of the event is to present a scientific talk in five minutes to the general public.

Her talk, Have you heard about the link between dementia and hearing loss? was well received by an enthusiastic group of science enthusiasts of all ages.

First year student Speech-Language Pathology Juliana McLaren (pictured) participated in the Workshop for Young Female Researchers in Speech Sciences & Technology (YFRS-2018), held on September 1st in Hyderabad, India.

The workshop, which is organized in conjunction with the Interspeech conference, provides female Masters and Undergraduate students a chance to learn more about graduate studies in the speech sciences. At the workshop, Juliana presented a poster entitled Investigating the Association Between Hearing Loss and Memory Using Structural and Functional Neuroimaging.

The poster was an overview of her thesis proposal, which is under the supervision of Dr. Steven Aiken.

Andrea Power and Jaclyn Kirstiuk presented their research this November at the ASHA Convention in Boston, MA.

Their unique longitudinal case report follows the communication abilities of a woman with Wernicke鈥檚 aphasia post herpes simplex viral encephalitis (HSVE). She was followed for seven years, beginning at 13 months post-onset, in conjunction with six periods of intensive communication therapy. Consistent and marked gains in impairment-based and functionally-based measures were observed, as well as in day-to-day functioning. We contribute to the limited research on aphasia post-HSVE, showing the capacity for dramatic improvements up to eight years post-onset.

Sarah Anthony, Madeleine Leger, and Melissa Spence presented their research on An Intervention for Speech Intelligibility in Adults with Down Syndrome

Poor intelligibility can adversely affect adults with Down syndrome and speech therapy programs are often unavailable. Thus, there is a need to study intelligibility interventions for this population. This study investigated a six-week, twice weekly intelligibility intervention for three adults with DS. Intervention focused on the implementation of a compensatory strategy (鈥渟low and clear鈥�) to increase intelligibility. Progress was monitored using pre-, post- and follow-up testing and weekly probes. Results demonstrate that six weeks of intervention can lead to improvements in articulation accuracy, overall intelligibility, and use of a targeted strategy in adults with DS. Interventions consisting of awareness training combined with focused articulation therapy can be effective in raising overall metalinguistic awareness and the ability to identify and repair communication breakdowns. The results underline the practical importance of providing therapy to this underserved population.

The 蘑菇AV Audiology Class with the CAA University Challenge Cup. To view the cup close up, visit the SCSD Reception Desk.

Congratulations goes out the to 蘑菇AV Audiology Class of 2019 who were awarded the University Challenge Cup at the 2018 conference of the Canadian Academy of Audiology (CAA). The class received the award for developing a promotional video called "A not so quiet place: Living with tinnitus".

From August 7 to 10, Dr. Elizabeth Kay-Raining Bird participated in a four part conversation with CBC Radio One's Information Morning about a $15 minimum wage. Thank you to Nina Corfou, with CBC Nova Scotia for providing the links below:

The Lion's Clubs of Nova Scotia have been huge supporters of the Hear@Dal (formerly 蘑菇AV Hearing Aid Assistance) program. Read more about their contributions to this wonderful cause.

Congratulations to 蘑菇AV's Audiology Class of 2018 who were awarded the University Challenge Cup at the 2017 conference of the Canadian Academy of Audiology (CAA). The class received the award for developing a promotional video about vestibular audiology.

The 蘑菇AV Audiology Class with the CAA University Challenge Cup. To view the cup close up, visit the SHCD Reception Desk.

Dr. Ellen Hickey has completed the second edition of a book on dementia management, , with co-editor Michelle Bourgeois. While there is an emphasis on communication and the role of the speech-language pathologist, the book offers a broad review of interventions from a variety of disciplines. Evidence-based assessment and intervention approaches that promote meaningful life engagement for persons with dementia are described. The book is being published by Taylor & Francis, a division of Routledge, and is expected to be in print in late October 2017.

Dr. Jian Wang is recruiting students (both master thesis and PhD) to join his research team. The selected student(s) will obtain a stipend from one of his research grants. The amount of the stipend will be based upon the student鈥檚 experience and academic performance as well as availability of funding. It is expected that a PhD student will be supported for 50-80% of their total costs from the grant. The selected students will have higher chance of funding success from the Tri-council and other sources.

Dr. Jian Wang鈥檚 research is funded by grants from NSERC and CIHR and covers 3 major areas: (1) cochlear gene therapy against cell death induced by noise, ototoxic drugs and aging, (2) physiology and noise induced damage of ribbon synapses between sensory cells of hearing and primary auditory neurons, and (3) the impact of hearing loss on cognitive function.

The Hearing Foundation of Canada, in conjunction with SHCD professor Dr. Steven Aiken, has launched an infant hearing campaign for the month of May. Hearing loss in babies is invisible, and many babies live for months or even years without a diagnosis. This can cause preventable and unnecessary cognitive and developmental setbacks. May is 鈥淪peech and Hearing Month,鈥� the ideal time to approach the Canadian Government with our voices united on behalf of babies. Every baby in Canada deserves a chance to hear and to communicate. .

Hilary Buckle(left) and Shally Yuan, members of the 2nd year Audiology class get ready to greet the athletes.

Second-year audiology students from the School of Human Communication Disorders provided audiological assessment services to Special Olympics athletes on Saturday, March 25.

Antigonish audiologist (and School alumnus) Nadia Tymczyszyn, who received training in Philadelphia for the Special Olympics 鈥淗ealthy Hearing鈥� program this past year, provided overall supervision. The event was coordinated by Sport Nova Scotia鈥檚 Tom Fahie and Duncan Floyd from the School鈥檚 audiology faculty.

Interested athletes received a thorough assessment of their hearing systems. It was a 鈥渨in-win鈥� for all involved.

Shown in the photo (L-R): Lauren Dunphy (Research Assistant), Dr. Steve Aiken, Dr. Doreen Nakku, Dr. Ganesh Attigodu Chandrashekaran (Post-doctoral Fellow)

The School of Human Communication Disorders welcomed visiting Otologist Dr. Doreen Nakku in June for training in auditory electrophysiology with Dr. Steve Aiken. Dr. Nakku will be conducting a study investigating the impact of HIV on childhood hearing in her home country of Uganda using advanced audiological measures to distinguish and characterize auditory deficits stemming from disease processes and drug-related toxicity. This work is funded by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Audiology, Speech-Language Pathology Act Introduced

On April 15, 2015, Hon. Leo Glavine, Nova Scotia Minister of Health and Wellness, announced the introduction of legislation to regulate our professions, . Shown here along with the Minister (3rd from left) are members Greg Noel, Pat Cleave, Heather Maessen, , and Joy Armson.  

Pat Cleave, professor in the School of Human Communication Disorders (SHCD), has chaired the SHANS Legislative Committee since 2010. This Committee is comprised of SHANS members who work in a variety of settings including the , , , and the School of Human Communication Disorders. SHCD members of the Committee include Pat Cleave (chair), Joy Armson, Duncan Floyd, and Elizabeth Kay-Raining Bird.

SHCD Students Awarded Prestigious Scholarships

Congratulations to SHCD Master鈥檚 students who were recently awarded prestigious scholarships for 2014-15!

Karissa Izzard-Wells received the James R. Johnson Scholarship, which is offered each year by 蘑菇AV 鈥渢o a promising African Canadian student鈥�.

Sarah Martin, Jennifer Soles, and Emily McGuire were awarded Nova Scotia Graduate Scholarships to support their thesis research.  These scholarships were offered for the first time this year by the Nova Scotia government.