2024 ASHFoundation Awards and Honorees

ASHFoundation Awards $705,000 to 88 Innovators

December 10, 2024

Frank R. Kleffner Lifetime Clinical Career Award

Barbara S. Herrmann
Audiologist, Massachusetts Eye and Ear
Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School
Boston, MA

Louis M. DiCarlo Award for Recent Clinical Achievement

Awarded $2,500

John Tetnowski
Jeanette Sias Endowed Chair in Speech Pathology, Professor
Oklahoma State University
Stillwater, OK

Rolland J. Van Hattum Award for Contribution in the Schools

Awarded $2,000; School system awarded $500

Kyle Greene-Pendelton
Speech-Language Pathologist
Consolidated School District of New Britain
New Britain, CT

State Clinical Achievement Awards

Colorado
Melanie Potock
My Munch Bug, LLC

Florida
Angela Medina
Florida International University

Illinois
Carrie Kerr
PRC-Saltillo

Kansas
Susan Koerner
University of Kansas

Massachusetts
Robert Melchionna
Cape Cod Hospital

Oklahoma
John Tetnowski
Oklahoma State University

South Dakota
Terri Jensen
Teachwell Solutions

Tennessee
Jessica Lenden-Holt
Sidekick Therapy Partners

Vermont
Danielle Kent
Piece of Mind Therapy and Consulting

Spirit of Philanthropy Award

Nancy A. Creaghead
Professor
University of Cincinnati
Cincinnati, OH

Corporate Champion Award

Plural Publishing, Inc.
San Diego, CA

Researcher-Practitioner Collaboration Grants

Awarded $35,000 per team

Rachel Johnson
Associate Professor
Old Dominion University

Sara Ware
Lead Speech-Language Pathologist
Little Hands Little Feet, PLLC

Proposal: Research, Education, Advocacy, Coaching, Human Connection (REACH) Clinician2Clinician Mentoring Program for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) Service Provision

Ashwini Namasivayam-MacDonald
Assistant Professor
McMaster University

Kelly Rogers
Senior Speech-Language Pathologist
Shirley Ryan AbilityLab

Proposal: Rehabilitation Treatment Specification System (RTSS)-Dysphagia: Development of a Swallowing Rehabilitation Framework

Naomi Rodgers
Assistant Professor
University of Iowa

Vivian Sisskin
Clinical Professor Emerita, University of Maryland
Owner/Director, Sisskin Stuttering Center

Proposal: Developing and Validating a Self-Report Assessment to Measure Stutter-Affirming Outcomes

Elizabeth Walker
Associate Professor
University of Iowa

Caitlin Sapp
Supervisor of Pediatric Audiology
University of North Carolina Medical Center

Proposal: Children's Hearing Aid Access Under Medicaid Programs

New Century Scholars Research Grants

Awarded $25,000 each

Amy Delaney
Assistant Professor
Marquette University
Proposal: Standardization of Feeding Skill Development in Typically Developing Infants 6 to 18 Months of Age
Swallowing Research Fund

Mili Kuruvilla-Dugdale
Associate Professor
University of Iowa
Proposal: Exploring Psychophysical Scaling for Auditory-Perceptual Evaluation of Dysarthria

Margarethe McDonald
Assistant Professor
University of Kansas
Proposal: Predicting Experience-Specific Bilingual Speech Production With Machine Learning

Gabriela Meade
Assistant Professor
Mayo Clinic
Proposal: Dysphagia in Patients With Primary Progressive Apraxia of Speech: Identification, Characterization, and Clinical Correlates
Swallowing Research Fund

Hyejin Park
Assistant Professor
University of Mississippi
Proposal: Evaluation of Multimodal Communication Treatment with Discourse via Telepractice for People With Aphasia

Terrin Tamati
Research Assistant Professor
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Proposal: Remote Training to Improve Indexical Processing Deficits in Adult Cochlear Implant Users

New Investigators Research Grants

Awarded $10,000 each

Haley Dresang
Assistant Professor
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Proposal: Artificial Intelligence Advancement of Event Knowledge Measures for Clinical Aphasiology

Alexander Foote
Postdoctoral Fellow
University of California, San Diego
Proposal: A Causal Link Between Laryngeal Sensorimotor Neuropathy in Post-Viral Influenza Infection

Nichole Houle
Assistant Professor
Binghamton University
Proposal: Identifying the Relationship Between Vocal Effort and Vocal Gender Congruence in Transfeminine People

Heather Kabakoff
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
New York University
Proposal: Voice in Motion: Predicting Changes in Voice and Speech Following Focused Ultrasound Surgery for Essential Tremor

Renee King
Postdoctoral Research Associate
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Proposal: Novel Preclinical Mouse and Cell Culture Models of Laryngeal Papillomavirus-Associated Disease

Natalie Pak
Assistant Professor
University of South Florida
Proposal: Enhanced Milieu Teaching (EMT) en Español Para Autismo Using a Rapid Coaching Approach
Lois Bloom Language Development Research Fund

Erik Petersen
Postdoctoral Scholar Fellow
University of Washington
Proposal: A Bayesian Adaptive Procedure for Efficient Auditory Brainstem Response Threshold Estimation

Willem van Boxtel
Assistant Professor
Louisiana State University
Proposal: Predictive Processing in Aphasia: Assessment Implications from Online Eye Tracking and Memory Interference

Mary Claire Wofford
Assistant Professor
Western Carolina University
Proposal: En las Afueras: Early Childhood Speech and Language Services for Spanish-Speaking Families in Rural Spaces

Speech Science Research Grant

Awarded $10,000

Iyad Ghanim
Assistant Professor
Kean University
Proposal: Validity of Speech-In-Noise Hearing Assessments for Bilinguals

Student Research Grants in Audiology

Ira M. Ventry and Brad W. Friedrich Memorial Funds
Awarded $2,000 each

Sarah Crow
Aud/PhD Candidate
The University of Texas at Dallas
Mentor: Andrea Warner-Czyz
Proposal: Central Executive Functioning in Young Adults With Cochlear Implants: A Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) Study

Katie Esser
AuD Candidate
Towson University
Mentor: William Bologna
Proposal: Striving for Ecological Validity: Effects of Listener Position on Speech Recognition and Listening Effort in a Multitalker Environment

Priya Premkumar
PhD Candidate
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Mentor: Michelle Hughes
Proposal: Development of a Decision Aid for Single-Sided Deafness Intervention for Adults: An Exploratory Mixed-Methods Study

Student Research Grants in Early Childhood Language Development

Arlene M. and Noel D. Matkin Memorial Fund
Awarded $2,000 each

McKenzie Cullinan
PhD Candidate
University of Texas at Dallas
Mentor: Pumpki Lei Su
Proposal: Using Production Practice to Improve Word Learning in Autistic Children

Ada López González
PhD Candidate
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Mentor: Megan Gross
Proposal: Caregiver-Implemented Early Language Interventions in Puerto Rico: A Mixed-Methods Examination of Provider and Caregiver Practices and Perspectives to Develop Culturally Responsive Interventions

Suzanne Stiles
PhD Candidate
Vanderbilt University
Mentor: Stephen Camarata
Proposal: Teaching Black American Caregivers to Implement Enhanced Milieu Teaching (EMT) With Their Young Children Developmental Language Disorder: A Pilot Study

New Century Scholars Doctoral Scholarships

Awarded $10,000 each

Kevin Renz Ambrocio
University of Pittsburgh
Area of Study: Upper Aerodigestive Function in Sporadic Inclusion Body Myositis

Olivia Boorom
University of Kansas
Area of Study: Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Kristina Bowdrie
The Ohio State University
Area of Study: Influence of Temperament on Language and Hearing
Wayne and Marilyn Olsen Audiology Research Fund

Kelsey Davison
Boston University
Area of Study: Mono- and Bilingual Children’s Language Development

Abigail Dueppen
University of Houston
Area of Study: Voice Disorders

Elizabeth Evans
University of Florida
Area of Study: Social Determinants of Health and Post-Stroke Outcomes

Fatima Jebahi
University of Arizona
Area of Study: Adult Acquired Neurogenic Language Disorders

Yookyung Kim
Arizona State University
Area of Study: Genetic Etiologies and Brain-Based Biomarkers of Dyslexia

Jennifer Markfeld
Vanderbilt University
Area of Study: Language Development; Autism and Language Disorders

Jade Mitchell
Vanderbilt University
Area of Study: Traumatic Brain Injury

Elizabeth Mormer
University of Pittsburgh
Area of Study: Health Services Research; Dysphagia

R.J. Risueño
Arizona State University
Area of Study: Bilingual Language and Literacy Disorders

Taylor Snodgrass
East Carolina University
Area of Study: Craniofacial and Velopharyngeal Disorders

Louisa Suting
University of Connecticut
Area of Study: Neurogenic Communication Disorders

Hantao Wang
University of Washington
Area of Study: Speech Motor Control

Graduate Student Scholarships

Awarded $5,000 each

Blossom Adanike
MS Candidate, California State University, Chico

Eugenia Agyemang
AuD Candidate, Ball State University

Hannah Brownd
MS Candidate, Purdue University

Joyce Chung
MS Candidate, Boston University

Brigit Corej
MA Candidate, George Washington University

Clarice Friedrich
MA Candidate, University of North Carolina Greensboro

Ashley Garcia
MA Candidate, California State University, Los Angeles

Amy Gionfriddo
MA Candidate, University of Maryland, College Park

Alejandra Gomez
AuD Candidate, University of North Texas

Lua Harmsen
MS Candidate, Carlos Albizu University

Devin Lukachik
MS Candidate, University of Texas Health Sciences Center at San Antonio

Hannah Manion
MA Candidate, Temple University

Eric Mitchell
AuD/PhD Candidate, University of Minnesota Twin Cities

Erin Smith
MS Candidate, University of Washington

Peyton Tripp
MA Candidate, University at Buffalo

International Student Scholarships

Kala Singh Memorial Fund
Awarded $5,000 each

Ghina Fares
AuD Candidate, University of Kansas Medical Center

HaeJi Lee
PhD Candidate, University of Minnesota Twin Cities

Denis Rudisch
PhD Candidate, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Minority Student Scholarships

Minority Scholarship Fund
Awarded $5,000 each

Grecia Acevedo
MS Candidate, University of Oregon

Kareesha de Visser
MA Candidate, California State University, Long Beach

Muna Musse
MA Candidate, University of Minnesota Twin Cities

NSSLHA Scholarships

NSSLHA Scholarship Fund
Awarded $5,000 each

Miles Dievert
MA Candidate, Hofstra University

Kara Scoggins
MEd Candidate, University of Georgia

Emory Twitty
MS Candidate, Baylor University

ASHA Research Conferences Travel Grants

Affiliation at time of award.

Mariana Mendes Bahia
Postdoctoral Fellow
Northwestern University

Tiana Cowan
Postdoctoral Fellow
Boys Town National Research Hospital

Kwang Seob Kim
Assistant Professor
Purdue University

Alison Prahl
Assistant Professor
Baylor University