2025 ASHFoundation Award Recipients

ASHFoundation Awards Record-Breaking $1.3 Million to 87 Innovators

November 11, 2025

Frank R. Kleffner Lifetime Clinical Career Award

Jeanane M. Ferre
Consulting Audiologist, Central Auditory Evaluation and Treatment
Adjunct Faculty, Northwestern University and Rush University
Oak Park, IL

Louis M. DiCarlo Award for Recent Clinical Achievement

Awarded $2,500

Emily Hathaway
Clinical Director and Speech-Language Pathologist
Speech Pathway
Oklahoma City, OK

Rolland J. Van Hattum Award for Contribution in the Schools

Awarded $2,000; School system awarded $500

David Hom
Manager of Speech Services and Speech-Language Pathologist
New York City Public Schools
New York City, NY

State Clinical Achievement Award

Oklahoma
Emily Hathaway
Speech Pathway

Spirit of Philanthropy Award

Lauren Calandruccio
Professor
Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland, OH

Corporate Champion Award

Brookes Publishing
Baltimore, MD

Clinical Research Grants

Awarded $75,000 each

Julie Case
Assistant Professor
Hofstra University
Proposal: Childhood Apraxia of Speech in Bilingual Spanish-English Children

Julia Drouin
Assistant Professor
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Proposal: Characterizing Sleep Outcomes in School-Age Children with Hearing Loss

Mackenzie Fama
Assistant Professor
The George Washington University
Proposal: Inner Speech and Task-Switching Ability in Aphasia

Eric Jackson
Associate Professor
New York University
Proposal: Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Combined with Behavioral Speech Therapy for Stuttering

Emily Morrow
Research Assistant Professor
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Proposal: Examining Sleep Architecture as a Mechanism of Disrupted Word Learning and Memory Consolidation in Chronic Traumatic Brain Injury

Gemma Moya-Galé
Assistant Professor
Columbia University
Proposal: Development of a Web-Based Platform for Intelligibility Assessment in Spanish Speakers with Parkinson's Disease: A Proof-of-Concept Study

Awarded $50,000 each

Meisam Arjmandi
Assistant Professor
University of South Carolina
Proposal: Analysis of Speech Perception Errors for Personalized Cochlear Implant Programming and Improved Speech Recognition

Laura Jacox
Assistant Professor
University of North Carolina at Adams School of Dentistry
Proposal: Evaluating Impacts of Orthognathic Surgery on Speech Acoustics and Lingual Gestures in Patients with Anterior Open Bite Dentofacial Disharmony

Maithri Sivaraman
Assistant Professor
Columbia University
Proposal: A Classroom Intervention to Test Autistic Preschoolers' Learning from Overheard Speech

Lauren Thompson
Associate Professor
Washington State University
Proposal: Advancing Communication Assessment in Profound Neurodevelopmental Disorders: A Cross-Population Pilot Study

Carla Tierney-Hendricks
Research Fellow
Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital
Proposal: Using Intervention Mapping to Co-Design a Transitional Care Intervention for Aphasia Rehabilitation

New Century Scholars Research Grants

Awarded $25,000 each

Avery Dakin
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Columbia University
Proposal: Volitional Changes to Oral Processing—Exploring a “Cue-to-Chew” as an Alternative to Diet Texture Modification
Swallowing Research Fund

Meghan Davidson
Associate Professor
University of Kansas
Proposal: Bridging Practice to Research: Using a Delphi Method to Build a Consensus-Developed Checklist for Gestalt Language Processing

Teresa Girolamo
Assistant Professor
San Diego State University
Proposal: Determining Multi-Level Factors in Communication Outcomes of Autistic Individuals

Leah Kapa
Assistant Professor
The University of Arizona
Proposal: Examining Bidirectional Benefits of Language and Executive Function Interventions for Preschoolers with Developmental Language Disorder

Kelsey Klein
Research Scientist
House Institute Foundation
Proposal: Characterizing the Home Auditory Environments of Hispanic Children with Hearing Loss

Stephanie McMillen
Assistant Professor
Syracuse University
Proposal: What's That Sound? Evaluating Spoken Language and Phonological Processing Development for Spanish-English Bilingual Children

Hannah Rowe
Assistant Professor
Northeastern University
Proposal: Clinical Phenotypes of Feedback and Feedforward Control in Adults Who Stutter

Jennifer Zuk
Assistant Professor
Boston University
Proposal: Early Motor Function in Infancy as a Predictor of Emerging Language Skills

New Investigators Research Grants

Awarded $10,000 each

Nina Benway
Postdoctoral Fellow
The University of Maryland
Proposal: Interpretable and Available Acoustic-to-Articulatory Speech Inversion

Ankita Bhutada
Postdoctoral Scholar
Northwestern University
Proposal: Accelerating Parkinson's Disease Clinical Research in Swallowing and Motor Speech Disorders: A Novel Large-Language Model-Based Solution for Optimizing Clinical Trials Efficiency

Kaityn Contino
Postdoctoral Associate
Boston University
Proposal: The Art of Planning: The Role of Motor Planning in the Development of Executive Function and Language in Toddlers
Lois Bloom Language Development Research Fund

Kimberly Crespo
Assistant Professor
Boston University
Proposal: Learning While Sleeping: Statistical Word Learning and Consolidation in Children with and without Development Language Disorder

Raghav Jha
Assistant Professor
The University of Memphis
Proposal: Effects of Age on the Frequency Tuning of Bone-Conduction Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potentials

Hana Kim
Assistant Professor
University of South Florida
Proposal: Predicting Dementia from Written Language: A Bayesian Model Integrating Linguistic and Graphomotor Features in Mild Cognitive Impairment

Emily Kimball
Assistant Professor
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Proposal: Cannabinoid Effects in the Larynx and Upper Airway: Human Tissue Exploration and Cell Culture Modeling

Marc Maffei
Assistant Professor
The University of Rhode Island
Proposal: Speech Kinematics and Language Skills in Late Talkers

Lauramarie Pope
Assistant Professor
Auburn University
Proposal: Training Caregivers to Support the Language and Communication of Their Young Children on the Autism Spectrum with Minimal Speech: A Naturalistic Augmentative and Alternative Communication Intervention
Lois Bloom Language Development Research Fund

Elizabeth Roepke
Assistant Professor
Saint Louis University
Proposal: Auditory and Phonological Processing in Children with Speech Sound Disorders
Dr. Lawrence D. Shriberg Memorial Fund

Fenqi Wang
Research Fellow
Mayo Clinic
Proposal: Developing Phonet for Speech Articulation Assessment in Apraxia of Speech

Kathryn Wiseman
Research Scientist I
Boys Town National Research Hospital
Proposal: Device Candidacy Decision Making for Parents of Children Who are Borderline Candidates

Julia Yi
Assistant Professor
MGH Institute of Health Professions
Proposal: Exploring the Shift in Individualized Education Program Classifications from Speech/Language Impairment to Specific Learning Disability in Mid-Elementary School: A Mixed Methods Study

Student Research Grants in Audiology

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

Bertan Kurşun
PhD Candidate
University of Washington
Mentor: Yi Shen
Proposal: Reproduction of Sound Scenes from Daily Life Using Ecological Momentary Assessment

Saranya Mundayoor
PhD Candidate
The University of Texas at Dallas
Mentor: Edward Lobariñas
Proposal: Personalizing and Optimizing Hearing Aid Prescriptions for Children and Adolescents Using Artificial Intelligence

Tyler Scott
AuD Candidate
The University of Texas at Austin
Mentor: Srikanta Mishra
Proposal: Culturally Informed, Clinically Effective: Hairstyles for Cochlear Implant Stability

Student Research Grants in Early Childhood Language Development

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

Brittany Ciullo
PhD Candidate
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Mentor: Jill Hoover
Proposal: Participation Matters: Improving Outcomes in Young Children with Communication Disorders through Implementation Science

Jane Eppstein
PhD Candidate
Vanderbilt University
Mentor: C. Melanie Schuele
Proposal: Syntax Matters: Testing an Intervention that Teaches Preschoolers with Developmental Language Disorder to Produce Subject Relative Clauses

Nikki Hoopes
PhD Candidate
Texas Christian University
Mentor: Emily Lund
Proposal: Age of Exposure to Intimate Partner Violence and Outcomes on a Language Tasks

Daniel Ibarra
PhD Candidate
Texas Christian University
Mentor: Emily Lund
Proposal: Early Childhood Trajectories and Barriers for Bilingual Children Who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing: A Mixed-Methods Study

Tracy Preza
PhD Candidate
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Mentor: Pamela A. Hadley
Proposal: Screening Developmental Language Disorder at Preschool Entry: Evaluating Novel Measures of Grammar and Effortful Sentence Production

New Century Scholars Doctoral Scholarships

Awarded $10,000 each

Sajana Aryal
The University of Texas at Austin
Area of Study: Extended High-Frequency Hearing
Wayne and Marilyn Olsen Audiology Research Fund

Prabuddha Bhatarai
The University of Texas at Dallas
Area of Study: Cochlear Implants; Hyperacusis

Anhelina Bilokon
University of Maryland
Area of Study: Impact of Age and Sex on Cochlear Function and Speech Processing

Michelle Bretl
University of Wisconsin–Madison
Area of Study: Voice and Upper Airway Disorders; Vocal Fold Biology

Ryan Burdick
University of Wisconsin–Madison
Area of Study: Swallowing Disorders in Aging and Dementia

Brittany Ciullo
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Area of Study: Pediatric Communication Disorders in School Settings

Sydney Jensen
University of Wisconsin–Madison
Area of Study: Augmentative and Alternative Communication; Pediatric Motor Speech Disorders
McLean, Yoder, Schiefelbusch Fund in Severe Communication Disabilities

Courtney Jewell
The Ohio State University
Area of Study: Aphasia Rehabilitation and Digital Health Interventions

R. Brynn Jones-Rastelli
New York University
Area of Study: Swallowing Disorders from Neurological Disease and Intervention

Hin Yan Lam
The University of California, Irvine
Area of Study: Bilingualism and Developmental Language Disorder

Mojtaba Norozi
University of South Carolina
Area of Study: Communication and Anxiety in Autism and Fragile X Syndrome

Denis Michael Rudisch
University of Wisconsin–Madison
Area of Study: Voice and Swallowing Disorders in Neurodegenerative Conditions

Marissa Russell-Meill
Boston University
Area of Study: Holistic Aphasia Recovery

Faith Stagge
University of Delaware
Area of Study: Language Assessment in Mild Cognitive Impairment and Dementia

Amy Stahl
Vanderbilt University
Area of Study: Auditory Neuroscience; Central Processing Disorders

Caitlyn Slawny
University of Wisconsin–Madison
Area of Study: Language Development in Bilingual Children

Peng Zhang
Purdue University
Area of Study: Language Processing and Recovery in Aphasia

Graduate Student Scholarships

Awarded $5,000 each

Maruf Md Ikram
PhD Candidate, Michigan State University

Qurratulaain Imran
MA Candidate, Drexel University

Claire Johnson
MS Candidate, Brigham Young University

Sophie Johnson
MS Candidate, Long Island University Brooklyn

Se-in Kim
PhD Candidate, University of Wisconsin–Madison

Morgan Linneweh
MA Candidate, University of Iowa

Estefania Narvaez
MS Candidate, Boston University

Siddhi Patel
PhD Candidate, The University of Texas at Dallas

Emily Rangel
MS Candidate, The University of Texas at Austin

Alayna Rowell
PhD Candidate, Case Western Reserve University

Tahreem Shakeel
AuD Candidate, University of the Pacific

Anna Soares
PhD Candidate, University of South Florida

International Student Scholarships

Kala Singh Memorial Fund
Awarded $5,000 each

Calisha Abdi
MS Candidate, University of Washington

Emmanuel Addo
PhD Candidate, Binghamton University

Sofia Hein Machado
PhD Candidate, University of Houston

Minority Student Scholarships

Minority Scholarship Fund
Awarded $5,000 each

Ever Curry
MS Candidate, Medical University of South Carolina

Raina Harpalani
MA Candidate, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Melissa Grasso Luna
MS Candidate, Rutgers University

NSSLHA Scholarships

NSSLHA Scholarship Fund
Awarded $5,000 each

Brooke Emerick
MS Candidate, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Ariel Sanchez
AuD Candidate, San Diego State University

Elissa Schiff
MS Candidate, The University of Arizona

Dr. Sadanand Singh Scholarship

Dr. Sadanand Singh Scholarship Fund

Awarded $5,000

Andrea DeFreese
PhD Candidate, Vanderbilt University

ASHA Research Conferences Travel Grants

Affiliation at time of award.

Samantha Ghali
Postdoctoral Fellow, Medical University of South Carolina
Postdoctoral Affiliate, University of Kansas

Steven Gianakas
Assistant Professor
Rush University

Katherine Marks
Assistant Professor
Emory University School of Medicine

Gabriela Meade
Research Associate and Assistant Professor
Mayo Clinic