Below are some of the PhD-level faculty in Communication Sciences and Disorders and their primary research interests. Since all students will be assigned to a faculty mentor, applicants interested in areas listed below are more likely to be selected for the program.

Dr. Julia Hollister

Dr. Julia Hollister

Faculty Mentor
Research Interests:
  • Linguistic development and dissociations in preschool children who stutter
  • The impact of temperament and effortful control in children who stutter
  • Stuttering therapy treatment outcomes
  • Resilience and positive adaptation in families and children with communication impairments
  • Resiliency training outcomes
  • Fluency
Karen Mainess, PhD, CCC-SLP

Karen Mainess, PhD, CCC-SLP

Faculty Mentor
Research Interests:
  • Child language disorders
  • Speech sound disorders
  • Children with autism
  • Narrative development in diverse populations
Christina Nobriga, PhD, CCC-SLP

Christina Nobriga, PhD, CCC-SLP

Faculty Mentor
Research Interests:
  • Quality of life in voice and swallowing
  • Practice patterns in voice and swallowing
  • Perceptual rating scales in voice
  • Thickened liquids in swallowing
  • Other topics related to voice and swallowing (e.g., cleft palate)
Brian Sharp, PhD, CCC-SLP

Brian Sharp, PhD, CCC-SLP

Faculty Mentor
Research Interests:
  • Adult Neurogenic Disorders
  • Aphasia Therapy Approaches (e.g., forced use approach)
  • Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI)
  • Cognitive Retraining
  • Neural plasticity, adult stroke, adult TBI, etc.
Keith Wolgemuth, PhD, CCC-A

Keith Wolgemuth, PhD, CCC-A

Faculty Mentor
Research Interests:
  • Aural/auditory (re)habilitation
  • Child language
  • Reading abilities in children with hearing loss
  • Professional issues related to the SLPD Degree