This PhD Leadership training grant was funded by the United States Department of Education. The goal of this project was to prepare six pre-service doctoral students in speech-language pathology to be highly qualified in meeting the language and literacy needs of preschool and elementary school children with speech-language impairment through research, teaching, and service delivery. As such, the project provided trainees with theoretical and practical knowledge on the complicated issues associated with speech-language and literacy services and research and prepared trainees to evaluate the effectiveness of scientifically-based interventions, particularly on the language and literacy outcomes of children with speech-language impairment.
The students funded on this project included:
Jamie Fisher, PhD, CCC-SLP
Jamie completed an undergraduate degree at Tennesse State University and a master’s degree at the University of Cincinnati, both in speech-language pathology. Jamie worked in the public schools prior to beginning doctoral studies. Her PhD research focused on complex syntax development in children. Jamie's doctoral studies were supported by a Dissertation Fellowship from the Southeast Educational Regional Board. After completing her PhD Jamie developed an interest in dysphagia following a family member's illness. She developed expertise in dysphagia to complement her expertise in language and literacy. Jamie is the owner of Nashville Speech & Swallowing Specialists, PLLC (nashvillespeechandswallowing.com). She is an adjunct instructor who teaches in the dysphagia as well as language/literacy, currently at Jackson State University.
Dissertation: Complex Syntax Production in Preschool Teacher Talk - ProQuest
Hope Lancaster, PhD
Hope completed an undergraduate degree in psychology at University of Illinois at Chicago. She is currently a research scientists at Boys Town National Research Hospital. Hope Sparks Lancaster, Ph.D. | Boys Town National Research Hospital (boystownhospital.org). Following the completion of her PhD, Hope completed postdoctoral studies at Arizona State University.
Dissertation: Language disorder typologies: Clustering and Principal Component Analysis in the EpiSLI database - ProQuest
Emily Lund, PhD, CCC-SLP
Emily is a Triple Dore - 3 degrees at Vanderbilt - an undergraduate degree in economics and Spanish, a master's degree in speech-language pathology, and a PhD in hearing and speech sciences. Emily was a speech-language pathologist for several years at Mama Lere Hearing School, Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Emily's PhD research focused on children with hearing loss, including children with hearing loss who are learning Spanish and English. Emily is currently an associate professor at Texas Christian University and Associate Dean for Research, Harris College of Nursing and Health Science. Emily Lund - Harris College of Nursing & Health Sciences (tcu.edu)
Dissertation: Early Maternal Word-Learning Cues to Children with and without Cochlear Implants - ProQuest
Brian Weiler, PhD, CCC-SLP
Brian completed an undergraduate degree in English at Davidson College and a master's degree in speech-language pathology at Vanderbilt University. Brian was a speech-language pathologist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in the pediatric speech-language division for several years prior to beginning doctoral studies. His PhD research focused on grammatical skills in children with specific language impairment. Brian is currently an associate professor at Western Kentucky University. CSD Faculty and Staff | Western Kentucky University (wku.edu)
Dissertation: Tense Marking in the General Kindergarten Population: Is there Evidence of Bimodal Distribution? - ProQuest
Krystal Werfel, PhD, CCC-SLP
Krystal completed an undergraduate degree in early childhood at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and a master’s degree in speech-language pathology at Vanderbilt University. Her PhD research focused on language and literacy skills in children with hearing loss and children with specific language impairment. After her PhD Krystal completed postdoctoral studies at Vanderbilt University before joining the faculty at the University of South Carolina. Krystal is currently a senior research scientist at Boys Town National Research Hospital. Krystal Werfel, Ph.D. | Boys Town National Research Hospital (boystownhospital.org)
Dissertation: Contribution of linguistic knowledge to spelling performance in children with and without language impairment - ProQuest
Tiffany Woynaroski, PhD, CCC-SLP
Tiffany has an undergraduate degree in psychology from Valparaiso University and a master's degree in speech-language pathology at Vanderbilt Unviersity. Tiffany's PhD research focused on children with Down syndrome and children with ASD. After her PhD she completed postdoctoral training at Vanderbilt University and then joined the faculty in the Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. Meet Our Team | Woynaroski Lab
What awards did these scholars receive during their PhD studies?
Early Childhood Language Research Grant, American Speech-Language-Hearing Foundation (Weiler, Lund, Werfel)
Travel Awards to the Symposium for Research on Child Language Disorders (Weiler, Lund, Werfel, Fisher)
New Century Scholars Doctoral Scholarship, American Speech-Language-Hearing Foundation (Weiler, Lund, Werfel)
Jeanne S. Chall Dissertation Award, International Reading Association (Werfel)
Lessons for Success Conference Fellow, American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (Werfel, Lund)
Dissertation Fellowship, Southeast Educational Regional Board (Fisher)