Is a PhD in CSD right for you?

Dr. E. Susan Duncan:

In this session, Dr. Duncan will outline a career arc with a focus on transitioning from clinical practice to an academic role. The presentation will highlight motivations, rewards, and challenges encountered during the process of pursuing a Ph.D. as a practicing speech-language pathologist returning to graduate study after nearly a decade in the field. The session will also follow the past decade of academic work – including classroom teaching, research collaborations, publications, and mentorship of future clinicians and scholars – demonstrating how an academic career can extend and enrich, rather than replace, clinical practice.

In this session, Dr. Datta will discuss the various types of doctoral degrees available for professionals in Communication Sciences and Disorders as well as related professions. She will discuss nuts and bolts of deciding on a potential change in career and selecting a doctoral program, what being a doctoral student entails. Opportunities will be provided for attendees to reflect on their own motivations and experiences with respect a future in doctoral studies.

Dr. Mili Mathew

Dr. Margaret Shakibai

Dr. Erin Reilly

Dr. Kaitlin Brooks

In this session, four academic tenure track professors will be present for small round table discussions regarding the ins and outs of being a doctoral student. Attendees will be the opportunity to talk to multiple scholars about their research, scholarship and teaching and ask about the journeys that led to their current careers.

Bio:

Dr. E. Susan Duncan uses cutting-edge neuroimaging research to advance knowledge of short- and long-term plasticity underlying changes in language measures, as induced by brain stimulation and aphasia therapy. Past work has focused on identifying predictors and correlates of post-therapy improvement in chronic aphasia. Current projects study the impact of neuromodulation on language processes in individuals with aphasia and healthy controls to better understand the types of changes that can be facilitated in a brain recovering from stroke. This

work is currently funded by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders of the National Institutes of Health. In addition to a Ph.D. in Cognitive Neuroscience, Duncan has an M.A. in Speech-Language-Pathology from Queens College.

Disclosure: 

Presenter's Name: E. Susan Duncan

Title of Presentation: Finding My Voice in Academia: A Journey from Practice to Professoriate

I have the following pertinent relationships to the material presented to disclose at this time:

• Financial relationships: I am a salaried employee in the Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences PhD Program at the Graduate Center, CUNY.
• Non-financial relationships: I am currently serving as the Chair of the Board of Governors of the Academy of Aphasia

Bio:

Dr. Hia Datta actively publishes across a range of topics both intra and inter-professionally, her primary research agenda focuses primarily on investigating the brain bases of language processing in children and adults. She teaches courses at the undergraduate, master’s and doctoral levels in Neural Bases of Communication, Adult Neurogenic Disorders and Research.

She is an Associate Professor in Communication Sciences and Disorders at Molloy University. She is also the Program Director for the BS Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology program and Program Director for the PhD in Communication Sciences and Disorders. Dr. Datta obtained her Ph.D in Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences from the CUNY Graduate Center.

Disclosure: 

Presenter's Name: Hia Datta

Title of Presentation: Reflection: 5 Ws of doctoral education

I have the following pertinent relationships to the material presented to disclose at this time:

• Financial relationships: None
• Non-financial relationships: I am the Program Director for the Ph.D. program in Communication Sciences and Disorders at Molloy University, where this event will be held.

Hia Datta has a relevant non-financial relationship that she has disclosed above.

Bio:

Dr. Margaret T. Shakibai explores the neural basis of speech, language and literacy in babies
and children. She also focuses on understanding cognitive variables and access to
resources that impact recovery and quality of life in patients with communication
disorders and their caregivers. Dr. Shakibai is well versed in both behavioral and brain imaging methods, such as Event Related Potentials in exploring language acquisition in infants. Currently, she is engaged in understanding how yoga practices and language-based home activities impact communication changes for children and adults diagnosed with communication disorders, such as aphasia.

Disclosure:

 Presenter's Name: Margaret T. Shakibai

Title of Presentation: Round table discussions: Meet the experts

I have the following pertinent relationships to the material presented to disclose at this time:

• Financial relationships: None
• Non-financial relationships: I am a full-time tenure track faculty member in the Ph.D. program in Communication Sciences and Disorders at Molloy University, where this event will be held.

Margaret T. Shakibai has a relevant non-financial relationship that she has disclosed above.

Bio:

Dr. Mili Mathew focuses on improving the foundational knowledge about hand gestures as well as the interplays between linguistic and cultural factors in the production of gestures, in both children and adults. Her work currently explores the semantic and prosodic relationship between gestures and spoken language and its implications for treatment in persons with aphasia. Dr. Mathew is an associate professor at Molloy Communication Sciences and Disorders and completed her Ph.D. at the All India Institute of Speech and Hearing, Mysore, India.

Disclosure:

Presenter's Name: Mili Mathew

Title of Presentation: Round table discussions: Meet the experts

I have the following pertinent relationships to the material presented to disclose at this time:

• Financial relationships: None
• Non-financial relationships: I am a full-time tenure track faculty member in the Ph.D. program in Communication Sciences and Disorders at Molloy University, where this event will be held.

Mili Mathew has a relevant non-financial relationship that she has disclosed above.

Bio:

Dr. Erin Reilly centers her research on understanding language and cognitive differences in neurodivergent and “neurotypical” individuals. This work focuses on understanding both visual and social perspectives of neurodivergent individuals. Dr. Reilly also examines and engages in the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) in communication sciences and disorders, especially in higher education classroom settings. Recently, she has combined her passion for understanding individuals who identify as neurodivergent and scholarship of teaching and learning to start studying SoTL for neurodivergent college students.

Disclosure: 

Presenter's Name: Erin Reilly

Title of Presentation: Round table discussions: Meet the experts

I have the following pertinent relationships to the material presented to disclose at this time:

• Financial relationships: None
• Non-financial relationships: I am a full-time tenure track faculty member in the Ph.D. program in Communication Sciences and Disorders at Molloy University, where this event will be held.

Erin Reilly has a relevant non-financial relationship that she has disclosed above.

Bio:

Dr. Kaitlin Brooks is an Assistant Professor in Molloy University’s Communication Sciences and Disorders Department. Dr. Brooks obtained her Ph.D. in Speech Language and Hearing Sciences from Adelphi University. Dr. Brooks pursues investigations of neurogenic disorders such as aphasia, motor speech disorders and dysphagia, and their rehabilitation through community and interprofessional participation. Currently, Dr. Brooks is a co-PI on a recent federal grant awarded to Mercy University supporting the development of research infrastructure while investigating maternal mental health issues experienced by Hispanic mothers from the Health Resource Service Administration (HRSA).

Disclosure: 

Presenter's Name: Kaitlin Brooks

Title of Presentation: Round table discussions: Meet the experts

I have the following pertinent relationships to the material presented to disclose at this time:

• Financial relationships: None
• Non-financial relationships: I am a full-time tenure track faculty member in the Ph.D. program in Communication Sciences and Disorders at Molloy University, where this event will be held.

Kaitlin Brooks has a relevant non-financial relationship that she has disclose