Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders

Doctoral Program

CSD Doctoral Students

	Ishan Bhatt Background Ishan completed his Bachelor of Audiology, Speech-Language Pathology - B.Sc (HLS) (2004-2008) and Master of Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology - MASLP (2008-2010) at Ali Yavar Jang National Institute for the Hearing Handicapped, Mumbai, India. He is working under Dr. Susan L. Phillips as her research assistant. Research Interests Ishan's areas of interests are Electro Physiology of Audition, OAEs, Genetics and Music Induced Hearing Loss.
	June Bethea Background June has been a practicing Speech Language Pathologist for more than twenty years. She is nationally certified and state licensed. June has worked in various settings including schools, skilled nursing facilities, and home health. She also has taught at the university level. Research Interests Her research interests include child language and literacy. June's faculty advisor and mentor is Dr. Alan Kamhi
	Mary Kristen Clark Background Mary Kristen entered the doctoral program in 2007 after working as a speech-language pathologist in North Carolina Public Schools. She received her Master of Science degree from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and completed her Bachelor's degree here at UNCG. Mary Kristen received the UNCG Excellence Fellowship in 2007. Publications Clark, M. K., & Nwokah, E. (in press). Play and learning in summer camps for children with special needs. American Journal of Play. Clark, M. K., & Flynn, P. (in press). Rational thinking in school-based practice. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools. Kamhi, A., & Clark, M. K. (in press). Specific language impairment. In O. Dulac, M. Lassonde, & H. B. Sarnat (Eds.), Pediatric Neurology Handbook of Clinical Neurology, Third Series. Elsevier. Clark, M. K., & Kamhi A. (2009). Child language disorders. In J. H. Stone & M. Blouin (Eds.), International Encyclopedia of Rehabilitation. Available online, http://cirrie.buffalo.edu/encyclopedia/article.php?id=31&language=en. Clark, M. K. (under review). Fostering motivation to read. Perspectives on Language Learning and Education. Peer-Reviewed Presentations Clark, M. K., & Kamhi, A. (November 2009). Boys' and girls' reading comprehension: Similarities and differences. Poster presented at the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Annual Convention, New Orleans, Louisiana. Smallwood, G., Bursuck, W., Bethea, J., Clark, M. K., & Rose, A. J. (November 2009). Implementing professional development for SLPs on reading instruction and RTI. Presentation at the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Annual Convention, New Orleans, Louisiana. Clark, M. K., Kamhi, A. (June 2009). The influence of prior knowledge on reading comprehension. Poster presented at the 16th Annual Meeting of the Society for the Scientific Study of Reading, Boston, Massachusetts. Clark, M. K., & Flynn, P. (April 2009). RtI and SLPs: From acquaintances to good buddies. Presentation at the North Carolina Speech, Hearing, and Language Association Spring Convention, Raleigh, North Carolina. Clark, M. K., & Kamhi, A. (November 2008). The validity of prior knowledge assessment in the QRI-4: Influence of gender, interest, and prior knowledge on reading comprehension. Poster presented at the American Speech- Language-Hearing Association Annual Convention, Chicago, Illinois.
	Ann Cralidis Background Ann received her bachelor's degree in journalism from Elon College and her master’s degree from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro in Speech-Language Pathology . She has extensive clinical experience in adult traumatic brain injury, aphasia, and dysphagia and has worked in hospitals, private practice, and skilled nursing facilities. Ann also has teaching experience at both the university and technical college level. She has been a guest lecturer at the University of North Carolina for the past two years in CSD 639: Prevention, Assessment, and Intervention of Communication Disorders in Late Adolescence and Early Childhood. Ann also chaired the speech-language pathology assistant program at Forsyth Technical Community College for three years. Research Interests Ann’s research interests are in the areas of adult traumatic brain injury and executive function. Her current projects include verbal fluency and written discourse in moderate to severe traumatic brain injury.
	Ashley M. Frazier Background Ashley entered the doctoral program in 2010. She received her Master of Science degree from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her Bachelor's degree from Oklahoma State University. Ashley received the UNCG Excellence Fellowship in 2010, and an Inclusiveness Award in 2011. She is currently the chair of L'GASP GLBT Caucus, an ASHA Multicultural Constituency Group. Research Interests Ashley's research interests include social-pragmatic language, discourse analysis, and gender in communication. Ashley's faculty advisor and mentor is Dr. Celia R. Hooper. Publications Frazier A.M. & Hooper, C. R. (in press). Language: Pragmatics and discourse. In R. Adler, S. Hirsch, & M. Mordaunt (Eds.), Voice communication therapy for the transgender/transsexual client: A comprehensive clinical guide 2d Ed. San Diego, CA: Plural Publishing. Frazier, A.M., Steckley, R., Masiongale, T. (2010, November). Ethical Service Delivery and Treatment Considerations: Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Population. Session presented at the American Speech-Language Hearing Association Annual Convention, Philadelphia, PA. Frazier, A.M. (2009). Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Populations: Serving GLBT Families in Our Schools. Perspectives on Communication Disorders and Sciences in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Populations. 16 11-19. doi:10.1044/cds16.1.11.
	Leslie Johnson Background Leslie graduated from the North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications, followed by a Master of Science degree in Speech and Hearing Sciences. She has clinical experience in adult neurogenic communication disorders, dysphagia, and cognitive-linguistic impairments. Leslie has been an active member of NCSHLA and has presented at the local and state level. Research Interests Leslie is interested in concentrating on disorders resulting from traumatic brain injury in adults.
	Betty Mabe Background Betty has been a practicing Speech Language Pathologist for more than thirty years. She is nationally certified and state licensed. She holds a Bachelor's degree from UNCB in Speech-Language Pathology & Audiology and a Master's in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of Virginia. She has been a pediatric speech-language pathologist for over twenty years in public schools, private practice, hospitals, neurology clinics, and as a member of a developmental diagnostic team. She is a fifth year doctoral student and works full-time at Wake Forest University School of Medicine in the department of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics. She is the assistant director for the Children's Developmental Services Agency at Amos Cottage. Research Interests Her research interests include motor-speech disorders, oral-motor skills and speech-language development in premature infants. Her mentors and advisors are Dr. Virginia Hinton, and Dr. T. Michael O'Shea. Publications Christiaanse, M.E., Mabe, B., Russell, G. Simeone, T. L., Fortunato, J., Rubin, B. (2010). Neuromuscular electrical stimulation is no more effective than usual care for the treatment of primary dysphagia in children. Pediatric Pulmonology,46 (6), 559-565. DOI: 10.1002/ppul.21400 Mabe, B., Christiaanse, M.E., Long, T. (November 2009). Neuromuscular electrical stimulation is no more effective than usual care for the treatment of primary dysphagia in children. Short session presented at the American Speech-Language- Hearing Association 2009 Annual Convention, New Orleans, Louisiana. Christiaanse, M.E., Mabe, B., Russell, G. Simeone, T. L., Fortunato, J., Rubin, B. (Neuromuscular electrical stimulation is no more effective than usual care for the treatment of primary dysphagia in children. Poster presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies 2009 Meeting Baltimore, Maryland.
	Jamila Minga Background Jamila earned her Bachelor of Arts in Linguistics and a Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her clinical experiences include acute, subacute, and skilled settings providing rehabilitative services to adults with neurogenic disorders. She is currently a Graduate Researcher in Dr. Lundgren’s Cognitive-Linguistics Laboratory at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro where she assists in data analysis. Research Interests Jamila’s primary research interests are in discourse deficits in adult neurogenic populations, right hemisphere brain damage (RBD), and traumatic brain injury (TBI). She is also interested in functional maintenance interventions for individuals with dementia, as well as augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) and cultural language analysis.
	Amy Spencer Background Amy has been a speech pathologist for close to 20 years and currently works full-time for the Winston-Salem Forsyth County School system. It has always been her goal to return to school and obtain a doctoral degree. She is finally working on reaching this goal by attending the UNCG CSD doctoral program part-time. She is in her second year of doctoral study and her faculty mentor is Dr. Alan Kamhi. Research Interests Amy's research interests include autism and social skills.