I enjoy working with people who have aphasia, learning about aphasia, talking about aphasia, and thinking about aphasia. My research interests include examining circumlocution-use in people with aphasia, developing innovative treatment techniques to facilitate their language recovery, reducing the racial bias in our assessment and treatment practices, and creating/promoting culturally-responsive and inclusive assessment and treatment practices. Recently, I've been thinking a lot about ableism in the field of speech pathology, and how to combat ableism in my own practice and life.
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Hi! My name is Victoria and my pronouns are she/her/hers. I'm a speech-language therapist and research scientist.
From 2014-2018, I worked as a full-time SLP in acute care, acute rehabilitation, and an outpatient clinic. During those years, I was struck by the very real limitations of our practice, and the critical need for research to advance many practice aspects. I began formulating my own clinically-informed research questions—specifically about how to improve language treatment for people with aphasia and how to modify language assessment and treatment to reduce their cultural and linguistic bias. This is what ultimately pushed me to pursue a career in research. I earned a Ph.D. in Rehabilitation Sciences from the MGH Institute of Health Professions in July 2022. My dissertation work was titled, "The development and application of strategies in learning and aphasic language recovery." While completing my doctoral work, I also worked clinically on a per diem basis at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, worked as a teaching assistant for statistics and aphasia courses, and served as co-chair of the IHP's Students for Racial Justice in Healthcare. I'm currently a postdoctoral research fellow in the SCORE Lab at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, under the mentorship of Dr. Argye E. Hillis. I'm also a member of the ANCDS Race, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (REDI) Committee, and enthusiastically recommend the 2024 REDI Self-Study Course! When I'm not working, I'm likely reading, making an absurd homemade birthday card, testing out a new vegetarian recipe, or meticulously editing my Spotify playlists. |