Explore teams of SHRS researchers and investigators working in labs across the school and our campus to drive health care forward.
The Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) and Brain Computer Interface (BCI) iNNOVATION Laboratory (iLAB) conducts translational and implementation research to investigate the essential questions that impact communication effectiveness and efficiency using a wide range of innovative AAC interventions and technology. Our team is evaluating BCI EEG approaches as an alternative access method for communication. iLAB research involves interprofessional teams with end-user members. Language Activity Monitoring (LAM) tools and resources support the collection and analysis of multi-media language sample data essential to support standardization of performance measures and comparison among AAC treatment approaches and technology. Focus group, survey data and expert panels support the validity of factors influencing outcomes. Our goal is to leverage performance, usability and user satisfaction data to improve the standard of care and communication outcomes of individuals across the life span who benefit from AAC assistive technology.
The APC Lab studies how the auditory system processes speech in noisy environments, especially in cochlear implant users. The team’s approaches integrate signal processing, neuroimaging, bioengineering, acoustics and psychoacoustics.
Our lab aims to understand the development of brain systems that support language. Our research program employs behavioral and electrophysiolgoical methods to study the development of semantics, syntax, phonology and attention in children with typical development and children with communication disorders, specifically children who stutter.
Our focus centers on three areas:
PittNAIL’s research focus centers on clinical Natural Language Processing (NLP), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML) and Deep Learning (DL) methodologies and applications in health care. Our research goal is to leverage different dimensions of data (electronic health records, biomedical literature, health education materials, etc.) and data-driven computational approaches (NLP/AI/ML/DL) to meet the needs of clinicians, researchers, patients and customers.
The team members in the Communication and Cognition Lab conduct interprofessional, clinically relevant research aimed at improving communication effectiveness and quality of life for people with aphasia and other neurogenic communication disorders. Aphasia a symbolic processing disorder, typically caused by brain damage following a stroke, and characterized by impairments in multiple language areas including speaking, understanding, reading and writing. Stay up to date on our activities or connect with our aphasia community support group.
The Computational Deglutition Lab is an interdisciplinary research team consisting of speech-language pathologists and medical engineers at the University of Pittsburgh. Our lab aims to improve assessment, treatment and quality of life for people with swallowing disorders by using swallow kinematic analysis and computational modeling techniques. Current research work in the lab is focused on improving swallow screening techniques and biofeedback for dysphagia therapy. We use high resolution cervical auscultation to investigate the association between acoustic and vibratory signals and physiological events that occur during swallowing.
For general inquiries, email us at swallowlab@pitt.edu
For students interesting in getting involved, please contact Mandy Mahoney at asm100@pitt.edu.
In our lab, we implement an interdisciplinary approach to research by focusing on three specific areas: Digital Health, Health Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, and Health Information Technology Accessibility. Learn more.
HEAR Core focuses on the effect of untreated and treated hearing loss on older adults in terms of auditory adaptation and healthy aging. Our recent work has focused on effort as a meaningful measure of hearing and treatment. Our work has been funded through VA Merit Review grants, the Department of Defense, the National Alzheimer’s Disease Association, the University of Pittsburgh Aging Institute, and numerous Foundation Awards. Currently, the lab is focused on HearCARE: Hearing for Communication and Resident Engagement funded by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI). Read description.
We engage in both basic and clinical science to ask and answer fundamental questions about mind-voice pathways. Our vision is to build an unprecedented and data-driven social awareness about the intersection of voice, personal identity and social goal achievement, while leveraging this information to generate holistic causal models of the pathogenesis and maintenance of functional voice and speech disorders. If you wish to volunteer with us as a student research assistant, please email helou_lab@groups.pitt.edu with your resume, and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
The Pitt Health + Explainable AI (Pitt HexAI) Research Laboratory aims to make health care better through the power of explainable artificial intelligence (AI). From a computational perspective, our research focuses on engineering, implementing, validating and deploying cutting-edge fundamental and applied explainable AI algorithms and promoting their applications in health care problems.
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The Language and Brain Lab (LABlab) does research on the neural and cognitive mechanisms that enable people to understand and produce words and sentences rapidly and effortlessly, how these abilities are impaired following brain damage, and how treatment can improve these key language processes for people living with aphasia.
Our team works to improve the lives of people with aphasia through translational research by combining tools and approaches from psycholinguistics, cognitive psychology, counseling and technology. We seek to better understand how various “extra-linguistic” factors affect language performance, and we are working to develop more sophisticated technology-based aphasia interventions in order to improve access to quality aphasia care. Learn more.
The MVRC is a multi-disciplinary effort utilizing the talents of a wide variety of medical and engineering specialists, including: neurologists, otolaryngologists, psychiatrists, physical therapists, bioengineers, and computer and information scientists.
The Cognitive Performance Laboratory conducts clinical studies examining the associations among cognition, mood, and activities of daily living disability and interventions designed to ameliorate these influences, focusing on two areas. The primary line of research focuses on interventions designed to improve rehabilitation outcomes for individuals with changes in cognition and mood after acquired brain injury (stroke, traumatic brain injury). The secondary line of research focuses on characterizing current clinical and community rehabilitation practices for persons with acquired cognitive impairments and implementing evidence-based practices to optimize patient, provider, and health system outcomes.
Laboratory Projects:
The Productive Aging Laboratory conducts studies examining the implementation and effectiveness of evidence-based programs to reduce disability and promote aging-in-place for older adults. Primary research interests focus on use of behavioral strategies (e.g., goal attainment scaling, self-efficacy enhancing activities) in geriatric prevention programs and on client-centered interventions to reduce disability and prevent adverse events in older adults. Secondary research interests examine client-centered strategies for incorporating increased physical activity into the daily habits and routines of older adults. This laboratory is affiliated and in collaboration with the University of Pittsburgh Healthy Home Laboratory.
Laboratory Projects:
The Pediatric Health Promotion Laboratory conducts clinical studies examining the relationships among early child health and development, family-centered interventions that promote child health, and novel approaches to intervention delivery in the community. Primarily, our research focuses on the development of pragmatic, family-based interventions to advance child performance and enhance development through exploration and play. Interventions are embedded within daily routines and feature innovative approaches to parent-coaching and behavior change. Secondarily, our research focuses on reducing health disparities observed during childhood and the prevention of secondary conditions for children with disabilities.
Laboratory Projects:
The PT-CTRC provides consistent, high quality physical-performance testing and rehabilitation services to clinical and translational researchers.
To request information regarding the PT-CTRC, please contact Dr. Alexandra Gil.
The purpose of this research project is to provide counseling services to promote wellness at no cost to local emergency responders. We are providing evidence-based treatment delivered by providers who are trained in emergency response cultural awareness. Specifically, we are providing a type of talk therapy known as cognitive behavioral therapy. This treatment approach has extensive evidence supporting its effectiveness for the types of problems that emergency responders are most likely to experience. These include anxiety, depressed mood, posttraumatic stress, and over-reliance on alcohol. This treatment approach is adapted to meet the needs of each person. You and your therapist would decide on your treatment goals. Services are provided either via video conference or in person at the University of Pittsburgh based on your preference and in accordance with Pitt’s guidelines regarding the pandemic.
Your involvement would include receiving treatment, consisting of one hour talk therapy sessions about once/week. You would receive between 8 and 20 sessions, depending on your needs. You will also be asked to complete online questionnaires three times: before treatment, right after treatment, and a follow-up assessment about 3 months after treatment ends. The questionnaires will take about 30 minutes. They help track progress toward your goals and help us determine how effective this treatment is and whether it should be made more broadly available to emergency responders. All information regarding your treatment will be confidential. Your employer will not have access to any of this information. The treatment is provided by advanced graduate students in mental health or recent graduates working toward their licensure. These treatment providers are closely supervised by Eric Meyer, the project director, a licensed psychologist and professor of counseling who has extensive experience working with emergency responders. Participants will be compensated for completing the questionnaires: $30 at pre-treatment, $50 at post-treatment, and $40 at the follow-up assessment for a total of $120.
Contact us at (412) 624-4004 or firstresponderwellness@pitt.edu to inquire about receiving services.
The Pittsburgh Translational Aphasia Research Initiative (PTARI), is a multi-lab collaboration which aims to leverage existing Communication Science and Disorders and Pittsburgh-area strengths in aphasia research and clinical translation to address these critical public-health problems. We work to enhance and accelerate progress in translational aphasia research and support the Pittsburgh aphasia community and engage them as collaborators and stakeholders in translational aphasia.
Collaborating labs include the:
Contact us:
412-648-3273
PTARI@groups.pitt.edu
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The Prosper in Participation Laboratory conducts clinical studies examining factors that influence independent living for older adults that are at-risk for disability. Factors examined include changes in mood and cognition, as well as informal caregiver support. The primary line of research focuses on the examination of non-pharmacological interventions to support independence among older adults who are at-risk for dementia due to Mild Cognitive Impairment. The secondary line of research examines the needs and potential interventions to support caregivers for individuals at-risk for or with complex disabilities.
The Rehabilitation Health Services Research Laboratory engages in research that examines healthcare access, quality of care, and outcomes across the care continuum (e.g., post-acute care, long-term care). The primary research focus is on health inequity and includes (a) quantifying current care delivery utilization, practices, and their relationship to desired patient and health system outcomes; (b) exploring the lived experiences of patients, family caregivers, providers, administration, health system leadership, and other key community partners; and (c) evaluating approaches for enhancing the dissemination and implementation of best practices into practice.
Our team works to reveal and explain the brain mechanisms that support speech planning and production. Learn more.
The Systems Neuroscience of Auditory Perception Lab (SNAPlab) investigates how sound information is encoded and analyzed by our ears and brains in complex/noisy environments such as crowded restaurants and busy streets. By understanding not only successful hearing in these settings, but also how it can be disrupted in diverse forms of hearing loss and in individuals with neuropsychiatric disorders, the lab seeks to advance precision diagnostics for hearing problems, and improve assistive devices such hearing aids, cochlear implants and brain-machine interfaces.
The BPL aims to investigate health disparities by developing equitable assessment procedures for bilingual, Latinx preschoolers to increase access and reduce discrimination.
The primary interest of our lab is in understanding how the peripheral auditory system and the central auditory pathway interact in various forms of hearing loss. The research program integrates study of human clinical populations and animal models, using non-invasive, EEG-like evoked potentials as the translational bridge. The overall goal is to inform diagnosis and track the benefits of interventional therapies in clinical populations with hearing loss by utilizing insights obtained from animal models with similar forms of pathology. Learn more.
In the Trauma, Resilience and Recovery Lab, we conduct both observational and intervention research to study the process of adaption to psychological trauma exposure through three inter-related questions:
Our approach involves embracing the complexity of post-trauma recovery by focusing on complex combinations of co-occurring mental and physical health challenges. In particular, we seek to identify transdiagnostic factors that influence functional recovery processes across specific diagnostic categories including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, chronic pain, and alcohol and substance use disorders.
We focus on transdiagnostic psychosocial factors drawn from intervention models including “third wave” behavior therapies and contemporary forms of traditional cognitive behavioral therapy. These interventions are based on the integration of traditional behavior therapy with factors such as mindfulness, acceptance, personal values, self-compassion and emotion regulation.
The populations on which we have focused to date include people exposed to frequent psychological trauma through their employment such as active duty military, military veterans and emergency responders, as well as people living with acquired injuries including traumatic brain injury and stroke.
*Indicates trainee co-author.
The Vision and Perception Laboratory conducts clinical studies examining measurement and treatment of visual and perceptual impairments. The primary line of research focuses on measurement of unilateral neglect post stroke and examining interventions designed to reduce disability for individuals with unilateral neglect. The secondary line of research focuses on measurement of visual impairments and disability associated with low vision.
Our lab uses computational technologies to improve health care quality and health service access through Machine Learning, Mobile Health, Computational Modeling, Bioinformatics, and Privacy and Security.
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