Spring 2024 SONIC Newsletterđź’š
This has been such an exciting year with many accomplishments! It’s time to reflect on our work this spring and share our summer plans!
MSU Science Festival!
On Sunday, April 14th 2024, the SONIC Lab presented at the annual MSU Science Festival. It was wonderful to connect with our community and provide education and resources to those who were able to make it. Aishwarya prepared a fantastic presentation about how speech is affected by neurodegenerative disease, Maura ran a table with lots of local resources for Parkinson’s Disease, Thea ran the “SEE YOUR SPEECH” station, and Brooke helped the littles make brain hats and paper larynxes. We can’t wait to do it again next year!
Thea helping a child at the “SEE YOUR SPEECH” station.
Conferences
Thea and Maura attended the Motor Speech Conference in San Diego, California this February. Check out their poster on automatic forced alignment use for dysarthric speech!
On April 12th, 2024, two of our undergraduate lab members, Brooke Emerick and Sara Cook, presented at MSU’s 2024 annual University Undergraduate Research and Arts Forum (UURAF). Sara presented on the acoustic profiles of amplification devices in Parkinson’s Disease. Brooke presented on music-based interventions used to improve communication in adults with aphasia. See here for more details!
On April 19th, 2024, many of our lab members attended and presented at the 2024 Michigan Speech Language Hearing Association (MSHA) conference in Muskegon, Michigan. It was so wonderful to connect with our fellow SLPeeps and see what research is currently going on in our field. Visit our presentation page to learn more about what Aishwarya, Maura, Sara, and Brooke presented.
Maura, Brooke, Aishwarya, Thea, and Sara at the 2024 Michigan Speech Language Hearing Association Conference in Muskegon Michigan.
Publications
We have three new publications in print as of 2024. Go check them out on our Publications page!
Congratulations all around!🎉
Congrats to Aishwarya for defending her PhD prospectus!
Congrats to Kelly for defending her Masters thesis and for her two first-authored publications in the American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology!
Congrats to Sara for accepting MSU for her Masters in speech-language pathology, beginning this fall!
Congrats to Sara for being awarded the Melchert Fellowship in Linguistics to attend the Voice Foundation Symposium this summer in Philadelphia! Here are a few words from Sara about the project she worked on this year.
“I've been immersed in characterizing the acoustic profiles of amplification devices tailored for hypophonia secondary to Parkinson’s Disease. In our latest research, we meticulously tested seven devices using pink noise, sustained vowels, and a standardized passage. The results unveiled a consistent trend: a decrease in low-frequency spectral energy alongside increases in mid- and high-frequency energy across all devices, though with notable variation. These findings carry significant implications, shedding light on the importance of device selection and emphasizing the pressing need for technological advancements in speech amplification for PD patients. I'm thrilled to present this work at UURAF, MSHA, and the Voice Foundation. Looking ahead, my summer endeavors will extend to recording and potentially analyzing data from patients with other conditions that could benefit from amplification devices, such as vocal fold paralysis or laryngectomies. Come fall, I plan to integrate these research findings, alongside auditory perceptual aspects, into my Master’s thesis, forming a comprehensive exploration of speech amplification and its therapeutic potential.”
Game on!
Maura Philippone, PhD student, has been hard at work designing a game to assist people with Parkinson’s put their speech therapy techniques into practice. Here are a few words from Maura on what she’s been up to this year:
"In addition to her role as Graduate Teaching Assistant for the Motor Speech Disorders class (CSD 865), Maura is actively involved in several research and professional projects. She is currently working on the Champ project, investigating clear and habitual speech in Parkinson’s disease with amplification devices, and is conducting a scoping review on serious games for neurodegenerative motor rehabilitation. Maura is also refining her CLEARLY! serious game prototype, which targets clear/loud speech in Parkinson’s disease, with the MI 830 team. The CLEARLY! game was recently featured and demonstrated at the 2024 MSU Game Development Showcase. She looks forward to ongoing collaboration with the SONiC lab, MSU CSD Department, and MSU Game Design and Development program!"
Coming up this summer:
New Studies!
This summer we will be running two new studies focusing on individuals with Parkinson’s disease! Study 1 is part of our upcoming “Parkinson’s Conversations” series in which folks will take part in a short interview answering questions about their experiences with their speech changes. Study 2 is part of our speech amplification device study series and involves coming into our lab to do all sorts of fun speech tasks. Contact us if you or someone you know may be interested in participating!
Grandparents University
This year the SONIC Lab will be leading a class at Grandparents University! Our class will be “Neurological Changes and Communication” and will take place on June 26th. We can’t wait to be a part of this incredible event. Learn more about Grandparents University here!