FACULTY

CORE FACULTY

Affiliated Partners

Danielle Brimo, PhD, CCC-SLP
Jean Rivera Perez, PhD, CCC-SLP
Ahmed Rivera Campos, PhD, CCC-SLP

Emily Lund

Associate Professor, Davies School of Communication Sciences and Disorders

Texas Christian University

Emily earned her B.A. in Economics and Spanish, her M.S. in Speech Pathology, and her PhD in Hearing and Speech Sciences from Vanderbilt University. Her research focuses on language and literacy development in children with language challenges secondary to other diagnoses, primarily hearing loss. Her research has been supported by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Foundation and the National Institutes of Health-National Institute on Deafness and Communication Disorders (NIH-NIDCD).

Prior to obtaining her Ph.D., Dr. Schuele practiced as a speech-language pathologist in school and clinical settings serving primarily young children with language impairments.

In the master’s program in speech-language pathology, Dr. Schuele teaches courses on child language impairment and speech sound disorders (offered annually) and directs the specialty track in school speech-language pathology. For the latter, she collaborates with the Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools to provide students varied school practicum and to sponsor the School Speech-Language Pathology Conference at Vanderbilt, held annually in early August.

Dr. Schuele’s research lab, the Child Language and Literacy Lab, is focused on the development of language and literacy skills in typical and atypical populations and on advancing the practice of speech-language pathology in schools. Their complex syntax research (a) documents the course of complex syntax acquisition in children with specific language impairment (SLI) as compared to typically-developing same-age peers and language-matched peers and (b) explores strategies for improving the complex syntax outcomes of children with language impairment. Their research on early literacy acquisition explores the effectiveness of phonological awareness intervention and the effectiveness of early readers that simultaneously promote decoding and listening comprehension. Lab members include Ph.D. students, master’s students, and undergraduate students as well as high school students from the School for Science and Math at Vanderbilt.

Site Director

Melanie Schuele

Jason’s research focuses on language, social, and behavioral development, and facilitating effective educator and system collaboration to support the uptake, implementation, and sustainability of adoptable and effective practices and programs in community settings. He uses a variety of research methods to address educational issues and inequities, including randomized experiments, observational measurement approaches, network analysis, mixed methods, and research synthesis methods. He is Associate Editor of Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, Remedial and Special Education, and Elementary School Journal. He teaches courses in language development, evidence-based instructional practices, research design, grant writing, and research synthesis methods. His research has been funded by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the American Psychological Association; he has been recognized research awards from the American Psychological Association, American Speech-language Hearing Association, and the Council for Exceptional Children.

Jason Chow, PhD

Associate Professor, Department of Special Education, Peabody College of Education and Human Development, Vanderbilt University

Associate Professor, Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Alyson Abel

Interim Associate Dean for Academic and Faculty Affairs, College of Health & Human Services

Associate Professor, School of Speech, Language & Hearing Sciences

San Diego State University

Alyson earned her B.A. in Psychology/Linguistics from Emory University, her MS in Speech-Language Pathology from Vanderbilt University, and her PhD in Child Language from the University of Kansas. Her research incorporates behavioral and neurophysiological methods to examine word learning and language processing in children with diverse language learning experiences. Alyson’s research has been supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Health-National Institute on Deafness and Communication Disorders (NIH-NIDCD).

Crystle Alonzo, PhD, CCC-SLP
Giang Pham, PhD, CCC-SLP
Sonja Pruitt-Lord, PhD, CCC-SLP
Ashley Sanabria, PhD, CCC-SLP