The Moody College bridge

Aphasia Research Treatment Lab: People

Faculty

Henry_Maya_lab director

Maya Henry, Ph.D., CCC-SLP

Associate Professor
Lab Director

Dr. Henry is a speech-language pathologist by training. Her clinical and research interests lie in the nature and treatment of aphasia and related neurogenic communication disorders, with a special focus on primary progressive aphasia.

Stephanie Grasso

Stephanie Grasso, Ph.D., CCC-SLP

Assistant Professor
Lab Co-Director

Stephanie completed her master’s and doctoral training (mentor: Dr. Maya Henry) in the department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences at UT Austin. Her research investigates neurologically-based communication disorders within the context of bilingualism. She also examines bilingualism as a contributor to cognitive reserve in neurodegenerative disorders affecting language and cognition.

Lab Personnel

Carly Millanski

Carly Millanski, M.S., CCC-SLP

Research Speech-Language Pathologist

Carly earned a B.S. in Communication Sciences and Disorders from The University of Texas at Austin and a M.S. in Speech-Language Pathology from Texas Christian University. Prior to joining the Aphasia Research and Treatment Lab in 2019, she worked clinically at a post-acute rehabilitation center for patients with traumatic and acquired brain injuries. Her research interests include investigating treatments for aphasia and alexia caused by stroke or neurodegenerative disease.

Alexia Hampson

Alexia Hampson

Research Coordinator

Alexia works as a part-time Research Coordinator in the Aphasia Research and Treatment Lab. She is an undergraduate student in the department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences. Her research interests include neurodegenerative disorders and she hopes that her experience with the ART Lab will prepare her for her future career as a speech-language pathologist.

Lisa Wauters

Lisa Wauters, M.A. CCC-SLP

Doctoral Student

Lisa is a doctoral student in the Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences and works as a research speech-language pathologist at the Aphasia Research and Treatment Lab. She earned her BA in English with a minor in Linguistics from Boston University in 2009 and her MA in Speech-Language Pathology from UT Austin in 2016. She has practiced speech pathology in a variety of settings, including a rehab hospital, home health and private practice. Her primary areas of research include assessment and treatment of aphasia and cognitive-communication disorders associated with stroke, neurodegenerative disease and traumatic brain injury.

Rachel Tessmer

Rachel Tessmer, M.A., CF-SLP

Doctoral Student and Clinical Fellow

Rachel is a doctoral student in Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences and a clinical fellow in the Aphasia Research and Treatment Lab. She has a B.S. in Psychology with a minor in Linguistics and a M.A. in Communication Sciences and Disorders from the University of Texas at Austin. Her research uses behavioral, eye-tracking, and neuroimaging methods to investigate speech and language processing, category learning, and rehabilitation of aphasia caused by stroke or neurodegenerative diseases.

Gary Robinaugh

Gary Robinaugh, M.S., CCC-SLP

Doctoral Student

Gary earned a B.S. in Communication Disorders with minors in Linguistics and Spanish from Brigham Young University and an M.A. in Speech Language and Hearing Sciences from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Prior to joining the Aphasia Research and Treatment Lab, Gary worked as a speech language pathologist for several years in skilled nursing, private practice, and school settings. He is currently pursuing a doctoral degree from the University of Texas at Austin. Gary’s research interests center around aphasia caused by stroke or neurodegenerative disease, including treatment for multilingual individuals, analysis of connected speech, and multi-modal treatments for severe aphasia

zoe ezzes

Zoe Ezzes, M.S., CCC-SLP

Research Speech-Language Pathologist

Zoe has a BS degree in Cognitive Science with a specialization in neuroscience from UC San Diego and an MS degree in Speech-Language Pathology from Vanderbilt University. She provides speech and language therapy for patients with primary progressive aphasia (PPA) in the ARTLab and conducts diagnostic speech and language assessments for research participants at the UCSF Memory and Aging Center.

Collaborators

Maria Luisa Gorno Tempini's portrait

Maria Luisa Gorno Tempini, MD, Ph.D

Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco
Albalab

Stephen Wilson, Ph.D's portrait

Stephen Wilson, Ph.D

Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Language Neuroscience Laboratory

Pelagie Beeson's portrait

Pelagie Beeson, Ph.D

Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, University of Arizona
Aphasia Research Project at the University of Arizona

Borna Bonakdarpour's portrait

Borna Bonakdarpour, MD

Department of Neurology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
See Bonakdarpour's profile at Northwestern Medicine

ARTLAb_Lindsey

Lindsey Wineholt M.A., CCC-SLP

Clinical Collaborator,
Mulva Clinic for the Neurosciences, UT Health Austin
See Lindsey's profile at UT Health Austin

Lab Alumni

heather postdoc

Heather Dial, Ph.D.

Dr. Dial was a postdoctoral researcher with the lab and is now an Assistant Professor at the University of Houston.

Eduardo Europa

Eduardo Europa, Ph.D., CCC-SLP

Dr. Europa was a postdoctoral researcher with the lab and is now an Assistant Professor at California State University, Chico.

Karinne Berstis

Karinne Berstis, M.A., CCC-SLP

Karinne was a PhD student with the lab and is now a Research Scientist Associate at Dell Medical School.

Kristin Mendez

Kristin Schaffer Mendez, Ph.D., CCC-SLP

Dr. Mendez was a Ph.D. student with the lab and is now an Assistant Professor at the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences.

If you are interested in participating in one of our research studies, please visit our Participate page.

If you are a student interested in getting involved in the lab’s research projects, please email us!

Email: aphasialab@austin.utexas.edu​

Lab phone:
512-471-3420

Location:
The ARTlab is located on the main University of Texas at Austin campus in CMB 1.110.