Assistant Professor
Lab Director

Dr. Stephanie Grasso completed her master’s and doctoral training in the department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences at UT Austin. She is a bilingual speech-language pathologist by training and her research investigates neurologically-based communication disorders within the context of bilingualism. In addition, her research examines bilingualism as a contributor to cognitive reserve in neurodegenerative disorders affecting language and cognition.

Associate Professor
Lab Co-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.

Bilingual Research Speech-Language Pathologist

Camille works as a Bilingual Speech Language Pathology in the MADR Lab. She holds an M.S. in Speech Language and Hearing Sciences from University of Texas Austin, and an M.A. in English Linguistics from the University of Puerto Rico at Río Piedras. Her long term goal is to be part of the group of professionals elevating the standard of care for patients with neurogenic communication and swallowing disorders in the culturally and linguistically diverse Caribbean.

Bilingual Research Speech-Language Pathologist

Núria has been a Speech and Language Therapist (SLT) at the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona (Catalonia, Spain) since 2004. She received her Bachelor's, Postgraduate, and Master's degrees at the Universitat Autonoma and Universitat Ramon Lull in Barcelona. Currently, Núria works in an inpatient setting with patients in the acute phase at the Neurology,  Neurosurgery, and Stroke Unit, as well as  in an outpatient setting where she works with individuals with movement disorders, dementia, and other neurodegenerative diseases. She also collaborates with the Multilingual Aphasia and Dementia Research Lab (MADRlab) focusing on Catalan and Spanish-speaking patients. Her thesis research focused on Speech and Language Therapy in Primary Progressive Aphasia. Núria is passionate about different treatment approaches for improving or maintaining language, speech, and swallowing abilities.

Clinical Research Assistant

Maria Fernanda works as a Clinical Research Assistant in the Multilingual Aphasia and Dementia Research Lab. Her research interests include language transfer effects on bilingual treatment, bilingual language development, and disorders in the context of bilingualism. She is passionate about inclusivity and bridging cultural and linguistic divides in the field.

Bilingual Research Speech-Language Pathologist

Júlia is a Speech and Language Therapist (SLT) from the Hospital Santa Creu i Sant Pau (Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain). She completed a master's degree in Oropharyngeal Dysphagia at the Clinical School of Neuropsychology and Language Pathology and in Nutrition and Health at the Open University of Catalonia. Her clinical work initially focused on Augmentative and Alternative Communication Systems with individuals with cerebral palsy and neurodegenerative diseases. She continued her clinical practice in the hospital setting, predominantly treating dysphagia and aphasia. Currently, she works as a bilingual SLT in the Multilingual Aphasia and Dementia Research Lab (MADRlab) focusing on the evaluation and treatment of Catalan and Spanish-speaking patients. She is passionate about language, communication and swallowing disorders and her main goal as a therapist is to improve the quality of life of patients and their families.

Bilingual Research Speech-Language Pathologist

Diana works as a Bilingual Speech Language Pathologist in the MADR Lab. She holds an M.A. in Speech Language and Hearing Sciences from the University of Texas at Austin. She has a passion for developing new therapeutic approaches tailored to the needs of bilingual individuals with neurodegenerative disorders and implementing evidence-based practices in clinical settings, with a primary focus on elevating treatment outcomes and enriching the lives of those she serves.

Bilingual Research Speech-Language Pathologist

Speech therapist Estefanía García Hernández graduated from the Faculty of Health Sciences in Manresa (UAB). Afterwards, she completed a master's degree in Neurologopedia at the Clinical School of Neuropsychology and Language Pathology at the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau.

Her clinical work initially focused on the rehabilitation of language, speech, and swallowing in patients with aphasia, dysarthria, and dysphagia. She continued her clinical practice, specializing in the treatment of communication disorders in the pediatric population with functional diversity and the use of Alternative and Augmentative Communication Systems.

Currently, she works as a bilingual SLP in the Multilingual Aphasia and Dementia Research Lab (MADRlab) focusing on the evaluation and treatment of Catalan and Spanish-speaking patients. She is passionate about language and neurology. Her main goal as a therapist is to improve the quality of life of patients with Neurodegenerative diseases and their families.

Wenfu is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the MADR Lab. He completed a PhD in Speech-Language Pathology and Neuroscience at the University of Toronto, and a MSc in Linguistics at the University of Alberta. He is broadly interested in the neurobiology of language, with a particular focus on bilingualism and speech, across neurotypical and clinical populations. His current work is focused on establishing associations between bilingualism and the biological/neurocognitive bases of dementia (e.g., Alzheimer's disease) in Hispanic bilinguals. In addition, he is also involved in a project that examines predictors of treatment response in bilinguals with primary progressive aphasia (PPA).

Rylee is a PhD student in the Multilingual Aphasia and Dementia Research Lab. She completed a master’s degree in the Cognitive Neuroscience of Language at the Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language (BCBL) in San Sebastián, Spain. She also earned an M.Phil in Linguistics from Trinity College Dublin. Primarily, her research focuses on language disorders in bilingual speakers and treatments for aphasia resulting from stroke or neurodegenerative disease

Whendy Motta is a Speech Pathologist, she earned her master's at UT Austin. She holds a Post Baccalaureate Certificate in Communication Sciences and Disorders from Chapman University and a BA in ESL Education from Universidad Surcolombiana (Neiva, Colombia). In Colombia, Whendy spent several years as an English teacher for both children and adults and as a bilingual representative for a telecommunications company. Her research interests include bilingual speech pathology, bilingual language development, neurogenic speech disorders, and swallowing disorders. In her free time, she likes to go to the movies, relax by the pool, dance salsa, and spend time with her friends and family.

Sonia is a Speech and Language Therapist (SLT) from the Hospital Santa Creu i Sant Pau of Barcelona (Catalonia, Spain). She is planning on getting her PhD from UT Austin. She graduated as an SLT from the Autonomous University of Barcelona and the KU Leuven University (Belgium, Erasmus Programme) after having completed her graduate thesis on the study of the efficacy of the VISTA and LRT treatments in PPA. She works as a bilingual SLT in the Multilingual Aphasia and Dementia Research Lab (MADRlab) focusing on the evaluation and treatment of Catalan and Spanish-speaking patients. She also works closely with Dr. Miguel Ángel Santos-Santos, in the Memory Unit of the Sant Pau Hospital, Barcelona, currently developing an improved language battery to diagnose patients with PPA. As a multilingual herself, she is passionate about the study of language and neurodiversity research. Her main goal from participating in the MADRlab is to help patients maintain or improve their quality of life, with an optimistic and intensive practice approach.

Sant Pau Memory Unit
See Dr. Santos-Santos' profile at Sant Pau

Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco
Albalab

Department of Neurology of the Hospital Clinico San Carlos
See Dr. Matias-Guiu's research profile

UCSF Memory and Aging Center
See Dr. Deleon's profile at UCSF

Instituto Nacional de Neurología y Neurocirugía
See Dr. Sosa-Ortiz's research profile

University of Houston
See Dr. Dial's profile at UH

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

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

Dementia Research Centre,
University College London

Assistant Professor at the UAB Department of Medicine

Assistant Professor at the UAB Department of Medicine
See Faixa's research profile at

Medical doctor with clinical and research specialization in psychiatry, geriatrics and dementia

Linguistics from the Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro and Masters of Science from University of Texas, at Austin

Ana Paula is from Brownsville, Texas, and is a second-year Moody student. She is studying Speech-language and Hearing Sciences and minoring in Health Communication. She is an undergraduate research assistant for the Multilingual Aphasia and Dementia Research lab and is an active member of the National Student Speech Language and  Hearing Association. She is interested in bilingual communication development and disorders.

Silvia is currently a second year at the University of Texas from Dallas, TX. She is majoring in Speech, Language, Hearing Science on the speech-language pathology track. She is passionate about helping others and is hoping that her time at the Multilingual Aphasia and Dementia Research Lab will offer more insight on bilingual communication disorders.

Arely is from Eagle Pass, Texas, and is a freshman studying Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences at the University of Texas. She currently volunteers at the Multilingual Aphasia and Dementia Research Lab. She is excited about this opportunity and hopes to continue working to improve her skills in the world of healthcare.

Carmen is an undergraduate research assistant majoring in Speech Language Pathology with a certificate in Spanish. She is excited to join the MADR Lab because of its emphasize on multilingualism. She is a fluent Spanish speaker and hopes to improve her Spanish in a clinical setting. She is also a member of LSI SLO. She is interested in how bilingualism plays a role in disorders.

Jada Li is an undergraduate research assistant for the Multilingual Aphasia and Dementia Research lab from Katy, Texas. She is a second-year majoring in Linguistics and Plan II Honors. She is currently working towards the Elements of Computing certificate and is interested in the roles of linguistics and CS in the speech pathology field. In her free time, Jada likes to draw, write, and play guzheng.

Aaliyah Segura is from a border city called Eagle Pass, Texas, and is a sophomore undergraduate research assistant majoring in Speech-Language and Hearing Sciences on the Speech Pathology track with a minor in Educational Psychology. She is an active member of the National Student Speech-Language Hearing Association. She is deeply committed to supporting others, with a particular focus on disadvantage communities. In the future, she hopes to move back home and use her education to give back by offering essential resources and support to those who need it most.

Nandhini is a junior studying Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences. She is currently volunteering at the Multilingual Aphasia and Dementia Research lab, where she is excited to learn more about neurodegenerative disorders and how they can affect bilingual speakers. She is passionate about accessibility and equity in healthcare, especially for marginalized communities, and hopes her time in the lab will better prepare her for a career as a physician.

Ricardo Rodriguez is a second-year Speech, Language, and Hearing science undergraduate student at the University of Texas at Austin. He has explored diverse aspects of the field, including working with adolescents at developmental centers and shadowing medical speech pathologists serving older adults at Round Rocks rehabilitation center. Ricardo aspires to earn a Certificate in Spanish for Medical Professionals, with a goal of becoming a bilingual medical speech-language pathologist. His volunteer work at the Multilingual
Aphasia and Dementia Research lab has strengthened his bilingual communication skills and provided hands-on experience in audio clipping, data entry, and other research tasks - bringing him one step closer to his professional goals.

My name is Brianna Cervantes and I am from the bordertown of Eagle Pass, Texas. I am a second year undergraduate student pursuing a B.S. in Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences on the Speech Pathology track with a minor in Educational Psychology. I am currently an active member of the National Student Speech-Language Hearing Association and am excited to begin volunteering at the Multilingual Aphasia and Dementia Research Lab. Growing up bilingual showed me the importance of language in connecting people and cultures, and it continues to inspire me to pursue a career where I can support individuals in developing their communication and language skills as a bilingual speech-language pathologist.

Hello, my name is Anacecilia Pena Montalvo. I am a third-year student at the Moody College of Communication, majoring in Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences with a minor in Professional Sales and Business Development. I am from Mission, Texas, and I plan to pursue a career as a Speech-Language Pathologist. I am very excited to be part of the MADR Lab here at UT Austin because I will explore my passion for neurodegenerative disorders and expand my research skills!

My name is Jimena Paguada, and I’m from San Pedro Sula, Honduras. I’m currently a sophomore at the University of Texas at Austin, majoring in Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences. My dream is to become a bilingual Speech-Language Pathologist.Since a young age I’ve always loved helping others. I became passionate about ensuring language doesn’t become a barrier to care. I’m currently a volunteer for the Multilingual Aphasia and Dementia Research Lab, as a research assistant.

Gianna Cisneros

Reagan Price 

Adrianna White

David Carillo-Moran

Ariana Figueroa

Amy Perez

Maylina Hudock

Renata Aldrete

Ximena Zarate

Angela Guerrero

Adrian Martinez

Kaprianna Lopez

Leslie Brown

Kyleigh McAlister

Anna Su

Victoria Gandara

Ana Elisa Quiñonez

Abigail Barrientos

Shayla Fernandez

Ana Camila Gutierrez

Alexa Mierisch

Georgina Salas

Paulina Guijarro

Liz Chinchilla

Alejandra Guzman Buitrago

Jo-Ali Acosta

Andrea Mota

Jan Holst

Gary Robinaugh

Katie Cole

Andrew Collins