Stephanie Grasso, Ph.D., CCC-SLP; 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. Her work also examines bilingualism as a contributor to cognitive reserve in neurodegenerative disorders affecting language and cognition.
Maya L. Henry, PhD, CCC-SLP
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.
Núria Montagut Colomer, Ph.D., SLP
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.
Diana F Cruz, MA, CCC-SLP
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.
Wenfu Bao, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow
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).
Miguel Ángel Santos Santos MD, PhD
Dr. Miguel Ángel Santos-Santos is a neurologist and research scientist specializing in behavioral neurology and neurodegenerative diseases, based at the Memory Unit of Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau in Barcelona. He trained in medicine at the University of Salamanca, completed his neurology residency at Hospital de Sant Pau, and furthered his research during a fellowship at the Memory and Aging Center at UCSF. He holds a PhD in Medicine from the Autonomous University of Barcelona and leads research aimed at improving early diagnosis and monitoring of disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, primary progressive aphasia, and frontotemporal dementia by identifying novel clinical, biological, and neuroimaging biomarkers. His work integrates cognitive, neuropsychological, and behavioral measures to better understand neurodegenerative syndromes affecting language and cognition.
Camille Wagner Rodriguez, MS, CCC-SLP
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.
Júlia Merce
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.
Estefanía García
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.
Currently, she works as a bilingual SLP in the 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.
Graduate Students
Giselle Yoshimoto
Giselle is a master’s student in Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences (SLHS), pursuing the Bilingual Certificate. She earned her Bachelor of Science in SLHS with a minor in Educational Psychology from the University of Texas at Austin in May 2025. Giselle has served as a research assistant in the MADR Lab since January 2022. During her capstone year, she completed an Honors Thesis centered on the development of RESPALDO, a culturally and linguistically tailored psychosocial education program for Latino and/or Hispanic care partners of individuals with language-prominent dementia. She is passionate about supporting communication access for culturally and linguistically diverse families, partnering with care partners, and creating materials that are both evidence-based and culturally responsive.
Katie Cole
Katie is a graduate student studying Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences (SLHS) with a Bilingual Certificate (emphasis on Spanish/English populations) at the University of Texas at Austin. She graduated from UT Austin with her Bachelor of Science in SLHS with a Certificate in Spanish for Medical Professions. She volunteered in the MADR Lab as an undergraduate RA during her 4th year. During the summer after graduation, she completed an internship for Women in Neuroscience, where she worked in the MADR Lab, learned from various experts in the field of neuroscience, and collaborated with her cohort. Katie is a bilingual, Mexican-American, first-generation college student and is dedicated to providing culturally informed speech-language pathology services and hopes to continue contributing to diversity focused research as an SLP.
Collaborators
Dr. Alexandra Clark
UT Austin
See Dr. Clark’s faculty profile/lab wesbite:
https://munalab.la.utexas.edu/
Jordi Matias-Guiu
Department of Neurology of the Hospital Clinico San Carlos
See Dr. Matias-Guiu's research profile
Jessica Deleon
UCSF Memory and Aging Center
See Dr. Deleon's profile at UCSF
Ana Luisa Sosa-Ortiz
Instituto Nacional de Neurología y Neurocirugía
See Dr. Sosa-Ortiz's research profile
Undergraduate Research Assistants
Ana Pau
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 Garcia
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 Aguilar
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 Bautista
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
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
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 Pakala
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.
Brianna Cervantes
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.
Anacecilia Pena Montalvo
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!
Jimena Cardenas
My name is Jimena Cardenas. I am from Laredo, Texas. I am a junior and am majoring in Speech Language and Hearing Sciences. I am an undergraduate research assistant at the MADR Lab, and work as a student assistant at the UT Child Development Center.
Alumni
Previous Undergraduate Students
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
Ricardo Rodriguez
Jimena Paguada
Previous Graduate Students
Paulina Guijarro
Liz Chinchilla
Alejandra Guzman Buitrago
Sonia Karin Marqués Kiderle
Maria Fernanda Quiñones Vieta
Jo-Ali Acosta
Andrea Mota
Jan Holst
Gary Robinaugh
Sonia Karin Marqués Kiderle
Rylee Manning
Previous Postdoctoral Fellows
Andrew Collins