Sept. 3, 2021

Faculty and students from Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences at the University of Missouri virtually attended and presented at the Missouri Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s 62^nd Annual Meeting & Convention. Two posters and one technical session received special recognition.

Undergraduate Poster Award: “A Comparative Study of Articulatory Performance among Progressive Dysarthrias”

Students: Alyssa Buie and Madalyn Michael
Supervisor: Mili Kuruvilla-Dugdale, associate professor

“Our undergraduate research apprenticeship allows students to be fully immersed in the research process from conceptualization of studies to data dissemination,” Dr. Kuruvilla said. “My students worked on this complex orofacial tracking project for 2-3 years, to determine the mechanisms that drive the articulatory impairments of different dysarthria types. It is very rewarding to see students become good consumers of and contributors to research!” Alyssa Buie shares, “I’ve truly enjoyed and valued my time working in Dr. Kuruvilla’s research lab. Through my entire research apprenticeship and this MSHA presentation, I’ve grown both personally and professionally.”

Undergraduate Technical Session Award: “The Use of Mental State Verbs by Preschool-Age Children Who Stutter and Their Mothers”

Students: Lauren Day and Lauren Tigner (pictured left)
Supervisor: Stacy Wagovich, department chair 

Dr. Wagovich shares, “I’m so pleased that these students have received this recognition for their work! This project has been a focus of our group for over a year. It focuses on how young children who stutter and their peers shift their attention to mental states, using works like think, know, believe, and understand, in the course of play-based interactions. The manuscript describing the research is currently in review.” Lauren Day said, “Presenting at MSHA was outside of my comfort zone, but I am so thankful that I did! I am really grateful for the experience I had working with Dr. Wagovich.” Lauren Tigner shares, “The MSHA conference was an amazing opportunity to share the research I helped contribute to here at Mizzou. Attending the conference and hearing about different research being done around the state was a great experience!” 

Honorable Mention, Graduate Poster: “Overview on Feeding an Infant with a Cleft Palate”

Student: Allison Walker
Supervisor: Anne Bedwinek, adjunct associate professor

Anne Bedwinek expressed enthusiasm for this recognition, stating that “Allison went above and beyond to present this vital information on the MSHA presentation platform. Our presentation benefitted SLPs who work with feeding issues and demonstrated the outstanding training of our students.” Allison Walker shares, “Infant feeding has been an interest of mine, and I’m glad Dr. Anne Bedwinek was willing to let me work with her on this poster and learn more about infant feeding with cleft palate. Though the [virtual] convention did not look the same as it previously had, I’m thankful that students were still given the opportunity to present.”