Boston Speech Motor Control Symposium

PROJECT SUMMARY Although speech production is arguably the most complex—yet routine—motor skill that humans perform, there are only two major conferences in this area. Both, we argue, occur relatively infrequently and are prohibitively expensive for many students, clinicians, and faculty members. Because academic conferences are an invaluable opportunity to make professional connections, disseminate findings, and exchange ideas, there is a need for more options to share research on speech motor control. The goal of this R13 application is to renew support for the Boston Speech Motor Control Symposium (BSMCS), an intentionally accessible and inclusive regional conference that augments current meetings in speech motor control. The research presented at BSMCS each year furthers the mission of the NIH by contributing to basic and practical knowledge surrounding the manifestation, causes, treatment, and prevention of disorders of motor speech production throughout the lifespan. BSMCS specifically draws on the high concentration of individuals in the Boston metropolitan area and areas surrounding Boston that are reachable by car and train; the conference is designed to reduce barriers to attendance for these individuals to effectively expand the pipeline of promising underrepresented minority researchers. This includes low registration fees, short conference duration (two days), access to on-site childcare and lactation rooms for working parents, and virtual attendance options. BSMCS additionally aims to continue decreasing barriers to accessibility and diversity, inclusion, and equity (DEI) to the field by providing travel awards to trainees (students and post-doctoral scholars). As a hybrid conference, BSMCS is also appealing to speech- language pathologists, who often face the challenge of funding the continuing education needed to maintain their clinical competency. Not only will BSMCS offer continuing education units to appeal to those in the clinical field (in person or virtual), but virtually attending BSMCS will provide speech-language pathologists with affordable access to high-quality emergent research, thereby facilitating the application of the latest research findings in clinical care. The primary purpose of this R13 conference grant proposal is to request funding support for travel fellowships, poster awards for selected trainees and early-career researchers, travel and accommodation expenses for out-of-town invited speakers, family care provider expenses, conference supplies (e.g., e-poster services), and administrative support in the coordination of BSMCS. NIDCD support will allow BSMCS to meet the goals of DEI and accessibility, thereby bolstering the pipeline of underrepresented minorities in speech motor control and exposing clinicians to cutting-edge research that can be applied to facilitate clinical care of individuals with motor speech disorders.