Research Symposium in Clinical Aphasiology

This application requests 5 years of additional support for a Research Symposium in Clinical Aphasiology, to be held within the annual Clinical Aphasiology Conference (CAC). Aphasiology is the study of aphasia, an impairment of understanding and producing language that results from brain damage. The CAC is the oldest and most prominent scientific meeting dedicated to research with clear implications for clinical assessment and treatment of aphasia and related disorders. Between 120 and 150 participants attend CAC each year, each earning an invitation by submitting an abstract of a completed research project. Participants include speech- language pathologists, linguists, psycholinguists, (cognitive) neuropsychologists, and neurologists who represent the world’s foremost investigators of clinically-relevant issues. The goals of the Research Symposium in Clinical Aphasiology are to contribute: (1) to the vitality of ongoing research in clinical aphasiology, via a coordinated set of keynote and topically-related platform presentations; and (2) to the development of new investigators. These student fellows will receive practice in presenting and discussing their own research or research plans, and will participate in several specially-designed mentoring opportunities. Evaluations of past Research Symposia have been highly positive and student participation at CAC has increased substantially due to the grant. The 2026 CAC (and Research Symposium in Clinical Aphasiology) is scheduled for May 26 – May 30 in Pittsburgh, PA. The 2027 meeting will be held on approximately the same dates in San Diego, CA. Invited speakers will present work on public health, community-based participatory research, and health disparities as applied to aphasia and related neurogenic communication disorders.