Our Team
The Swallowing Innovations Lab brings together researchers, trainees, clinicians, and patients.
Our team approaches our research streams from unique perspectives, maintaining a dynamic and innovative environment. Our researchers, trainees and clinicians come from a variety of academic backgrounds and fields. We strive for clinical stakeholder and patient partner participation in all projects in order to maintain the clinical applicability of our work and facilitate prompt translation of our findings into practice, while keeping patients at the center of what we do.
director
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Dr. Stacey Skoretz
PhD, CCC-SLP, SLP(C), R.SLP
University of British Columbia
Research Trainees
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Veronica Letawsky
MSc, RSLP, SLP(C)
PhD Candidate
Details
Veronica Letawsky is a PhD candidate whose research is focused on understanding the link between swallowing physiology and salivary biomarkers in healthy and disease conditions. This includes investigating volumetric and compositional changes in saliva and how this may affect swallowing physiology and perception in those with chronic autoimmune conditions like Sjogren’s disease. In doing so, she is also exploring the utility of more in-depth saliva evaluations as part of swallowing assessments to inform dysphagia management. Veronica is a practicing speech-language pathologist and has completed training in salivary bioscience (Institute for Interdisciplinary Salivary Bioscience Research, UC Irvine).
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Ann Marie Schreiber
MScSLP, RSLP, SLP (C)
Speech Language Pathologist
PhD Candidate
Details
Ann-Marie Schreiber is a PhD candidate studying the biomechanics of swallowing in the context of breathe-swallow coordination. She received both her B.A. in Psychology and M.Sc. in Speech-Language Pathology at the University of Alberta. Ann-Marie has extensive clinical experience in acute care and rehabilitation hospitals in Canada, the UK and Australia, with a particular interest in critical care.
Adi Schlager
UBC Biomedical Engineering
Work Learn Project Assistant
Details
Adi is in his final year of studying for a Bachelors in Applied Sciences in the School of Biomedical Engineering. He is specializing in biomechanics and biomaterials with considerable interest in gross anatomy mechanics. He is exploring his passion for clinical research, and injury and disease mechanics through his experience in the Swallowing Innovations Lab.
Max Abercrombie
BKin, UBC Masters of Kinesiology
Work Learn Project Assistant
Alyssa Wee
UBC
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Emma Baecker
UBC
Work Learn Project Assistant
Details
Emma Baecker is a fourth-year undergraduate student at the University of British Columbia, double majoring in Speech Sciences and English Literature and Language. She is passionate about learning more about clinical research methods and their application in speech and cognitive sciences, with a particular interest in the development of dysphagia. When not working at the lab, Emma volunteers with Aphasia patients and with AMS Peer Support.
Raechel Kitamura
UBC
Volunteer
Research Associates
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Dr. Camilla Dawson
DClinP, BSc (hons) MRCSLT, HCPC
Honourary Research Associate
Details
Dr. Camilla Dawson is a Consultant Speech and Language Therapist at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, one of the biggest hospital Trusts in the UK, hosting the largest single critical care unit in Europe, with 100 bed spaces. Camilla is a clinical academic, working clinically within critical care, with people who have undergone surgical treatment of head and neck cancer and those with altered airways. Camilla is an Honorary Research Fellow in the Institute of Clinical Sciences at the University of Birmingham, and an Honorary Research Associate in the School of Audiology and Speech Sciences within the Faculty of Medicine at The University of British Columbia.
Camilla’s doctoral research explored dysphagia following head and neck cancer surgery in the acute phase of recovery. This work identified the perspective of the individual following reconstructive surgery and their requirements from the surgical and rehabilitation team to improve outcomes. Her post-doctoral fellowship at the University of British Columbia, under the supervision of Dr. Skoretz, explored post extubation dysphagia, the impact of tracheostomy on swallowing and novel comparative medical research investigating swallowing across species.
Camilla has published a range of qualitative and quantitative research with international multi-disciplinary research teams, exploring dysphagia, tracheostomy, patient advocacy, and COVID-19 outcomes. Camilla provides leadership, management and mentorship to a large team of Speech and Language Pathologists and clinical academics. She was the 2021 winner of the British Academic Conference of Otolaryngology Allied Health Professional award and is an invited speaker at national and international conferences exploring dysphagia.
Staff
External Affiliates: Clinical
ALBERTA HEALTH SERVICES
FRASER HEALTH
Dulcie Carter
BSc MMedSci, RSLP, SLP(C)
Speech-Language Pathologist
Clinical Practice Leader, Speech Language Pathology, Fraser Health
Clinical Faculty, School of Audiology and Speech Sciences, University of British Columbia
Reena Parhar
MSc, RSLP, CCC-SLP
Speech-Language Pathologist
Clinical Supervisor, Adult Inpatient, Surrey Memorial Hospital
Clinical Faculty, School of Audiology and Speech Sciences, University of British Columbia
Providence HEALTH
Vancouver Coastal HEALTH
Hillary Stahl
MSc, RSLP
Speech-Language Pathologist
External Affiliates: Academic
Dr. Sean M Bagshaw
MD, MSc, FRCPC
Professor and Chair, Department of Critical Care Medicine
Department of Critical Care Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry and School of Public Health
University of Alberta
Scientific Director, Critical Care Strategic Clinical Network,
Alberta Health Services, Alberta
Canada Research Chair in Critical Care Nephrology (2016-2021)
Dr. James L. Coyle
PhD, CCC-SLP, BCS-S, F-ASHA
Professor, Communication Science and Disorders and Otolaryngology
School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences and School of Medicine
University of Pittsburgh
Board Certified Specialist, Swallowing Disorders
Fellow, American Speech Language and Hearing Association
Dr. Stephen Raverty
MSc, DVM, PhD
Lab Alumni
Past Trainees
Post-doctoral Fellows
Dr. Camilla Dawson, DClinP, BSc (hons) MRCSLT, HCPC
Visiting Scientist
Dr. Arlo Adams, PhD
Masters Project Students
Nicole Anger, MSc, RSLP, SLP(C)
Reana Deng, MSc, SLP(C)
Geoff Fullerton, MSc, SLP(C)
Robyn Jones, MSc, BSc
Stephanie Riopelle, MSc, SLP(C)
Julia Varanese, MSc, SLP(C)
Linda Wu, MSc, BA
Orinna Yeung, MSc, SLP(C)
Undergraduate Research Students
Lee Gellatly, SFU Linguistcs
Hirad Nourbakhsh, UBC Integrated Sciences
Jasmine Shi, UBC Integrated Sciences
Alison Wu, UBC Linguistcs
Graduate Project Assistants
Courtney K Dorman, MSc, RSLP, SLP(C)
Allison Empey, MSc, RSLP, SLP(C)
Alannah Turner, BFA, MSc, RSLP, SLP(C)
Undergraduate Project Assistants
Sadul Bombuwala, UBC Applied Sciences
Joon Jang, UBC Computer Science
Effie Kao, UBC Speech Sciences
Harleen Kaur Hehar, BSc Candidate
Emily Klambauer, B.H.K
Lisa Nguyen, UBC Speech Sciences
Yifan Sun, UBC Computer Science
Matthew Wilson, UBC Computer Science