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.
University of British Columbia
director
Research Trainees
Katy Chen
BA
Masters Student
Details
Katy is a MSc Speech Language Pathology Student at the UBC School of Audiology and Speech Sciences, and also completed her BA in Speech Sciences and Psychology in 2020 from UBC. During her undergraduate studies, Katy conducted research with infant and pediatric populations, investigating early voice learning in 4 and 8 month old infants, as well as voice, word & sound recognition abilities in children with cochlear implants. For the past year, she has worked with individuals with chronic and neurodegenerative brain conditions at the Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, and is interested in studying dysphagia within this population during her graduate studies.
Robyn Jones
BA (Hons)
Undergraduate Research Student
Details
Robyn is a student in the post-baccalaureate Diploma in Linguistics program at UBC. Currently studying psychology and linguistics, she aims to pursue a master’s program and career in speech-language pathology. She has a professional background working in communications and the technology industry, and holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Victoria. Robyn joined the Swallowing Innovations Lab in June 2020.
Elis Kang
BA
Masters Student
Details
Elisabeth (Elis) Kang is a MSc Speech-Language Pathology student at UBC’s School of Audiology and Speech Sciences. As a part of her graduate school journey, she plans to undertake a research project furthering previous studies looking at patient and caregiver perspectives of dysphagia. During her undergraduate degree, Elis contributed to several projects in UBC’s Interdisciplinary Speech Research Lab, including the suppression of articulatory movements in the labiodentalization of Korean bilabial phonemes during smiled speech and changes in postural control of patients with Alzheimer’s disease.
Veronica Letawsky
MSc, RSLP, SLP(C)
Doctoral Student
Details
Veronica Letawsky is a PhD student at the University of British Columbia’s School of Audiology and Speech Sciences. Expanding on her master’s thesis, Veronica’s doctoral research is focused on exploring the link between swallowing physiology and salivary biomarkers in healthy and disease conditions. This includes investigating volumetric and compositional changes in saliva and how these changes affect swallowing physiology and perception in those with chronic autoimmune conditions like Sjogren’s syndrome. 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 has completed training in salivary bioscience at the University of California-Irvine’s Institute for Interdisciplinary Salivary Bioscience Research and has a diploma in linguistics from UBC and a BSc in biological sciences from the University of Alberta.
Ann Marie Schreiber
MScSLP, RSLP
Speech Language Pathologist
Doctoral Student
Details
Ann-Marie Schreiber is a PhD student studying the biomechanics of swallowing following tracheostomy and the science behind the implementation of evidence-based practice. 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.
Alison Wu
Research Assistant
Details
Alison is a Linguistics student at UBC. She joined the Swallowing Innovations Lab in February, 2021, and is helping with projects focused on salivary biomarkers and swallowing perceptions in autoimmune diseases.
Linda Wu
BA
Masters Student
Details
Linda is a MSc student in Speech-Language Pathology at the UBC School of Audiology and Speech Sciences. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Speech Sciences from UBC in 2021. She has an undergraduate research background in phonetics and has contributed to the investigation of postural control of speech articulators as well as acoustic state detection models and their potential clinical applications. She joined Si-Lab in August 2021 as a MSc thesis candidate.
Research Associates
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
Niki Oveisi
BSc, MPH
Research Assistant
Details
Niki is a recent Master of Public Health graduate from the University of British Columbia, and an incoming PhD student at the University of British Columbia, Reproductive and Developmental Sciences. At the Swallowing Innovations Lab, she assists in data analysis, survey development, and systematic reviews. Niki is interested in learning how her expertise in reproductive sciences can intersect with the field of audiology and speech sciences.
Tahira Tejpar
BA, MSc
Research Coordinator
Details
Tahira is a clinical research professional; her role at the Si-Lab is to facilitate and support ongoing research projects. She graduated with a B.A. in psychology from the University of Victoria in 2014 and a M.Sc in neuroscience from Simon Fraser University in 2017. Her Masters research explored the neural correlates of the auditory steady state response in Down Syndrome-initiating her interest in the field of audiology and speech science.
Karyn Newton
BASc
Research Assistant
Details
Karyn is a Research Engineer; providing bio-signal analysis and medical device support for the Si-Lab. She received her BASc in Electrical Engineering from Queen’s University in 2019, focusing on Biomedical Engineering and Signal Processing. Her previous work has focused on the operation and development of biosensors; including a pulse oximeter and scent detection system for her undergraduate capstone project..
External Affiliates: Clinical
ALBERTA HEALTH SERVICES
Andrea Benoit
MSLP
Speech-Language Pathologist
University of Alberta Hospital, Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute
Mini Kurian
MClSc, RSLP
Speech-Language Pathologist
University of Alberta Hospital, Stollery Children’s Hospital
Alysha Serviss
MSc(A), RSLP
Speech-Language Pathologist, Cardiac Sciences
Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute
Karolin Skogsrud
MSLP, RSLP, SLP(C)
Speech-Language Pathologist, Neurosciences
University of Alberta Hospital
FRASER HEALTH
Caren Carlaw
MA, RSLP, SLP(C)
Clinical Practice Leader, Speech-Language Pathology, Surrey Memorial Hospital
Clinical Assistant Professor, University of British Columbia
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
Erin Tschopp
MSc, RSLP
Speech-Language Pathologist
Clinical Practice Leader, Burnaby Hospital
Providence HEALTH
Tara Chen
BA, MSc, RSLP, SLP(C)
Speech-Language Pathologist
Clinical Instructor, School of Audiology and Speech Sciences, UBC
Rachel Kennedy
M.Sc, R-SLP, R-CORU
Speech-Language Pathologist
Clinical Instructor, School of Audiology and Speech Sciences, UBC
Indershini Pillay
MS, RSLP
Speech-Language Pathologist
Vancouver Coastal HEALTH
Tracey Findlay
MA, RSLP, SLP(C)
Practice Leader, Speech-Language Pathology in Vancouver Acute (GF Strong Rehab Centre, UBC Hospital & Vancouver General Hospital), part of Vancouver Coastal Health.
Clinical Instructor, School of Audiology and Speech Sciences, University of British Columbia
Stephanie Riopelle
MSc, RSLP, SLP (C)
Speech-Language Pathologist
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. Heather Flowers
MEd, MHSc, PhD, CCC-SLP, S-LP(C), Reg CASLPO
School of Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
Institut du Savoir – Montfort – A Knowledge Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada
The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada
The Canadian Partnership for Stroke Recovery, Ottawa, ON, Canada
Toronto General Hospital, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada (clinical affiliation)
Dr. Stephen Raverty
MSc, DVM, PhD
Dr. Meghan Sebastianski
BSc, MPH, PhD
Alberta Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research (SPOR) SUPPORT Unit Knowledge Translation Program
University of Alberta
Lab Alumni
Past Trainees
Post-doctoral Fellows
Dr. Arlo Adams, PhD, BSc (hons)
Dr. Camilla Dawson, DClinP, BSc (hons) MRCSLT, HCPC
Visiting Scientist
Masters Project Students
Nicole Anger, MSc, RSLP, SLP(C)
Reana Deng, MSc, SLP(C)
Geoff Fullerton, MSc, SLP(C)
Stephanie Riopelle, MSc, SLP(C)
Julia Varanese, MSc, SLP(C)
Orinna Yeung, MSc, SLP(C)
Undergraduate Research Students
Hirad Nourbakhsh, UBC Integrated Sciences
Jasmine Shi, UBC Integrated Sciences
Graduate WorkLearn Program Assistants
Courtney K Dorman, MSc, RSLP, SLP(C)
Allison Empey, MSc, RSLP, SLP(C)
Alannah Turner, BFA, MSc, RSLP, SLP(C)
Undergraduate WorkLearn Program Assistants
Harleen Kaur Hehar, BSc Candidate
Lisa Nguyen, UBC Speech Sciences