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
Dr. Stacey Skoretz
PhD, CCC-SLP, SLP(C), R.SLP
Research Trainees
Robyn Jones
BSc
Masters Student
Details
Robyn is a student in the Master of Science Program 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.
Elisabeth Kang
BA
Masters Student
Details
Elisabeth (Elis) Kang is an MSc Speech-Language Pathology student at UBC’s School of Audiology and Speech Sciences. As a part of her graduate school journey, she is undertaking a research project furthering knowledge in early primitive oral reflexes and pediatric feeding. 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.
Effie Kao
Work Learn Project Assistant
Details
Effie Kao is a recent UBC Speech Sciences graduate with a minor in Education (Interpersonal Development). She aims to pursue her master’s in Speech-Language Pathology. She began volunteering at the Swallowing Innovations Lab in June of 2022, writing transcriptions for ongoing qualitative research. Effie currently supports data collection in Si-Lab’s Discovery stream, exploring cross-systems involvement during swallowing in healthy and critically ill populations.
Emily Klambauer
B.H.K.
Work Learn Project Assistant
Details
Emily is a student in the post-baccalaureate Diploma in Linguistics program at UBC. She also holds a Bachelor of Human Kinetics with a minor in psychology from UBC Okanagan. Emily is currently a speech-language pathologist assistant working to improve communication disorders in children. She aims to pursue a master’s program and career in speech-language pathology. Emily supports Si-Lab’s Discovery and Knowledge Translation streams, assisting in data collection and transcribing qualitative semi-structured interviews with patients with swallowing disorders.
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, SLP (C)
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.
Yifan Sun
MF
Work Learn Project Assistant
Details
Yifan is a 4th year student in the Bachelor of Computer Science program at UBC. She has great interest in virtual reality and 3D modelling, and has extensive experience in software development. Yifan is also experienced in academic research through previous work with Environment Canada, holds a Master of Forestry degree from UBC. Yifan joined the Si-Lab in October 2022 to assist in developing novel virtual reality tools for teaching swallowing anatomy and physiology.
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
Tahira Tejpar
BA, MSc, CCRP
Research Coordinator
Details
Tahira is a certified clinical research professional with the Society of Clinical Research Associates. She has extensive experience in clinical research study management, and is responsible for overseeing operations at the Swallowing Innovations Lab. Tahira graduated with a masters degree in neuroscience from Simon Fraser University and a bachelors degree in psychology from the University of Victoria. She is especially interested in patient engagement in clinical research, and anything brain-related!
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. 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)
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
Alison Wu, UBC Linguistcs
Lee Gellatly, SFU Linguistcs
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
Sadul Bombuwala, UBC Applied Sciences