# Academy of Aphasia Research and Training Symposium

> **NIH NIH R13** · BOSTON UNIVERSITY (CHARLES RIVER CAMPUS) · 2020 · $39,939

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
The annual Academy of Aphasia meeting is the premier conference for researchers in the field of language
processing and aphasia. Since the first meeting in 1963, this international meeting has brought together an
interdisciplinary group of linguists, psychologists, neurologists, and speech-language pathologists to discuss
the latest research in the field of aphasia, including theoretical, clinical, and rehabilitation aspects of this
language disorder. The topics at the conference range widely but almost always cover all aspects of language
processing including phonological processing, lexical-semantic processing, syntactic processing, orthographic
processing, bilingualism, computational modeling, non-invasive and invasive brain imaging, language recovery,
neuroplasticity, and rehabilitation. In this proposal, we aim to include two special initiatives that will take place
during the annual academy of aphasia conference.
The first initiative involves a formal mentoring program for young investigators entering the field of aphasia
research. In this program, selected student/post-doctoral fellows from interdisciplinary backgrounds who are
first authors at the conference are paired with a mentor. This mentor will provide specific feedback about the
fellow's presentation and general mentorship to the fellow about research and academic careers. This program
is currently occurring as part of the conference and has been growing at the annual meeting with very positive
feedback. Additionally, a formal mentoring meeting will allow a structured format for discussion about a career
in aphasia research.
The second initiative will be a three hour seminar (New Frontiers in Aphasia Research) that covers the
background and approach of a state of the art methodology (e.g., fNIRS, graph theoretical metric, machine
learning approaches) that has an application to the study of aphasia. These workshops will be recorded and,
consequently, uploaded to the academy website/youtube channel for dissemination to aphasia researchers
and the public. This workshop will allow conference attendees to understand the conceptual and
methodological aspect of a particular scientific approach that can be implemented in their study of aphasia.
Given the highly interdisciplinary nature of aphasia research, these workshops will bridge the communication
between aphasia researchers and scientists and experts who have developed new approaches to study the
brain.
This meeting already allows a valuable opportunity for cross-pollination of research ideas and will now provide
a platform for the training the next generation of scientists interested in pursuing the nature of aphasia and
associated language disorders in adults.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9944489
- **Project number:** 5R13DC017375-03
- **Recipient organization:** BOSTON UNIVERSITY (CHARLES RIVER CAMPUS)
- **Principal Investigator:** Swathi Kiran
- **Activity code:** R13 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $39,939
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-07-01 → 2023-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9944489

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9944489, Academy of Aphasia Research and Training Symposium (5R13DC017375-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9944489. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*