# Neurocognitive Approaches to Communication Disorders

> **NIH NIH T32** · SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $207,300

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
We propose a renewal of our training program in Neurocognitive Approaches to Communication Disorders.
We request 6 pre-doctoral trainees per year (no change from our current program). This training program is
designed to educate clinically sophisticated scientists who will apply their research skills to the study of
language and communicative disorders, and who will, likewise, apply their clinical acumen to their research
endeavors. The proposed program takes advantage of the rich intellectual resources available in the San
Diego, and in particular, the SDSU/UCSD Joint Doctoral Program in Language and Communicative Disorders
(the JDP-LCD). Our interdisciplinary training program, for the next five years, will be headed by our Training
Grant Executive Committee of senior investigators. The faculty responsible for training our Fellows include
21 mostly senior-level investigators with strong research and mentoring backgrounds. The program plan is
organized around three areas of emphasis: Child Language, Adult Language, and Multilingualism. Trainees
chose one or more of these emphasis areas, and also chose a `methods minor' from the following: Behavioral
Dynamics, for students who want to specialize in computer-controlled methods, including reaction time and
eye-tracking; Neural Imaging, for students who want to complement behavioral studies with neuroanatomical
and neurophysiological techniques, including event-related brain potentials and functional magnetic
resonance imaging; or Neural Modeling, for students who are interested in the simulation of normal and
disordered language and cognition using artificial neural networks. The training program will continue to be
focused on research with or directly applicable to clinical populations, while at the same time appreciating
basic science underpinnings. To this end, trainees are required to work with mentors who investigate clinical
populations, and are required to conduct such research. Furthermore, trainees are required to get direct
experience with two different clinical populations, through laboratory rotations with their mentors and other
faculty. Importantly, for those trainees who chose to become clinically certified speech-language pathologists,
a special clinical track is available.
KEY PERSONNEL
Abel, Alyson, Ph.D.
Barlow, Jessica, Ph.D.
Blumenfeld, Henrike, Ph.D.
Brown, Timothy, Ph.D.
Coulson, Seana, Ph.D.
Deák, Gedeon, Ph.D.
Emmorey, Karen, Ph.D.
Friend, Margaret, Ph.D.
Gollan, Tamar, Ph.D.
Halgren, Eric, Ph.D.
Holcomb, Philip, Ph.D.
Keating, Greg, Ph.D.
Love, Tracy, Ph.D.
Marinkovic, Ksenija, Ph.D.
Midgley, Katherine, Ph.D.
Müller, Ralph-Axel, Ph.D.
Nip, Ignatius, Ph.D., CCC-SLP
Pham, Giang, Ph.D., CCC-SLP
Pruitt-Lord, Sonja, Ph.D., CCC-SLP
Shapiro, Lewis P., Ph.D.
Townsend, Jeanne, Ph.D.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9969076
- **Project number:** 5T32DC007361-14
- **Recipient organization:** SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Tracy Love-Geffen
- **Activity code:** T32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $207,300
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2005-07-01 → 2022-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9969076

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9969076, Neurocognitive Approaches to Communication Disorders (5T32DC007361-14). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9969076. Licensed CC0.

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