Difficulties in language development can cause children to fall behind academically and socially. Through her research with early language intervention and children with neurodevelopmental disorders, Dr. Liza Finestack is working to improve clinical practices and keep children from this population on track.

Sensory loss, or loss of vision, hearing, and balance increases with age and can be related to a decline in quality of life. By 2050, the Census Bureau predicts that the number of persons 65 years and older will approach 20 percent of the U.S. population. Sensory loss of all types is prevalent among aging people, accounting for a sharp decline in social engagement, and a significant reduction in socioeconomic potential.

“Once you find your passion and the piece of you that clicks, everything else falls into place.” That’s the advice of 2018 graduate Lily Obeda, whose double major in GSD with a Scandinavian & Finnish emphasis and speech-language-hearing sciences has prepared her for an exciting career in academia.

“You never know when the phone rings what you might be up to do,” says Director of the Center For Applied and Translational Sensory Sciences Peggy Nelson. What began as wind turbine research for humans took a turn when Nelson was asked to test some other subjects--ones with feathers.