School of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences Impact Report FY23-24
College of Health and Human Services
School of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences
Fiscal Year 2023-2024
Dear Donor,
The School of Speech Language and Hearing Sciences would like to express our gratitude for your continued support of our students, programs, and research. Our School houses fve programs that serve over 700 students at the undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral levels. Our Speech-Language and Audiology clinics provide over 6,000 hours of clinical service to hundreds of San Diegans at no cost.
We are proud that our accredited clinical training programs were recently ranked highly by U.S. News and World Report. Our M.A. program in speech-language pathology was named the #12 program in the nation, and our joint doctoral program with UCSD in audiology (Au.D.) was ranked at #30.
Our joint Ph.D. program with UCSD had its training grant from the National Institutes of Health renewed, and we obtained a new doctoral training grant from the federal Department of Education.
Thank you for supporting our students and our programs!
Ignatius Nip, Ph.D., CCC-SLP Director and Associate Professor School of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences
Changing Lives through Program Support
Drs. Jolene Koester and Ron Lustig Endowment
The Drs. Jolene Koester and Ron Lustig Endowment for the Audiology White Coat Ceremony at San Diego State University signifes a profound commitment to the advancement and recognition of audiology students.
Administered through the College of Health and Human Services, this endowment supports the annual White Coat Ceremony. This pivotal event marks audiology students’ transition to clinical practice and underscores their dedication to providing exceptional patient care and service.
Living the Aztec Experience
Ashlie Pankonin, Class of 2024
Class Level: Graduate Student College: College of Health & Human Services, School of Nursing
Major: Joint Doctoral Program in Language and Communicative Disorders
To date, Ashlie has received almost 20 honors and awards. She has also attended nearly 15 peer-reviewed conferences and events, where she has presented her research.
Since December 2019, she has been a Research mentor to undergraduate and MA student research assistants in Dr. Alyson Abel's Language Learning Lab and Dr. JoAnn Silkes' Cognition and Language in Aphasia Lab.
She mentored fve undergraduate students in conducting literature reviews, data collection, and analysis. They showcased their fndings at the SDSU Student Research Symposium 2020, 2022, and 2024 and were awarded the 2024 Undergraduate Research Excellence Award.
"I'm most excited to apply the knowledge and skills I've gained in the process of earning my PhD to meaningfully and tangibly improving people's lives, especially the lives of individuals with language and communicative disorders. My frst opportunity to do just that will be during my SpeechLanguage Pathology Clinical Fellowship at Speech Tree Therapy Center, which I will begin this summer. I ultimately aspire to develop technology that supports early identifcation of language disorders, so I hope to use my PhD as a springboard for reaching that goal."
- Ashlie Pankonin
Ty Nguyen, Class of 2024
Class Level: Undergraduate Student College: College of Health and Human Services, School of Nursing
Major: Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences
I was a research assistant in Dr. Torre’s Recreational Noise Exposure and Auditory Function lab and Dr. Preminger’s Enabling Auditory Rehabilitation lab. I co-led my own research study through SDSU’s summer undergraduate research program, which investigated the efects of concert noise exposure on hearing. I also traveled to Belize to provide hearing and speech screenings/assessments to children.
I am most excited about starting a new chapter in my life with grad school and I hope to become an Audiologist once I get my doctorate’s degree.
Alicia Escobedo, Class of 2024
Class Level: Graduate Student
College: College of Health and Human Services
Major: Language and Communicative Disorders
In addition to completing my program requirements, I have also completed requirements to receive my certifcate of clinical competence in speech-language pathology.
Throughout my program, I was supported by various funding sources from the National Institutes of Health, including a competitive Ruth L. Kirschstein Predoctoral Individual National Research Service (F31) Award. Additionally, I was inducted into the Edward Alexander Bouchet Graduate Honor Society, which recognizes students who are traditionally underrepresented in the academy.
I am looking forward to starting a new chapter in my career, as I will start as a new tenure-track faculty member at California State University, San Bernardino. I hope to continue my research in reducing health disparities in culturally and linguistically diverse populations, mentoring future speechlanguage pathologists, and empowering bilingual communities.
Celebrating Shared Success
Recent Rankings
#1 ranked Speech Language Program in California
#1 ranked program in Audiology in CA
Statistics of Interest
Only Ph.D. program in Language and Communicative Disorders in CA.
16 research labs to study under 9 programs and certifcates
Speech Language and Audiology program ranked #1 in California
One of a Kind
Only Ph.D. program in Language and Communicative Disorders in CA
Helping to Build a Brighter Future
Teresa
Girolamo, Ph.D.
Title: Assistant Professor, Speech Language and Director of Brain, Environment, and Language Lab College: College of Health and Human Services Achievement: Over the past year, Dr. Girolamo has conducted an American Speech-Language-Hearing Foundation community-based participatory project to understand how social determinants of health shape the transition to adulthood in autistic individuals.
Since beginning in January '23, this funded work has supported a strong transition to SDSU, with 8 refereed journal articles and 23 articles overall. Dr. Girolamo has also worked with students to engage communities, resulting in 100% engagement across campus and in new community partners.
Additionally, Dr. Girolamo is collaborating with CAHELP JPA to develop a community-driven study on interprofessional training for speech-language pathologists and speechlanguage pathology assistants serving students who use augmentative and alternative communication in the Desert Mountain region. As a former special education teacher and nontraditional student, Dr. Girolamo's experiences have shaped her commitment to community-based participatory research and mentorship.
"I am fortunate to mentor wonderful students in the lab and to have found a strong community of people, campus ofces, and organizations committed to quality education, research, and training who lead by example. With support from Dr. Sonja Pruitt-Lord, Ph.D. student Alicia Escobedo, and SLHS undergraduate adviser Taylor Hye, I was able to build a productive environment where all students can thrive. In under a year, student outcomes include: two successful applications to San Diego LEND, two student frst-authored national conference presentations, two student co-authored invited national conference presentations, two student coauthored manuscripts under review, and two summer research awards, including 1 CSU STEM-Net award. In addition, students have been pivotal in community outreach, whether 6:00 am roll-call briefngs with the University Police Department, continuing medical education seminars, or community workshops with Mentoring Autistic Minds."
- Dr. Girolamo
Faculty Achievements
Laura Coco, AuD, Ph.D., CCC-A
Title: Assistant Professor, Audiology College: College of Health and Human Services
Achievement: I recently published a paper in the Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health on the topic of preventing noise-induced hearing loss in farmworkers in the US Southwest.
This publication is available for open access and is coauthored by AuD student Gabriel Campuzano and SLHS undergraduate alum Gabriela Sanchez.
One major highlight of my job is when students connect with the research and course material on a personal level. This personal connection can help encourage students' motivation, curiosity, and creativity.
For example, several students in my lab and classes have family members who are farmworkers, and others may have personal experience with healthcare access barriers.
My own clinic, research, and teaching is motivated by my personal experiences as a CODA (child of a deaf adult) and seeing the challenges in communication access experienced by my deaf family members. So it's gratifying to see students also connect with this work and learn from their insights and experiences.
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Congratulations, Dr. Coco, on your recently published paper in the Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health!
