PhD Awards and Recognition Ceremony - June 11, 2021

MGH Institute of Health Professions PhD in Rehabilitation Sciences AWARDS AND RECOGNITION CEREMONY June 11, 2021 6:00 p.m.

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MGH Institute of Health Professions School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences PhD in Rehabilitation Sciences AWARDS AND RECOGNITION CEREMONY OPENING REMARKS Teresa Kimberley, PhD, PT STUDENT SPEAKER Laura Elizabeth Toles, PhD, MS, CCC-SLP RESEARCH MENTOR REMARKS Dr. Daryush Mehta, PhD Dr. Jordan Green, PhD, CCC-SLP Dr. Robert E. Hillman, PhD, CCC-SLP Dr. Yael Arbel, PhD, CCC-SLP HOODING CEREMONY Katherine L. Marks Hartigan, PhD, MS, CCC-SLP Kaila Lauren Stipancic, PhD, MA, CCC-SLP Laura Elizabeth Toles, PhD, MS, CCC-SLP Jasmine Urquhart Gillis, PhD, MS, CCC-SLP PROGRAM AWARDS The Dr. David Krebs Doctoral Research Fund Award The Gregory L. Lof Dissertation Support Fund CLOSING REMARKS Teresa Kimberley, PhD, PT

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DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN REHABILITATION SCIENCES 2021 DEGREE CANDIDATES Katherine L. Marks Hartigan Research Mentor: Dr. Daryush Mehta, PhD Dissertation: Toward Improved Assessment of Vocal Effort During Activities of Daily Living Kaila Lauren Stipancic Research Mentor: Dr. Jordan Green, PhD, CCC-SLP Dissertation: Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Motor Speech Assessment and Intervention Laura Elizabeth Toles Research Mentor: Dr. Robert E. Hillman, PhD, CCC-SLP Dissertation: The Role of Daily Voice Use and Personality in the Etiology and Pathophysiology of Phonotrauma in Singers Jasmine Urquhart Gillis Research Mentor: Dr. Yael Arbel, PhD, CCC-SLP Dissertation: The Interaction between Implicit and Explicit Learning in Children with Developmental Language Disorder – Evaluation and Clinical Implications

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Katherine L. Marks Hartigan, PhD, MS, CCC-SLP

Dissertation: Toward Improved Assessment of Vocal Effort During Activities of Daily Living “Grit has two components: passion and perseverance.”

- Angela Duckworth I couldn’t (and wouldn’t) have achieved this goal without the steadfast support and love from my husband, Robert Hartigan. I owe much of my success to my parents, Kevin and Cathy Marks, who have always had faith in me to succeed, even when they did not understand the process. Their enduring love and support has shaped who I am today. I have an army of family and friends who have cheered me on throughout this process, and I am forever grateful. I’d like to acknowledge Dr. Laura Toles, who has persisted alongside me throughout the last four years and has been a beacon of light and a shoulder to cry on during times of struggle. I am so proud to be standing here today with you, celebrating our achievements. I’d like to acknowledge my colleagues and friends at the MGH Voice Center, and most of all, I’d like to thank the Scholararium for the laughter, tears, group chats, zoom meetings, and steadfast support. You all have become some of my very closest friends and I am so grateful. I’d like to thank the wonderful mentors I’ve had who have inspired me to pursue this PhD, in particular Edie Hapner, Juliana Codino, Adam Rubin, Kathy Nagle, James Heaton, and Marjorie Nicholas. I’d like to acknowledge the members of my qualifying committee, who challenged me to be a better researcher: Alan Jette, Sofia Vallila Rohter, and Jordan Green.

Thank you to Cara Stepp for your enduring moral support and mentorship. I’d like to acknowledge my collaborators and those who have helped me prepare for my dissertation: Annie Fox, Kaila Stipancic, Laura Toles, AJ Ortiz, Olivia Murton, Melissa Cooke, Kathy Nagle, Allison Aaron, Ali Verdi, Liane Houde, Brianna Williams, Megan Urbano, Charlie Nudelman, Eileen Miglio, Ariana Seidman, colleagues in the Stepp Lab at BU, and Amanda Fryd Siegel. Finally, I’d like to thank my dissertation chair, Bob Hillman, and my research mentor, Daryush Mehta, for the opportunity to pursue this PhD. I appreciate your mentorship and the contributions you’ve made that have helped me get to this point. In particular, I’d like to thank Daryush for his continual support and kindness from the very beginning. I feel very fortunate for your support and mentorship.

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Kaila Lauren Stipancic, PhD, MA, CCC-SLP

Dissertation: Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Motor Speech Assessment and Intervention “Only when our clever brain and our human heart work together can we reach our full potential.”

- Jane Goodall Thank you to all of the people who made my PhD experience so amazing – I feel extremely fortunate to have completed my studies alongside so many wonderful colleagues, mentors, and friends. Special thanks to Dr. Jordan Green and Dr. Teresa Kimberley for their unwavering support and guidance throughout the process. A little piece of my heart will always be in Boston at the IHP.

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Laura Elizabeth Toles, PhD, MS, CCC-SLP

Dissertation: The Role of Daily Voice Use and Personality in the Etiology and Pathophysiology of Phonotrauma in Singers “Words mean more than what is set down on paper.

It takes the human voice to infuse them with shades of deeper meaning.”

- Maya Angelou It’s hard to believe my time at the IHP is coming to an end. I would first like to thank the IHP for providing a comprehensive, interdisciplinary academic experience that has prepared me to become an independent researcher. I’ve felt nothing but supported from the PhD program, and I would specifically like to thank those on the executive committee for their time and dedication. I am grateful for Dr. Robert Hillman’s guidance over the past four years. He has provided support, encouragement, and kindness to me, and I am grateful for the time and effort he dedicated to my growth as a researcher. To the rest of my dissertation committee, Drs. James Heaton, Stephanie Sogg, and Nelson Roy, I am so grateful for the time and expertise you have provided to my project and my personal growth. Dr. Daryush Mehta has also provided steadfast support throughout my time here, and he always made me feel like an equal part of the team. To my scholararium peers, I don’t know how I could have possibly made it through these four years without AJ, Olivia, and Katie. I am especially grateful for my lab-mate, Dr. Katie Marks, who was the best person with whom I could have gone through this. Katie is selfless and encouraging, and her support helped me keep going.

Finally, to my amazing husband, Jonathan, and my two wonderful sons, Forrest and William, I can’t even begin to explain how much their support has meant to me. Jon was instantly supportive of moving our family across the country so that I could pursue this dream, and he never complained about taking up extra childcare responsibilities when I had evening classes or needed to work late to meet a deadline. I literally could not have done this without him, and I am eternally grateful for his support.

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Jasmine Urquhart Gillis, PhD, MS, CCC-SLP

Dissertation: The Interaction between Implicit and Explicit Learning in Children with Developmental Language Disorder – Evaluation and Clinical Implications Thank you to: The PhD program faculty and students The Executive Committee My Dissertation Committee: Dr. Marjorie Nicholas, the chair, Dr. Tiffany Hogan & Dr. Lauryn Zipse My amazing Research Mentor: Dr. Yael Arbel My family, dear friends, and husband

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PROGRAM AWARDS The Dr. David Krebs Doctoral Research Fund The Dr. David Krebs Doctoral Research Fund was established by family and friends of Dr. Krebs to honor his passion for the rehabilitation sciences. He was first and foremost a physical therapist who was also a biomechanist and who loved to do anything with tools and engineering. In addition, Dr. Krebs was a prolific contributor to research literature with over 200 publications and the recipient of many awards for his important contributions to professional education and research. During his time at the MGH Institute of Health Professions, Dr. Krebs was a staunch advocate for a PhD Program. The MGH Institute established a PhD in Rehabilitation Sciences in 2012. The Dr. David Krebs Doctoral Research Fund provides an annual award of $500 to a PhD student to support their scholarly activities and dissemination of research in areas related to motor function.

The 2021 Dr. David Krebs Doctoral Research Fund is awarded to second-year student Stephen Wechsler, DPT.

The award will support Stephen’s dissertation work on cancer-related fatigue (CRF), which aims to optimize individualized prescription of rehabilitative approaches for cancer survivors living with CRF to improve function and quality of life. Funds will specifically be used towards participant incentives and transcription of participant interviews in a study which aims to (1) quantify the relationship between CRF, balance confidence, and exercise selfefficacy, and (2) describe the lived experience of engaging in regular exercise in breast cancer survivors with persistent CRF through semi-structured qualitative interviews.

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The Gregory L. Lof Dissertation Support Fund In his 20 years at the Institute, Dr. Lof has maintained an unwavering focus on the wellbeing of his students and has strived to ensure they have the resources required to be successful.

He understands the importance of financial support as students work toward achieving their aspirations. It is with this devotion to student success that Dr. Lof helped to establish the Gregory L. Lof Dissertation Support Fund as his legacy at the Institute. The fund distributes one award of $1,000 per year to any PhD candidate to support their research dissertation expenses not covered by other sources of funding.

The 2021 Greogory L. Lof Dissertation Support Fund is awarded to second-year student Kristen Nunn, MS, CCC-SLP.

The award will support Kristen’s dissertation work in the area of aphasia which aims to (1) determine whether feedback processing, measured at the behavioral and electrophysiological level, is impaired in patients with aphasia and (2) determine if feedback processing predicts feedback-based nonword learning in patients with aphasia. Funds will specifically be used towards subject compensation for a study that will collect data on (1) learning accuracy at testing, (2) feedback processing measured using event-related potentials, (3) cognitive and linguistic skills that can influence learning.

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