A select number of undergraduate students in the Communication Science and Disorders Department at the University of Iowa are gearing up to gain valuable experience in a new research initiative. 

The Research Initiative in Science Education for Communication Sciences and Disorders program began earlier this semester and includes six undergraduate students studying speech and hearing science to dive into the world of research. 

Students participating can interact with various research areas, such as motor speech disorders, pediatric audiology, and language development.

The pilot program was first created by Communication Science and Disorders faculty members Elizabeth Walker and Mili Kuruvilla-Dugdale, who have continued to lead the initiative.

Walker said the program aims to provide paid research opportunities, academic support, mentoring, and professional networking in the field of speech pathology and audiology to undergraduate students.

“[The research] is broadly focused on communication sciences and disorders, but it builds on the research from the different labs that we have in the department, so students are working with faculty who study motor speech disorders like Parkinson’s or Huntington’s,” Walker said. “It’s kind of a whole mix of speech pathology, audiology, hearing science, speech science, and language science.”

When the Research Initiative in Science Education program was first announced, Walker said there was a strong interest and demand from undergraduate students interested in participating. 

She hopes the program will gain more funding in the future, allowing even more students to partake. 

“What I would love to see is to be able to sustain this since this is a one-year pilot program,” Walker said. “We received funding through the American Speech and Hearing Association to do the project this year, but I would love to find a grant mechanism at the federal level that would allow us to continue this product program for multiple years because I do think it’s a really great opportunity for students.” 

Kuruvilla-Dugdale said the Research Initiative in Science Education program is student-driven, aligning research interests with available faculty mentors along with additional support. 

“The primary goal of this research initiative is to provide three kinds of support for undergraduates,” Kuruvilla-Dugdale said. “One is academic and intellectual support through research, intensive training and multiple levels of mentoring, the second is to provide social-cultural support through professional networking and social networking events, and then the last one is to allow them to develop resilience, career, and professional skills.” 

Kuruvilla-Dugdale also discussed the motivation behind the initiative, which includes addressing the shortage of doctorates in communication sciences and disorders.

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“Our motivation was not just our big discipline, but even our smaller areas — we need to get students interested in these areas,” Kuruvilla-Dugdale said. “We want them to think about it and specialize in these areas so that we can sustain this profession and support the next generation of clinicians, researchers, etcetera.” 

In addition, the program also aims to enhance students’ critical thinking and research skills, which are essential for their future careers.

“I think that students who are able to manage a research apprenticeship or a research practicum, along with all of their coursework and other extracurricular activities, it helps them look good and helps them be competitive to get into these graduate programs for the field of communication sciences and disorders,” Kuruvilla-Dugdale said.

Keegan Nissen, a first-year student at the UI, is one of the undergraduate students participating in the Research Initiative in Science Education program.

“So far, it’s really exposed me to the world of research and sort of given me a sense of community within the CSD department and everything,” Nissen said. “It’s really given me good connections, and I feel a lot more comfortable with everything I’m learning and experiencing.” 

Nissen, who assists in Walker’s pediatric audiology lab, said the experience has introduced her to the field while allowing familiarization with specific terms.

As the program continues, Nissen looks forward to seeing herself grow from the opportunities. 

“I hope to gain confidence in myself as a researcher and a student experiencing new things and becoming comfortable in unfamiliar places,” Nissen said.