News from the Long Island Doctor of Audiology Consortium

The Long Island AuD Consortium jumped almost 20-points in the US News and World Report’s latest rank of Best Audiology Programs. The Consortium is now ranked 50th across the nation of 70 accredited programs.

The jump in rankings is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the program’s faculty, staff, and students who work tirelessly in their research, academics, service and clinical experiences. The Consortium has always had a strong reputation of success in the New York Metro area. It is now being recognized nationally.

Dr. Shruti Deshpande was named an ASHA Innovator. Read Shruti’s story to learn how she uses innovation to advance her goal of serving the community by engaging students in CSD through a community-based participatory research model for scientific inquiry.

Class of 2022 students Camden Orologio and Pallavi (Pooja) Sobun won the American Doctors of Audiology Student Business Plan Competition with a $5,000 award. They presented their business plan live during the annual American Doctors of Audiology convention this week in Dallas Texas. They were one of four finalist teams nationwide.
Watch the video here

Congratulations to Dr. Shruti Deshpande, 3rd year AuD student- Shannon C, and Dr. Aniruddha Deshpande on the clinical-research poster presentation at #ASHA2022. Great job on your research that was selected to receive the meritorious poster award!

Congratulations to our AuD student Mansi Roy who received the American Academy of Audiology Foundation Student Travel Award Reimbursement (STAR) to attend AAA 2023+HearTECH Expo. She will present two posters with AuD Faculty Dr. Akshay Maggu.

Roy, M.S., Seiling, L., Rowell, T., & Maggu, A.R. (2023). Effect of interaction of learning schedule and cognitive performance on auditory training. To be presented at the American Academy of Audiology Conference to be held in April 2023.

Maggu, A.R., Roy M.S., & Giorgou, M. (2023). Testing the effect of cognitive performance on basic auditory processing. To be presented at the American Academy of Audiology Conference to be held in April 2023.

Congratulations to Dr. Shruti Deshpande who is the recipient of ‘The Faculty Research Consortium Excellence in Community Based Outcomes and Poverty Research Award’ for the year 2022 at St. John’s University.

Congratulations to our Long Island Speech and Hearing Association’s 2022 Joan Fox Award recipients: Adelphi University – Natalie Grodecki; Hofstra University – Michelle Kiedaisch; St. John’s University – Jada Quinlan.

Congratulations to our audiology professors, Drs. Aniruddha Deshpande and Akshay Maggu for receiving Hofstra University Faculty Research Development grants. Dr. Deshpande is looking at the micro-level analysis of tinnitus data on social media platforms and Dr. Maggu is investigating the dissociation of subcortical speech versus language processing via differential phonotactic sensitivity. Well done!

Congratulations to Dr. Aniruddha Deshpande on his new textbook ‘Tinnitus: Advances in Prevention, Assessment, and Management’ which is available through Plural Publishing.

Congratulating our very own Dr. Yula Serpanos, and our wonderful AUD students Jasmin Butler, Karina Nunez, and Lucia Gambino for their publication, “Adapting Audiology Procedures During the Pandemic: Validity and Efficacy of Testing Outside a Sound Booth”, published by the American Journal of Audiology: pubs.asha.org

Earlier this month, Dr. Jason Thomas (Clinical Coordinator of Audiology at Hofstra University) was an invited guest speaker for The Annual High School Senior career day at Hillside Arts and Letters academy in Queens, NY, as part of the medical & education professionals’ group.

Senior Interview Day provided High School Senior students the opportunity to compete for a mock internship and learn more about their interviewers’ careers. As part of the interview process, students presented electronic portfolios, including resumes, cover letters, references, and examples of outstanding work. Dr. Thomas was one of the 30 invited individuals who took time to interview the students, review portfolios, provide feedback, and help select a winner of the internship. Students were evaluated on the quality of the portfolio, professionalism, level of preparation, and overall presentation. In addition, students were able to learn more about the communication sciences and disorders, with a focus to the field of Audiology.

Initially community members and guests ‘interviewed’ students for an internship in their field of choice (several fields were invited ranging from law enforcement to performance art). The second part of the day served as a traditional career day event for scholars who are just beginning their career journey. Grades 9-12 learned about, audiology, Speech language pathology and working in the academic/medical field. As Dr. Thomas sat on several small panel talks about career paths, expectations and training for credentials in an intimate classroom setting.

Dr. Thomas believes that by introducing audiology in high school we can inspire future healthcare professionals. Many students may not be aware of audiology as a potential career path. By exposing them to this field early on, we can ignite their interest and passion for pursuing a career in audiology or related disciplines. This not only addresses the growing demand for audiologists but also ensures a diverse and dedicated workforce committed to improving hearing healthcare for all.

Dr. Aniruddha Deshpande is working toward fostering international collaborations via the initiative he developed called the Global Audiology Network. He will be visiting Guyana to help develop an audiology program. He will also be traveling to Poland to help Ukrainian refugees experiencing hearing loss.

Read the article. 

Dr. Aniruddha Deshpande was interviewed by NBC News about tinnitus.

Watch the interview.

Read Dr. Shruti Deshpande’s article in the ASHA Leader about the challenges of being an international AUD / SLP student.

Dr. Thomas participated in a DEI Speech IQ livestream conversation with Dawn Cotter Jenkins. If you missed it, you can catch the recording on DEI Speech IQ LinkedIn.

Congratulations to Drs. Doron Milstein and Rose Valvezan on their retirements.  Both are looking forward to spending more time with their families.  Welcome Dr. Akshay Maggu and Dr. Denise Passerieux.  Dr. Maggu comes to us from the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at Duke University.  His area of interest includes auditory processing. Dr. Passerieux made the short trip from Hofstra’s Saltzman Center to the St. John’s Speech and Hearing Center.