Grants and Collaborations | Penn State College of Health and Human Development

Faculty in CSD are part of an active research community supporting the innovative and interdisciplinary mission of the department.

They are recipients of numerous prestigious grants and collaborate across Penn State and the local community to advance knowledge in communication development and challenges in speech, language, hearing, and feeding/swallowing, and to improve outcomes across the lifespan.

Our students, at both the graduate and undergraduate level, can engage with this research and learn from internationally recognized experts in the field of communication sciences and disorders. In these and other settings, CSD students not only discover whether they enjoy doing research, but also gain a better understanding of children and adults who have communication challenges.

Sponsored Projects

National Science Foundation (NSF)

Theme 6B: ALTStrong: Advancing AI Learning Technologies for Scalable Early Screening & Ability-based Intervention for Children with Speech and Language Related Concerns
Linguistic diversity across the lifespan (LINDIV): transforming training to advance human-technology interaction
PIRE: Translating cognitive and brain science in the laboratory and field to language learning environments
Collaborative Research: Enhancing Speech Science Training through Collaboration: Investigating Perception of a Variable Speech Signal

National Institutes of Health

Improving Literacy in Children Who Use AAC
A Physiologically Integrated Approach to Studying Mechanisms of Speech Production and Swallow Function in Down Syndrome
Evaluating Verbal Communication in Structured Interactions: Theoretical and Clinical Implications

National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR)

Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Augmentative and Alternative Communication (The RERC on AAC)

U.S. Department of Education Training Grants

Addressing Critical Training to Improve Outcomes in Children with High-Intensity Needs
AAC Collaboration Project at Penn State
Penn State AAC Doctoral Leadership Project

Veteran's Health Foundation

Optimizing and Understanding Semantic Feature Analysis Treatment for Aphasia: A Randomized Controlled Comparative-Effectiveness Trial

Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs

Home Telemonitoring of Bulbar Function by Acoustic Measurement of Swallowing and Speech Sounds in ALS

Parkinson Voice Project

SPEAK OUT!® Therapy Grant Program
Pennsylvania SPEAK OUT!® Therapy & Research Center

Penn State Center for Socially Responsible Artificial Intelligence

Transforming Augmentative and Alternative Communications with AI to Empower People with Complex Communication Needs

Campus and community collaborations

We strongly encourage the use of community advisors on research grants. In addition, we support a departmental research advisory group comprised of advocates and community partners in research to ensure appropriate representation in all that we do.

Community Partners

Graduate students and faculty build local connections by providing screenings and service delivery to:

Senior living, assisted living, memory care, and skilled nursing facilities
Early intervention
Preschools and daycares
Local school districts
Hospitals and private practices

Affiliated Projects and Centers

Campus Collaborators