The annual Academy of Aphasia meeting is the premier conference for researchers in the field of language processing and aphasia. Since the first meeting in 1963, this international meeting has brought together an interdisciplinary group of linguists, psychologists, neurologists, and speech-language pathologists to discuss the latest research in the field of aphasia, including theoretical, clinical, and rehabilitation aspects of this language disorder. The topics at the conference range widely but almost always cover all aspects of language processing including phonological processing, lexical-semantic processing, syntactic processing, orthographic processing, bilingualism, computational modeling, non-invasive and invasive brain imaging, language recovery, neuroplasticity, and rehabilitation. In this proposal, we aim to include two special initiatives that will take place during the annual academy of aphasia conference. The first initiative involves a formal mentoring program for young investigators entering the field of aphasia research. In this program, selected student/post-doctoral fellows from interdisciplinary backgrounds who are first authors at the conference are paired with a mentor. This mentor will provide specific feedback about the fellow's presentation and general mentorship to the fellow about research and academic careers. This program is currently occurring as part of the conference and has been growing at the annual meeting with very positive feedback. Additionally, a formal mentoring meeting will allow a structured format for discussion about a career in aphasia research. The second initiative will be a three hour seminar (New Frontiers in Aphasia Research) that covers the background and approach of a state of the art methodology (e.g., fNIRS, graph theoretical metric, machine learning approaches) that has an application to the study of aphasia. These workshops will be recorded and, consequently, uploaded to the academy website/youtube channel for dissemination to aphasia researchers and the public. This workshop will allow conference attendees to understand the conceptual and methodological aspect of a particular scientific approach that can be implemented in their study of aphasia. Given the highly interdisciplinary nature of aphasia research, these workshops will bridge the communication between aphasia researchers and scientists and experts who have developed new approaches to study the brain. This meeting already allows a valuable opportunity for cross-pollination of research ideas and will now provide a platform for the training the next generation of scientists interested in pursuing the nature of aphasia and associated language disorders in adults.
Approximately 100,000 individuals suffer from aphasia each year. The academy of aphasia is an organization of clinicians, scientists and practitioners who study this communication disorder and develop interventions to treat individuals with aphasia. The members comprise a very interdisciplinary group of linguists, psychologists, speech and language clinicians, neurologists and neuroscientists. The annual academy of aphasia meeting is the premier venue to share state of the art methodologies for application in the study of aphasia to improve the research in the development of diagnosis and treatment approaches to alleviate aphasia. This conference is also the ideal venue to educate and train the next generation of aphasia researchers who are well trained from a theoretical, technical and clinical standpoint and are committed to expand the impact of research in aphasia.
