Graduate Women In Science

I am an English–Spanish bilingual, licensed (NJ, PA, and WI) speech-language pathologist and a tenure-track assistant professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-M). I am also a Principal Investigator at the Waisman Center and Researcher in the Institute for Research on Poverty at UW-M. My research program aims to improve the language, academic, and health outcomes of children through family-centered early intervention. My research spans a variety of groups including children at risk due to early environmental adversity and with communication disorders. This involves research on parent–child interaction as well as the development, implementation, and evaluation of clinician and parent-implemented early language and literacy interventions. I am a PI of two federal- (NIH/NIDCD 1K23DC017763; Alper, PI) and foundation-funded clinical trials (William Penn Foundation, 5-19; Alper, Hirsh-Pasek, and Luo, Co-PIs and The Vanguard Group, 2021-11; Alper, Co-PI).

What is your education/career background?

I completed my Master’s Degree in Speech Pathology and Audiology and Ph.D. in Speech and Hearing Science as a Presidential Fellow University of Iowa. I also completed a Graduate Certificate in Biostatistics. I have applied my biostatistics training to my own research and as a consultant for a clinical trial (NIH/NINR, 2R44NR016406-02; Hurtig, PI).

I subsequently completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Dr. Kathy Hirsh-Pasek’s Temple Infant and Child Lab. I was the lead postdoctoral researcher on a study developing a caregiver-implemented early communication intervention for socioeconomically high-risk caregivers and their 12- to 24-month-old children, Duet. I have expanded my funded Duet research (William Penn Foundation, 5-19; Alper, Hirsh-Pasek, and Luo, Co-PIs, and The Vanguard Group, 2021-11; Alper, Co-PI) as a faculty member. Specifically, we have adapted a Spanish version of Duet and are piloting (ongoing) remote coaching (Rumper, Alper, et al., 2021).

As an early career researcher, I have focused on building my independent research program. In 2017 I received an ASHA Advancing Academic Research Careers (AARC) awards. I was selected to participate in the ASHA Pathways (2018) and Lessons for Success (2019) programs. In 2019 I received a K23 Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Development Award (NIH/NIDCD 1K23DC017763; Alper, PI). My K23 research focuses on examining how parents’ language skills impact early interaction quality and training outcomes. I was a tenure-track assistant professor at Temple University prior to coming to Madison.

How have you navigated a career in STEM as a woman/underrepresented minority?

This is an ongoing process. I continue to grow and change as does society around me. As a queer woman in STEM I have encountered many barriers, but also had incredible mentorship and support. Ultimately, I can only control myself, so I strive to do my job in alignment with my values while advocating for others and systemic change. One thing that I’ve found very empowering as a faculty member is being able to model healthy work boundaries, attitudes, etc. for my trainees.

What advice do you have for women/underrepresented groups pursuing an education/career in STEM?

Dedicate time and energy to setting healthy boundaries—identify mentors who will support this.

What do you enjoy most about your career/current role?

I get to work with an amazing team of people—colleagues, students, grant agencies, mentees—who are motivated by the goal of improving health equity.

What does diversity, inclusivity, and equity look like to you in your job sector? How do you incorporate DEI in your position?

The principles of DEIAB are part of my personal and professional values. For me this looks a lot like pursuing personal accountability, modeling and supporting self-reflection practices for trainees, and fostering the resilience in myself and others that we need to keep growing and responding to feedback. I ask myself a lot if I am “walking the walk” and what I can change when I need to do better.

What is your favorite way to unwind?

Adventuring with my spouse and dogs is my favorite way to unwind. I love being outside, reading, cooking, doing yardwork, and house projects (e.g., painting, minor woodwork).

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