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Holly Storkel joins the NIDCD Language Program

Profile photo of Holly Storkel, Ph.D.

The National Institute on Deafness and other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) is pleased to announce the appointment of Holly Storkel, Ph.D., as program officer for the Language Program, part of the NIDCD’s Division of Scientific Programs. Dr. Storkel was previously a professor in the Speech-Language-Hearing: Sciences and Disorders Department at the University of Kansas.

Dr. Storkel’s expertise in language and language disorders includes two decades of conducting NIDCD-funded research on sound and word learning in children with phonological or language disorders. Her work has included theoretical and experimental research to understand the typical process of language learning and to uncover the nature of language disorders. She has also led clinical trials to develop efficacious behavioral treatments for children with developmental language disorders. Her current research focuses on pragmatic clinical trials and implementation science to move treatments into real-world settings so that more children with language disorders receive evidence-based, best-practice services.

Dr. Storkel’s extensive experience in judging the scientific merit of research in language and language disorders stems in part from four associate editor/editor-in-chief positions with different journals, two terms as a standing panel member on NIH study sections, and past and current work with the American Speech-Language-Hearing Foundation grant and awards program. She brings ample experience mentoring early-career investigators, including a role in the successful American Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s Lessons for Success Program; teaching a career development and grant writing seminar for doctoral students; and serving as the primary mentor for many Ph.D. students, including several who earned NIH F31 or similarly competitive dissertation funding.

She also brings administrative and strategic direction experience, including roles as a department chair, associate dean, and vice provost. Within these and other national leadership roles, she helped to create and advocate for just and equitable systems and processes.

Dr. Storkel received a bachelor's degree in speech and hearing sciences from Indiana University in Bloomington. She received a master's degree in speech-language pathology and a doctorate in speech and hearing sciences from the University of Washington in Seattle. She completed a clinical fellowship year during her doctoral program by working in a private practice specializing in language disorders in children. She was a postdoctoral fellow in speech and hearing sciences and cognitive psychology at Indiana University before joining the University of Kansas faculty in 2001.

Judith A. Cooper, Ph.D., who for many years has overseen the NIDCD Language Program, will continue to serve a leadership role as NIDCD deputy director and director of the NIDCD Division of Scientific Programs.

Dr. Storkel’s research and leadership expertise make her ideally suited to fill this critical position and continue to advance the NIDCD Language Program. She began her new role on August 15.

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