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(Washington, D.C. - November 12, 2007) Judith A. Cooper, PhD, deputy director of the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), National Institutes of Health (NIH), will receive the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association's (ASHA) Honors of the Association award during the 2007 Convention of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), November 15-17 in Boston, Massachusetts.
The Honors of the Association recognizes distinguished contribution to the field of speech, language, and hearing and is the highest honor the Association can give. Honored individuals have made outstanding contributions to the discipline of communication science and disorders, research, administration, or service to state or national organizations.
Dr. Cooper joined NIH's National Institute of Neurological, Communicative Disorders and Stroke as a health science administrator, and assumed a similar position at NIDCD when it was created in 1988. After several other positions at NIDCD, she became deputy director in 2004, responsible for overseeing the management of more than 1,000 nationwide NIH grants and contracts annually in language, speech, voice, hearing, balance, smell, and taste. As deputy director of the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Judith A. Cooper has had a fundamental impact on communication sciences and disorders (CSD) by directing and supporting research programs nationwide. In the process, she has helped hundreds of CSD researchers navigate the federal funding maze and launch research careers. Her direction at the highest level of NIH autism-related activities is reflected in her position as co-leader of the Collaborative Programs of Excellence in Autism. She has likewise spearheaded efforts to promote research in aphasia, specific language impairment, stuttering, literacy and deafness, and molecular biology and genetics in voice, speech, and language. She also helps shape public policy as the CSD spokesperson before Congress and other bodies, conveying needs for research, services, and public information.
For many years, Cooper has worked to increase the involvement of minorities and individuals with disabilities in research by serving as the NIDCD coordinator of the Diversity Supplement Program. In addition, she has had a long-standing commitment to women's health issues, serving as the leader of an NIH seminar series that highlights these issues to the NIH community and beyond.
An ASHA Fellow, Cooper has received many honors: five NIH Awards of Merit, two NIDCD staff recognition awards, and three NIH Director's Awards.
The annual ASHA convention is the most comprehensive development conference for speech-language pathologists, audiologists, and speech, language and hearing scientists. It features more than 1,500 educational sessions that highlight the latest developments in research and clinical practices for professionals who provide services in schools, hospitals, health care centers, rehabilitation clinics, and other practice settings.
Nearly 300 exhibitors, including hearing aid manufacturers and other companies in the speech and hearing industries, will showcase innovative products and services in the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center's exhibit hall. Technology presentations on products, such as computer software programs as well as alternative and augmentative communication and assistive listening devices were also featured.
The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) is the national professional, scientific, and credentialing association for more than 127,000 audiologists, speech-language pathologists, and speech, language, and hearing scientists. Audiologists specialize in preventing and assessing hearing disorders as well as providing audiologic treatment including hearing aids. Speech-language pathologists identify, assess, and treat speech and language problems including swallowing disorders.
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