Nidhi Mahendra, PhD, CCC-SLP
Vice President for Science and Research
Dr. Nidhi Mahendra is a speech-language pathologist and researcher who studies the outcomes of impairment-based and life-participation interventions for persons with dementia and aphasia. She also researches community-engaged research methods and equity issues in communication sciences and disorders (CSD). She studied at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (India), All India Institute of Speech and Hearing (India), and The University of Arizona. She has completed fellowships in ethnogeriatrics (Stanford University) and leadership in aging (University of California San Francisco).
A faculty member since 2005, she is currently a professor in the Department of Head and Neck Surgery and Communication Sciences at Duke University. She also serves as the Division Chief of Speech-Language Pathology for the Duke University Hospital. She oversees the Research and Education on Aging, Aphasia and Dementia Interventions (READI) lab and actively mentors students, medical residents, and junior faculty. Her work has been supported by Duke University's School of Medicine, the Alzheimer’s Association, National Institute on Aging, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, California Department of Healthcare Services, ASHA and multiple foundations.
Passionate about inclusive science, Dr. Mahendra has served on many ASHA Committees, such as the Clinical Research, Implementation Science, and Evidence-Based Practice (CRISP) Committee, the Ad Hoc Committee on Bilingual Service Delivery, and the SIG 14 Coordinating Committee. She has been Perspectives Editor and guest editor of special issues for journals and serves on the editorial boards of Frontiers in Dementia, Topics in Language Disorders, and Teaching and Learning in Communication Sciences and Disorders (TLCSD). She has extensive experience reviewing grant proposals for the Alzheimer’s Association and the ASHFoundation. An ASHA Fellow (2022), Dr. Mahendra has received ASHA’s Certificate of Recognition for Significant Contributions to Multicultural Affairs (2012) and the American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology (AJSLP) Editor’s Award (2005).
