Researcher-Academic Town Meeting
he Researcher-Academic Town Meeting (RATM) is an invitation-only event at the ASHA Convention. The purpose of the event is to:
- Bring together senior researchers and PhD-level academics (including international PhD-level faculty/researcher affiliates in attendance at Convention), new PhD-level faculty, PhD students, and student awardees for a presentation and discussion on a timely topic related to science and research or academic issues.
- Provide the opportunity for networking and socializing among all event attendees.
- Recognize recipients of the annual ASHA Journals Awards.
2026 Meeting
ASHA Annual Convention
Wednesday, November 18, 2026
Indianapolis Convention Center
Indianapolis, IN
Doors open at 5:45 p.m. EST.
Momentum Through Meaningful Partnership: Expanding Clinician–Researcher Collaboration for Good [PDF]
Advancing communication sciences and evidence-based practice in speech-language pathology and audiology requires essential collaboration between clinicians and researchers. This session explores how strong clinician–researcher partnerships can identify novel lines of research inquiry, generate practice-relevant research, accelerate implementation of EBPs, and expand innovation across clinical and academic settings. Using examples from speech-language pathology and audiology, presenters will share collaborative models and strategies that integrate academic and clinical expertise, patient lived experiences, and robust research methodology. Attendees will learn about key principles for fostering clinician-researcher collaboration, strategies for co-developing studies, and sustaining partnerships that benefit scientific discovery and clinical practice improvements. Practical tools for initiating and maintaining collaborations, navigating common barriers, and building mutually beneficial research networks will be discussed. This session will provide examples of actionable approaches and best practices for strengthening clinician-researcher partnerships to catalyze evidence-based practice and improve the care of persons with communication and swallowing disorders across the lifespan.
Panelists:
- Leah Fabiano, PhD, University of Pittsburgh
- Ryan McCreery, PhD, Boys Town National Research Hospital
- Heather Starmer, PhD, Stanford University
This is an invitation-only session, and a reservation is required. Scheduling this event DOES NOT grant you entry. Contact academicaffairs@asha.org for more information.
Past Meeting Presentations
2025 Researcher-Academic Town Meeting on Reflections and Revelations: A Century of Discovery in Communication Sciences and Disorders Research presentation [PDF], 2025 Researcher-Academic Town Meeting Program Booklet [PDF], and 100 Years of Advances in CSD presentation [PDF].
2024 Researcher-Academic Town Meeting on Academia at a Crossroads: Pathways to Renewal & Innovation, presentation [PDF] by Dr. Michael Yudell and 2024 Researcher-Academic Town Meeting Program Booklet [PDF].
2023 Researcher-Academic Town Meeting on Getting Ahead of the AI Curve in Health Professions Education, presentation [PDF] by Dr. Sumit Dhar and 2023 Researcher-Academic Town Meeting Program Booklet [PDF].
2022 Researcher-Academic Town Meeting on The Importance of Community-Based Participatory Research, presentation [PDF] by Dr. Christina Nicolaidis and 2022 Researcher-Academic Town Meeting Program Booklet [PDF].
2021 Researcher-Academic Town Meeting on Let's Talk About Competency-Based Education, presentation [PDF] by Dr. Sue McAllister
2020 Researcher-Academic Town Meeting on Behavioral Machine Intelligence for Health Applications (The 2020 RATM and ASHA Convention was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.)
2019 Researcher-Academic Town Meeting on It's Critical! The Assessment and Development of Critical Thinking, presentation [PDF] by Drs. Robert M. Augustine, Patrick Finn, and Ou Lydia Liu
2018 Researcher-Academic Town Meeting on Using Reporting Guidelines to Improve the Reliability and Value of Clinical Research, presentation [PDF] by Dr. Jason Roberts
2017 Researcher-Academic Town Meeting on Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) in Clinical Education and Supervision, presentation [PDF] by Dr. Mindi Anderson
2016 Researcher-Academic Town Meeting on Responding to Changes in Scholarly Publishing, presentation [PDF] by Dr. Ray Kent
2015 Researcher-Academic Town Meeting on Advancing the Science and Use of Patient-Reported Outcome Measures (PROMS), presentation [PDF] by Dr. Alan M. Jette
2014 Researcher-Academic Town Meeting on Systems Level Change: The Role of Implementation Science, presentation [PDF] by Dr. Donald Kincaid
2013 Joint Research Academic Town Meeting/ASHA Approved CE Provider Workshop on Interprofessional Education: Moving Toward a Collaborative Era through Preprofessional Education and Lifelong Learning, presentation [PDF] by Dr. Barbara Brandt
2012 Researcher-Academic Town Meeting on Preparing Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists to Provide Value-Based Services in the New Economic Climate, presentation [PDF] by Dr. Alex Johnson and Dr. Robert Burkard
2011 Researcher-Academic Town Meeting on Training the Next Generation of Clinical Researchers, presentation [PDF] by Dr. Melissa Duff and Dr. Mary Pat Moeller
2010 Researcher-Academic Town Meeting on Building Capacity for the Research Doctorate
- Presentation [PDF] by Dr. Brenda Ryals and Dr. Laurence Leonard.
- PhD Slideshow [PDF] featuring select PhD data
2009 Researcher-Academic Town Meeting on Clinical Practice Research in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology: The Final Frontier, presentation [PDF] by Dr. Laura Justice and Dr. Nancy Tye-Murray.
2008 Researcher-Academic Town Meeting on Perspectives on Teaching and Technology: Micro and Macro Applications, presentation [PDF] by Dr. Sarah Ginsberg, Dr. Lissa Power-de Fur, Dr. Carol Dudding, and Dr. Doug Martin.
2007 Researcher-Academic Town Meeting on Team Science: Reframing a Familiar Concept for Contemporary Research Issues in Communication Sciences and Disorders, presentation [PDF] by Dr. Dennis Matthews and comments [PDF] by Dr. Thomas Helfer, Dr. Ray Kent, Dr. Elena Plante, Dr. Bruce Tomblin.
