Dissemination and Implementation Science Travel Award and Conference Event (DISTAnCE) Past Participants

The purpose of the Dissemination and Implementation Science Travel Award and Conference Event (DISTAnCE) program is to prepare researchers across the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorder’s (NIDCD’s) seven mission areas (hearing, balance, taste, smell, voice, speech, and language) to achieve funding success for research grants that incorporate D&I. Newly expanded in 2026 through support from NIDCD Grant #U13DC023048 awarded to ASHA, the DISTAnCE program aims to achieve the following goals across NIDCD’s mission areas:

1. Increase the knowledge base of D&I principles and methodology
2. Increase the number of research grant proposals that incorporate D&I methods
3. Strengthen the community of D&I researchers
4. Raise awareness of D&I science to support the pipeline of D&I researchers

Awardees and mentors who participated in 2025 and earlier engaged in an initial version of this program.

2025

Awardees

• Kerry Ebert, University of Minnesota
• Jennifer Maybee, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
• Carolyn Novaleski, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Mentors

• Brian Boyd, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• Lisa Juckett, The Ohio State University College of Medicine
• Meg Simione, The University of Rhode Island

2024

Awardees

• Dawna Duff, Binghamton University
• Liza Finestack, University of Minnesota–Twin Cities
• Maura O’Fallon, University of Delaware
• Jennifer Oshita, NYU Langone Health
• Tatiana Peredo, Vanderbilt University

Mentors

• Jessica Caron, The Pennsylvania State University
• Andria Eisman, Wayne State University
• Paul Estabrooks, The University of Utah
• Andrea Nevedal, VA Center for Clinical Management Research
• Rachel Shelton, Columbia School of Public Health

2023

Awardees

• Jason Chow, Vanderbilt University  
• Ursula Findlen, Nationwide Children's Hospital/The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center 
• Teresa Girolamo, San Diego State University 
• Beth Kelley, University of Missouri 
• Amy Kemp, VA Hospital 

Mentors

• Laura Anthony, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus 
• Leora Cherney, Shirley Ryan AbilityLab 
• Lisa Saldana, Chestnut Health Systems 
• Nicole Stadnick, University of California, San Diego  
• Christina Studts, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

DISTAnCE Steering Committee

The DISTAnCE program is supported in part by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) grant #U13DC023048 awarded to ASHA. The program is planned and coordinated by ASHA's Academic Affairs and Research Education unit in consultation with the Steering Committee. The following individuals make up the Steering Committee. 

Matthew Bush
University of Kentucky

Geoffrey Curran
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences

Natalie Douglas
University of Louisiana at Lafayette

Tiffany Hogan
MGH Institute of Health Professions

Kate Hutcheson
The University of Texas & MD Anderson Cancer Center

Carrie Nieman
Johns Hopkins University

Valentina Parma
Monell Chemical Senses Center

Emily Quinn
Oregon Health Science University

Margaret Rogers
Principal Investigator
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association

Nicole Stadnick
University of California, San Diego

Holly Storkel
Project Coordinator
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders

Christina Studts
University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus