Yana Yunusova MSc, PhD CCC-SLP Reg. CALSPO

Biography

Dr. Yana Yunusova received her PhD in Communicative Disorders from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2005 and joined University of Toronto in 2007. She is currently a Professor in the Department of Speech Language Pathology (SLP) and an Acting Director in the Rehabilitation Sciences Institute (RSI). She is an Associate Scientist at Sunnybrook Research Institute and a Senior Scientist at UHN Toronto Rehabilitation Institute. Her research is devoted to understanding how the human brain controls the ability to speak and the mechanisms responsible for the loss of speech and communication due to neurological diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease and stroke. Her thriving research program is focused on the development of cutting-edge technologies for automatic assessment of speech and novel methods of speech therapy that aim to significantly impact clinical practice in the fields of speech language pathology and neurology.

Quote from the Winner

Mentoring graduate and undergraduate students conducting research in my laboratory and students enrolled in graduate studies at the Rehabilitation Sciences Institute (RSI) is the absolutely favorite part of my job as a UofT faculty. I devote many hours a week meeting with trainees, setting up their research projects and discussing the intricacies of quality data collection and analyses. We focus not only on tasks at hand but also on setting long-term professional goals and means to achieve them. I take pride in helping my trainees to structure their learning in the most efficient manner, keeping in mind their personal goals and aspirations as well as the professional success. The success of my students is a point of pride for me; all of them have been able to find themselves and flourish in and outside of academia. My passion for graduate education led me to accept a position of the Graduate Coordinator of the Rehabilitation Sciences Institute (RSI). In this role I support many students through their program, ensuring that adequate supports and fair practices lead to a successful and fulfilled cohort of rehabilitation scientists, who are well prepared to support the needs of growing Canadian society in years to come.

About the Award

This award was established in 2002 to recognize sustained contribution to graduate student mentorship exemplified by, but not limited to: major involvement in graduate student learning, enthusiastic and empathic critical appraisal of students’ work, timely assessment of students’ research programs including program advisory committee meetings and prompt turnaround of written work, and careful attention to a critical path laid out for students’ research.