• Cough neurophysiology
• Airway protection
• Dysphagia (swallowing disorders)
• Upper airway physiology
• Upper airway reflexes
• Stroke
• Neurodegenerative disorders
• Obstructive sleep apnea

I'm a post-doctoral research associate and speech-language pathologist at Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute (FHMRI).

My PhD research was inspired by my clinical work with patients with neurogenic coughing and swallowing disorders. I completed five studies that focused on refining methods of assessing cough sensation and developing a rehabilitation protocol that aimed to enhance laryngeal sensation for patients with silent aspiration following neurological injury.

More recently, a major interest of my research has been to understand the underlying mechanisms of upper airway muscle training in patients with obstructive sleep apnea. In this context, my research involves using a variety of experimental approaches to measure upper airway neuromuscular control and respiratory mechanics in patients before and after a novel upper airway muscle training protocol. I have a unique skillset as a speech-language pathologist with both clinical and research expertise in upper airway neurophysiology, cough, swallowing and sleep-disordered breathing.

• Dysphagia - assessment and rehabiitation
• Neurophysioloigical mechanisms of airway protection
• Cough reflex testing