Meet the Team
Lab Director
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Dr. Mehdi Bakhtiar
Dr. Mehdi Bakhtiar is an Assistant Professor in the unit of Human Communication, Learning and Development at The University of Hong Kong. He received an MSc degree in Speech Therapy from Tehran University of Medical Sciences and worked as a clinician for a few years before pursuing his PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience of Language at The University of Hong Kong. His main research interests are related to the underlying nature of speech disorders in people with stuttering and other neurogenic communication disorders. Mehdi studies the neurocognitive, linguistic and sensory-motor aspects of stuttering and other motor speech disorders. He is also interested in the application of non-invasive brain stimulation methods (e.g., tDCS, TMS) as an add-on treatment for people with fluency and other neurogenic communication disorders.
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Research Expertise and Interests:
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Stuttering and Fluency Disorders
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Neurogenic Communication disorders
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Neuromodulation in Speech and Language Disorders
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Development of Speech and Language assessment tests​​​
Lab Members
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Prof. Anthony P. H. Kong
Prof. Anthony Kong, Unit Head of the Academic Unit of Human Communication, Learning, and Development (HCLD) at The University of Hong Kong, holds a PhD in speech and hearing sciences and is specialized in aphasiology. He is a Fellow of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and Academy of Aphasia. In 2013, he also received the ASHA Recognition for Outstanding Contribution in International Achievement. Trained as a speech-language pathologist, Dr. Kong’s research interests include stroke-induced aphasia, discourse analyses, and neurogenic communication disorders in multilingual speakers. His research has received continuous funding from the National Institutes of Health, the Hong Kong Government, National Natural Science Foundation of China, and multiple (inter)national universities and private foundations. Over the years, he has developed several clinically-oriented language and cognitive assessment tools/batteries of Chinese speakers with aphasia. Dr. Kong was elected as Vice Chairperson of the Hong Kong Association of Speech Therapists (2004-07). As a world-renowned scholar in communication sciences and disorders, he serves and served as Consultant/Advisor to provide research, clinical, and/or professional consultations to many (inter)national agencies, such as Aphasia United, Project BRIDGE (Building Research Initiatives by Developing Group Effort, USA), the Hong Kong Hospital Authority, and the Hong Kong Society for Rehabilitation. Dr. Kong is the Founding Editor-in-Chief of Cogent Gerontology (Taylor & Francis).
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Research Expertise and Interests:
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Aphasia
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Discourse Analysis
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Speech-and-Language Pathology
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Neurogenic Communication Disorders
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Development of Language and Cognitive Batteries
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Bilingualism/ Multilingualism
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Gesture Production
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Dr. Maria Teresa Carthery-Goulart
Dr. Carthery is a Lecturer in the Human Communication, Learning, and Development Unit at the Faculty of Education at The University of Hong Kong. She is an Honorary Associate Professor at the Center of Mathematics, Computing, and Cognition, Federal University of the ABC (UFABC), Sao Paulo, Brazil. She is also an Associate Researcher in the Group of Behavioral and Cognitive Neurology, Hospital das Clínicas, Faculty of Medicine, USP, and a Member of the Brazilian Association of Speech and Language Pathologists (SBFa). Dr. Carthery is a speech and language pathologist (SLP) who graduated from the Faculty of Medicine, University of Sao Paulo (USP), with clinical training in Neurogenic Disorders and years of practice as an SLP in acquired speech and language disorders, particularly those caused by neurodegenerative diseases. She has an MSc in Psychology in Neuroscience and Behavior from the Institute of Psychology at USP and a PhD in Neurological Sciences from the Faculty of Medicine, USP. Dr. Carthery was a visiting researcher and completed a post-doctoral internship at the Medical Research Council- Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit (MRC-CBU), University of Cambridge (2006-2008).
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Research Expertise and Interests:
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Acquired Communication disorders (Aphasia, Dyslexia, Agraphia)
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Progressive speech and language disorders (Primary progressive Aphasia)
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Cognitive Reserve, Cognitive Training, and Cognitive Stimulation
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Cross-cultural adaptation of Cognitive and Language Assessments
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Neuroscience of Language
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Language and Cognitive Development
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Educational Neuroscience
Ms. Ada W.S. Chu
Ms. Ada W.S. Chu is a full-time assistant lecturer in the Faculty of Education at The University of Hong Kong (HKU). Her primary responsibility is to provide and coordinate clinical education for year 4 students pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Speech Language Pathology at HKU. Ms. Chu obtained her qualification as a speech therapist from HKU in 1995 and completed a Master's degree in health professions education from HKU in 2021. She is an active member of the Hong Kong Association of Speech Therapists and a registered member of the Hong Kong Institute of Speech Therapists.​
