This article is the first in an ongoing series to highlight UK College of Health Sciences faculty efforts to combat the COVID-19 public health crisis.

Researchers were not immune to COVID-19’s impact as the virus forced labs to rethink and reinvent operations nationwide. UK College of Health Sciences (CHS) faculty pivoted quickly to sustain their current opportunities and joined with investigators around the world to provide solutions in their areas of expertise to fight the pandemic’s effects.

The UK College of Health Sciences Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) program received $3.2 million in funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to lower financial hurdles for speech-language pathology (SLP) graduate candidates who are from an educationally, economically, or environmentally disadvantaged background. 

Joseph Stemple, PhD, CCC-SLP, ASHAF-Honors, professor in the communication sciences and disorders (CSD) and rehabilitation sciences programs, is retiring in July after 15 years of service with the UK College of Health Sciences.

The COVID-19 crisis has caused the majority of health care providers to rapidly deploy telehealth initiatives to prevent disruption in care. Joneen Lowman, PhD, CCC-SLP, associate professor in communication sciences and disorders, launched the first telehealth certificate at the University of Kentucky and shares her advice on the importance of telehealth training for all medical professionals.

A degree in communication sciences and disorders (CSD) from the College of Health Sciences offers many unique and diverse opportunities for those wanting a career in the broad field of healthcare. Through our undergraduate and graduate CSD programs, you will be uniquely qualified to pursue a rewarding clinical career in speech-language pathology or audiology, as well as related careers in education, healthcare and rehabilitation. Our programs also prepare you to seek advanced degrees in fields spanning the sciences underlying speech, language, and hearing.

Emoni Dix, a sophomore pre-CSD major and student ambassador, is eager to adopt leadership roles across campus. She plans to use her time at UK College of Health Sciences to develop her professional and clinical skills and one day serve children as a speech language pathologist (SLP). 

Exponential growth in technology is forever altering the landscape of health care. Currently, 60 percent of millennials would prefer a virtual health care experience to in-person care. Lack of access to services remains a growing issue for populations in both rural and urban areas.

“It’s incredibly important that clinicians represent the populations they serve.” For Mariah Morton—a 2019 graduate of the communication sciences and disorders program—this is a statement she lives by. Her time at the College of Health Sciences prepared her to become both a devoted clinician and advocate for inclusivity in health care.     

November is National Family Caregivers Month—a time to reflect on and honor the sacrifices caregivers around the world make for their family members. We spoke with participants in the UK College of Health Sciences Aphasia Lab, and the people who do life with them each day, who shared their stories of hardship and joy.

As modern technology evolves, the medical professions are following suit thanks to the hard work of practitioners like Vrushali Angadi, PhD, CCC-SLP. Angadi, a speech-language pathologist and assistant professor with the communication sciences and disorders program at the College of Health Sciences—with the assistance of her colleagues Drs.