Speech, Physiology, and Neurobiology of Aging and Dementia Lab

Our multidisciplinary, multimodal framework combines advanced electrophysiological, biomechanical, and neuroimaging methodologies including high-density EEG, EMG, kinematic tracking, structural and functional MRI, cerebral blood flow mapping, and integrated EEG-fMRI to pinpoint the neural circuit disruptions underlying disease-specific speech changes. We further unify these brain-based insights with biological and systemic risk assessments such as plasma and CSF biomarkers, genomics, vascular and metabolic profiling. Harnessing state-of-the-art artificial intelligence and natural language processing, we develop automated algorithms that extract nuanced acoustic, kinematic, and linguistic features capturing imperceptible, presymptomatic deviations in speech with high accuracy, both in the laboratory and through scalable, remote digital platforms. This integration enables continuous, ecologically valid, and equitable disease monitoring, extending diagnostic reach and impact beyond traditional clinical settings. 

Anchored by a deep commitment to precision medicine, the SPaN-AD Lab is uniquely positioned to delineate the earliest detectable risk signals, map individual variability in vulnerability and resilience, and accelerate the development of patient-centered, non-invasive diagnostics. Our ultimate vision is to democratize access to clinically-meaningful biomarkers, enabling timely, personalized risk stratification and intervention—well before overt clinical symptoms emerge, and regardless of geographic or resource barriers.