People

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Lab Director

Professor KONG, Anthony P. H. 

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, Prof. 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. Prof. Kong was appointed Vice Chairperson of the Hong Kong Association of Speech Therapists (HKAST) from 2004 to 2007, and currently holds the position of Honorary Advisor for HKAST. As a world-renowned scholar in communication sciences and disorders, he also 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. Prof. Kong currently serves as the Editor-in-Chief of Languages (MDPI) and previously held the position of Founding Editor-in-Chief of Cogent Gerontology (Taylor & Francis) before stepping down.

 

Lab Members:

Professor BAKHTIAR, Mehdi

Prof. Mehdi Bakhtiar is an Assistant Professor in the Academic Unit of Human Communication, Learning, and Development (HCLD) at The University of Hong Kong Faculty of Education. 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. He is the Director of the Speech and Neuromudulation Laboratory. His main research interests are related to the underlying nature of speech disorders in people with stuttering and other neurogenic communication disorders. Prof Bakhtiar 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 neurogenic communication disorders.

Ms CHU, Ada Wai-Sze

Ms. Chu Wai Sze Ada  is a full-time assistant lecturer of the Faculty of Education, HKU.  She acquired the qualification of speech therapist in 1995 from HKU, and a Master degree in health professions education from HKU in 2021. She has more than 20 years of experience working with people with aphasia.

 

 

 

 

Dr CARTHERY, Maria Teresa 

Dr. Carthery is a speech and language pathologist graduated from the University of Sao Paulo (USP). She completed MSc in Psychology in the area of Neuroscience and Behavior in the Institute of Psychology at USP (2005), and PhD in Sciences in the area of Neurology from the School of Medicine, USP (2005). Dr. Carthery was visiting researcher at the Medical Research Council- Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit (MRC-CBU), University of Cambridge -UK (2006-2008) and Associate Professor at the Center of Mathematics, Computing and Cognition, Federal University of the ABC region, Brazil (UFABC) (2011-2023). She is also Associate Researcher Group of Behavioral and Cognitive Neurology, Hospital das Clínicas, School of Medicine, USP, and Member of the Brazilian Association of Speech and Language Pathologists (SBFa) and of the Brazilian Association of Neuropsychology (SBNp). Dr. Carthery’s research interests include: Language and Cognitive Lifespan Development, Acquired Language Disorders (Aphasia, Dyslexia, Agraphia, Primary Progressive Aphasia), Psycholinguistics, Neurolinguistics and Neuropsychology, Neuroscience of Language, and Educational Neuroscience.

 

 

Research Collaborators (in alphabetic order):

 

 

PhD Students:

Mr CHEUNG, Chester Y.-N.

Chester is a PhD student in the Unit of Human Communication, Learning, and Development (HCLD) at The University of Hong Kong. He is also a registered speech-and-language therapist in Hong Kong who possesses a master’s degree in speech language pathology and a bachelor’s degree in psychology. As a speech-and-language therapist, Chester worked in local NGO, hospital, and elderly homes while he focused his clinical expertise in adult’s communication and swallowing disorders. As a researcher, Chester endeavours in the fields of aphasiology and neurotherapeutics. Currently, he is pioneering in the development of EEG-guided individualized Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation (tACS) for people with aphasia.

Ms WONG, Cherie W.-Y. 

Cherie is a PhD student in the Unit of Human Communication, Learning, and Development (HCLD) at The University of Hong Kong. She is also a qualified speech-and-language therapist in Hong Kong. She has a wide research interests in speech-and-language assessments as well as treatments for adults with communication disorders and children with special education needs. Her current research focuses on Intensive Comprehensive Aphasia Program (ICAP).

 

 

Ms YANG, Songting

Songting Yang is currently a PhD student in the Unit of Human Communication, Learning, and Development (HCLD) at The University of Hong Kong. She received her Master’s degree in linguistics from Yunnan University. Her research interest is early language development in bilingual children, particularly those from ethnic minorities.

 

 

 

Mr WAGER, Jeffrey

Jeff is a PhD student in the Unit of Human Communication, Learning, and Development (HCLD) at the University of Hong Kong. He has previously worked clinically for several years in the UK as a speech-and-language therapist. He possesses a master’s degree in Acquired Communication Disorders and a Bachelor’s degree in Speech and Language Therapy from universities in the UK.  His main research interests relate to language processing, neuroscience, and aphasia. Jeff’s current research project is examining the concept of ‘Predictive Coding’ and how specifically this is operating in the brain in terms of how language is processed in people with aphasia.

 

Ms HU, Annie

Annie is a PhD student in the Unit of Human Communication, Learning, and Development (HCLD) at The University of Hong Kong. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Speech and Hearing Sciences from HKU. Her research interests include multimodal communication, assessments, and interventions in Chinese speakers with aphasia, with a particular focus on gesture-based treatments.

 

 

 

Mr WANG, Guohui

Guohui is a PhD student in the Unit of Human Communication, Learning, and Development (HCLD) at The University of Hong Kong. He has extensive experience in screening and management of chronic diseases in older adults. His main research interests relate to speech processing, cognitive neuroscience, and biomarkers for aphasia. His current research project focuses on a speech biomarker stratification model for preclinical and clinical Alzheimer’s disease.

 

 

 

 

 

Community Partners:

 

 

Student Interns:

Ms SHAM, Bonita Po-Yan

Bonita received the 2023 Innovation and Technology Scholarship.

Project title: “Developing future telepractice games in speech therapy”

 

 

 

 

Alumni:

Undergraduate student intern: Ms HU, Annie Zhiyao

Annie received the 2023-24 Undergraduate Research Fellowship Programme (URFP) Research Internship Awards (local).

Project title: “Effects of Modified Gesture plus Verbal Treatment (GVT) for word retrieval, gestural production, and functional communication in Cantonese speakers with non-fluent aphasia: A multiple case study”

 

Undergraduate student intern: Ms CHAN, Christie N.-S.

Christie received the 2022-23 Hong Kong’s Laidlaw Scholarship.

Project title: “How do people with aphasia experience communication challenges in times of COVID-19?”