People
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Lab Director
Dr KONG, Anthony P. H.
Dr. Anthony Kong, Unit Head of the Academic Unit of Human Communication, Development, and Information Sciences (CDIS) 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 current Editor-in-Chief of Cogent Gerontology (Taylor & Francis).
Lab Members:
Dr BAKHTIAR, Mehdi
Dr. Mehdi Bakhtiar is an Assistant Professor in the Human Communication, Development and Information Sciences Unit 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. 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 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.
Research Collaborators:
- Prof. Marian Brady, Glasgow Caledonian University (https://www.gcu.ac.uk/staff/marianbrady)
- Dr. Nele Demeyere, University of Oxford (https://www.psy.ox.ac.uk/people/nele-demeyere)
- Dr. Ruiping Hu 胡瑞萍博士, National Center for Neurological Disorders, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University 复旦大学附属华山医院 国家神经疾病医学中心 (https://www.huashan.org.cn/) (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7626-2061)
- Dr. Dustin K-Y Lau, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (https://www.polyu.edu.hk/cbs/st/en/about-us/our-professional-team/academic-staff/dr-dustin-lau)
- Prof. Tan Lee, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (https://www.ee.cuhk.edu.hk/~tanlee/)
- Dr. Feng Lin 林枫博士, Nanjing Medical University 南京医科大学 (https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Feng-Lin-27)
- Dr. Janet H-Y Ng, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (https://www.polyu.edu.hk/en/cbs/people/academic-staff/dr-ng-ho-yee-janet/)
- Dr. Sarah Jane Wallace, University of Queensland (https://researchers.uq.edu.au/researcher/15869)
- Dr. Gloria H-Y Wong, University of Hong Kong (https://www.socialwork.hku.hk/gloriawong/)
PhD / MPhil Students:
Mr CHEUNG, Chester Y.-N.
Chester is a PhD student in the Human Communication, Development and Information Sciences Unit at The University of Hong Kong Faculty of Education. 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 Human Communication, Development and Information Sciences Unit 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 Human Communication, Development and Information Sciences Unit 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 Human Communication, Development and Information Unit at the Faculty of Education in 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.
Community Partners:
- 香港復康會 The Hong Kong Society for Rehabilitation (https://www.rehabsociety.org.hk/zh-hant/)
- 新健社 The Hong Kong Stroke Association (http://www.hk-stroke-a.org.hk/)
- 慧進會 Self-Help Group for the Brain Damaged (http://www.braindamaged.org.hk/)
Student Interns:
Ms SHAM, Bonita Po-Yan
Bonita received the 2023 Innovation and Technology Scholarship.
Project title: “Developing future telepractice games in speech therapy”
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”
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?”