Maura Philippone

Maura Philippone (she/her) is a licensed CCC-SLP and a PhD student. She obtained her bachelor's degree from The University of Maine (Orono, ME) and earned high honors for her undergraduate thesis, titled "The Use of Smartphone Apps as a Supplement to Transgender Voice and Communication Therapy," under the guidance of Dr. Nancy E. Hall, PhD, CCC-SLP. She earned her master’s degree in speech from The George Washington University (Washington, DC), where she completed her thesis, "User-Centered Design for Gamified Voice and Communication App: Applying UCD to Gender-Affirming Communication Services," under the supervision of Dr. Adrienne B. Hancock, PhD, CCC-SLP. During her clinical fellowship at EvergreenHealth's adult outpatient facility in Kirkland, WA, Maura developed a keen interest in enhancing voice/speech treatment outcomes for individuals with neurodegenerative conditions. During this fellowship, she founded Forward Focus (https://reproducibilitea.org/journal-clubs/#Forward%20Focus), a monthly, virtual voice journal club aimed at fostering connections and discussions among voice enthusiasts of diverse backgrounds. She currently co-directs this group, and continuously works to advance the Open Science movement. 

As a PhD student under the direction of Dr. Thea Knowles, PhD, CCC-SLP, and a researcher in the SONIC lab, Maura's current research focuses on optimizing SLP services for individuals with Parkinson's disease. She explores innovative approaches (e.g., gamification/gameful design) to enhance engagement and generalization for optimal voice/speech intervention outcomes.