News
Speech Expert Appointed Interim Academic Dean at MGH Institute of Health Professions
BOSTON-(Business Wire)-August 22, 2007 - The MGH Institute of Health Professions has named Professor Robert E. Hillman, PhD, CCC-SLP, Interim Academic Dean, effective August 1, 2007.
Dr. Hillman, who served as the MGH Institute's Director of the Graduate Program in Communication Sciences and Disorders from 1996 - 1999, is currently Co-Director and Research Director at the Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Laryngeal Surgery and Voice Rehabilitation. He holds additional academic appointments as Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School (Surgery) and at the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology (Speech and Hearing Bioscience and Technology).
As co-director and research director of Mass General's voice center, he has worked with Oscar and Emmy award winning actress Julie Andrews, whose singing voice was damaged as a result of prior surgery, as well as with Aerosmith lead singer Steven Tyler.
A major focus of Dr. Hillman's research is the development of methods for assessing and treating laryngeal voice disorders. Research is in progress in the following areas: development of a wearable voice monitor with biofeedback capability; development of an improved artificial electrolarynx communication system with neural control for patients who have lost their voice boxes (a voice neural prosthesis); development of an automated computer-based voice quality assessment system; development of an ultra high-speed digital imaging system for assessing human vocal cord vibration Dr. Hillman also leads the MGH Institute's internal planning efforts to develop a PhD in Rehabilitation Sciences.
An elected Fellow of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Hillman is one of only three speech-language pathologists in the country to be elected as an Associate Fellow of the physician's organization the American Laryngological Association. Dr. Hillman has been awarded more than 24 grants from governmental and private sources to support his research. He received his undergraduate and master's degrees in speech-language pathology from Pennsylvania State University, and a doctorate in speech science from Purdue University.
The MGH Institute of Health Professions (www.mghihp.edu), an academic affiliate of Massachusetts General Hospital, is an innovative and independent graduate school that operates within the framework of Partners HealthCare System. A progressive leader in developing comprehensive models of health care education, the MGH Institute prepares advanced practice professionals in the fields of nursing, physical therapy, speech-language pathology, clinical investigation and medical imaging through a distinctive combination of academic study, clinical practice and research. An average of 800 students are enrolled in graduate level degree and certificate programs, with an increasing number of courses available online. The Institute is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.
(Editors: Our style preference is to not spell out 'MGH' on a first reference to our name, as it incorrectly implies the Institute is a department within the hospital. Alternately, we recommend, "The MGH Institute of Health Professions, an academic affiliate of Massachusetts General Hospital...")
