Meet the Team
Principal Investigator
Rocío Norman, PhD CCC-SLP
Associate Professor with Tenure (effective 9/1/24)
Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders
School of Health Professions
University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio
Email: normanr@uthscsa.edu
Phone: 210-450-8352
Lab Website: https://labs.uthscsa.edu/normanr/
Areas of Expertise:
· Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Assessment and Rehabilitation
· Military Medicine and Veterans Health
· Cognitive-Communication Disorders secondary to Traumatic Brain Injury and Dementia
· Caregiver Interventions for Traumatic Brain Injury and Dementia
Education:
· University of Wisconsin-Madison, PhD, Communication Sciences and Disorders, 2017
· University of Texas at Austin, MA, Communication Sciences and Disorders, 2008
· Florida International University, BFA in Theatre
Dr. Rocio Norman is Associate Professor with Tenure (effective 9/1/24) in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at the School of Health Professions at the University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio and director of the Norman Cognitive-Communication Lab (https://labs.uthscsa.edu/normanr/). Her research centers on improving the lives of individuals with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and dementia through behavioral interventions.
Dr. Norman completed her speech-language pathology training at UT Austin and completed a Clinical Fellowship at the VA Polytrauma Center in San Antonio, Texas. Her experience working with veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan motivated her desire to pursue clinical research addressing cognitive and communication disorders resulting from combat related mTBI. In 2013, she was recruited to Dr. Lyn Turkstra’s lab at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she was awarded several training grants to complete her PhD, including an NIH Predoctoral Fellowship, an R25 fellowship through the UW Center for Women’s Health Research, an Emma Allen Speech Language Pathology Fellowship and the American Speech-Hearing Association’s New Century Scholar Award.
In 2018, as a new faculty member at UT Health, she received both a School of Health Professions Pilot Grant and a Texas Society for Allied Health Professions Research Grant to fund her program of research in cognitive and communication disorders secondary to mTBI. In 2019, she was selected as a KL2 Scholar at the University of Texas Health Science Center, where she utilized methods such as discourse analysis and electroencephalogram (EEG) measures to richly characterize language output and shed light on the underlying cognitive mechanisms of language performance after mTBI. Since that time, Dr. Norman has established national and international research collaborations and received competitive funding as PI and site PI from the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Defense and the National Institutes of Health. She currently serves as PI on funded research addressing: caregiver needs of older adults with dementia, long-term outcomes of combat-related mTBI and clinical interventions for speech and hearing disorders after traumatic brain injury. Her research has been published in peer-reviewed journals such as Trials, Brain Injury, American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, Military Medicine, Neuropsychologia and Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.
In 2019, Dr. Norman was awarded a Teaching Excellence Award and the George Kudolo Award for Excellence in Research at the School of Health Professions. In 2023 she was nominated for the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine Deborah Wilkerson Early Career in Rehabilitation Award and in 2023 she was selected for the Spectrum Award at the School of Health Professions, an award recognizing all around excellence in research, teaching and service.
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Lab Assistants
Anna Stewart
Anna is currently enrolled in the Masters of Speech-Language Pathology program at UT Health San Antonio. She received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in Communication Sciences and Disorders. During her undergraduate studies, she developed a strong interest in pediatric language development and early intervention. Anna enjoys spending time with family, exploring new coffee spots, and indulging in Cajun food. In her free time, she also loves reading, volunteering in her community, and staying active through outdoor activities.
Bryant Martinez
Bryant is a first year Speech Language Pathology Masters Student at UT Health San Antonio. He received his B.A in Communication Sciences and Disorders from Our Lady of the Lake University. His research interests include AAC and bilingual language. He enjoys cooking, basketball, and playing bass guitar.
Gabby McNelly
Gabby is Currently enrolled in the Masters of Speech Language Pathology at UT San Antonio
She received her bachelor’s Degree from Kansas State University in Communication Sciences and Disorders with a Secondary Major in Gerontology and a Minor in Human Development and Family Sciences. She is a former student athlete at Kansas state from 2020-2024
Licensed as an Assistant Speech Language Pathologist in the state of Texas.
Peyton Coker
Peyton is a student in the Graduate Certificate in Communication Sciences and Disorders/Speech-Language Pathology in the School of Health Professions at UT Health San Antonio. She graduated with a B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin with a double major in Government and Spanish. She went on to build a career in the title industry before deciding to change career paths and pursue Speech-Language Pathology. Peyton hopes to learn more about speech-language pathology through research and prepare for admission to the master’s SLP program.
Diego Rojano
Diego is a second year medical student at the Long School of Medicine. He was born in Monterrey, Mexico and got his bachelor’s at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. He hopes to one day be a practicing physician to care for those around him and find ways to expand the access to healthcare for the people in his community. Joining Dr. Norman’s lab was important to him because he is interested in the subject matter that she works in. He truly believes that the work being done here at the Norman Lab can have a direct benefit on the way people are treated in the future.
Kisakye Sendi
Kisakye is currently enrolled in the Masters of Speech-Language Pathology program at UT Health San Antonio. She received her bachelor’s degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders from CUNY Queens College, where her desire to provide services to her community was strengthened. Kisakye’s interests include baking, watching movies, and trying out new cafes.