Welcome to the Airway Protection Research Lab at Boston University

The Airway Protection Research Lab is proud to be part of the Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences within Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences at Boston University. Our lab is directed by James Borders, PhD, CCC-SLP.

Our research focuses on airway protection, namely swallowing (dysphagia) and cough (dystussia) dysfunction. Our overarching goal is to identify physiologic and neural mechanisms underlying these conditions and translate this knowledge into novel treatments that meaningfully improve quality of life and health outcomes for patients and care partners. We work with adults at risk for airway protective impairments, including individuals with Parkinson’s disease, head and neck cancer, and older adults.

We emphasize an interdisciplinary, team science approach that integrates methods and perspectives from neuroscience, motor learning, causal inference, and meta-science to advance our understanding of airway protection.

Our lab is committed to fostering an open, diverse, and inclusive science. If you are interested in participating in our studies, joining the lab, or learning more about our work, please contact us at aprlab@bu.edu