Keynote Speaker: Carol Espy-Wilson, PhD Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Maryland, College Park Dr. Carol Yvonne Espy-Wilson is a distinguished electrical engineer and professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Maryland at College Park, where she was the first African-American to achieve tenure and full professorship. She earned her Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from MIT, becoming the first African-American woman to do so, after completing her B.S. in Electrical Engineering at Stanford. Her expertise spans signal processing, machine learning, and speech acoustics, with a focus on improving speech recognition by integrating articulatory and phonetic features. Dr. Espy-Wilson’s research includes developing a speech inversion system with applications in detecting and monitoring mental health conditions like depression and schizophrenia. She is a fellow of several prestigious organizations, including the Acoustical Society of America and IEEE, and has received numerous awards for her contributions to the field. Additionally, she founded OmniSpeech, a company that produces AI-powered speech processing software, which has garnered multiple awards and NSF grants.

Invited Speaker: Panying Rong, PhD Associate Professor, Department of Speech-Language-Hearing: Sciences & Disorders at the University of Kansas Dr. Panying Rong is an associate professor in the Department of Speech-Language-Hearing at the University of Kansas. Her interdisciplinary research program focuses on integrating precision medicine and computational approaches to enhance the understanding and individualized care of progressive neuromotor speech disorders. To achieve these goals, her research team has developed and tested a variety of automated computational tools for objective assessment, monitoring, prognosis, phenotyping, and tailored management of motor speech disorders secondary to neurodegenerative conditions such as ALS and Parkinson’s disease. In addition, she is also interested in applying multimodal measurement techniques (e.g., facial surface electromyography, kinematic tracking, acoustic) for identifying novel subclinical markers to improve the screening and early detection of communication disorders in asymptomatic individuals at risk for developing neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease. She has published across disciplines, including communication science and disorders, neurophysiology, and neurology.

Invited Speaker: Emily Zimmerman, PhD, CCC-SLP Associate Professor & Chair, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Northeastern University Dr. Emily Zimmerman is an Associate Professor and chair of Communication Sciences & Disorders at Northeastern University. She directs the Speech & Neurodevelopment Lab, which examines the cross-section of sucking, feeding and speech emergence across environmental, maternal, physiological, and genetic factors. Dr. Zimmerman is the principal investigator on several NIH grants examining these themes across patient populations.

Invited Speaker: Alan Bush, PhD Co-Director, Brain Modulation Lab, Department of Neurosurgery, Massachusetts General Hospital Dr. Alan Bush studies the electrophysiology of the basal ganglia, the pathophysiology of movement disorders, and the mechanism of action of neuromodulation therapies like Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS). Through his work at the Brain Modulation Lab, he leverages the unique access to the human basal ganglia provided by DBS implantation surgery to explore the role of these structures in speech perception and production, aiming to optimize DBS therapy for improved speech outcomes.

Invited Speaker: Jason Whitfield, PhD, CCC-SLP Associate Professor, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Bowling Green State University Dr. Jason Whitfield is a faculty member in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Bowling Green State University (BGSU), where he conducts research on interactions between speech production and goal-directed attentional control. He values collaborating with internal and extramural colleagues and students at all levels, from undergraduates to doctoral trainees. Much of his research has examined how cognitive-linguistic factors interact with goal-directed and habitual speech motor control in talkers with and without Parkinson disease.Since 2021, Whitfield has served as the Diversity and Inclusion Faculty Facilitator in the College of Health and Human Services at BGSU. He is developing an emerging area of scholarly work focused on patterns of inequality and structural racism in higher education, including health and human service programs and speech-language pathology. He serves in other professional roles, including as the editor for Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups – SIG 19: Speech Science, an editorial board member of the Speech section of Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research and the Speech and Language section of Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, and as a member of the Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee for the Association of Schools Advancing Health Professions.

Invited Speaker: Gemma Moya-Galé, PhD, CCC-SLP Assistant Professor, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Columbia University Dr. Gemma Moya-Galé is an assistantprofessor of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Teachers College, Columbia University. Her primary interests focus on the development of novel treatment approaches, using automatic speech recognition, to improve communication and quality of life in individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD). Additionally, her clinical research aims at the inclusion and empowerment of underrepresented populations with PD, such as Hispanic/Latinx/Latiné, and her community outreach strives to maximize resources and services that are linguistically and culturally responsive for this population. She directs the Communication, Technology, and Language Diversity Lab, as well as Speech for PD, a university and community-based group speech rehabilitation program for individuals with PD.

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Registration

Abstract submission and registration open on January 6, 2025. The final deadline for abstract submissions is March 28. Acceptance notifications will be sent by April 25. Early bird registration is available until May 9 and late registration until May 30, or until the conference venue reaches capacity (whichever comes first). All refunds will be processed three weeks prior to the symposium date and will subtract 20% of the registration cost for the administration fee. Questions regarding registration should be directed to the BSMCS organizing committee (bsmcs@bu.edu).

	In-Person Admission			Virtual Admission
	Early Registration (6th Jan–9th May)			General	30 USD
	General	60 USD		Trainee*	10 USD
	Trainee*	30 USD
	Late Registration (9th–30th May)
	General	120 USD
	Trainee*	50 USD

*A “trainee” refers to undergraduate students, graduate students (including doctoral candidates), and post-doctoral scholars.

Registration is not open yet!

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Travel Fellowships

The Boston Speech Motor Control Symposium will be awarding travel fellowships to undergraduate students, graduate students (including doctoral candidates), and post-doctoral trainees. Fellowship recipients will have an opportunity to attend a free networking lunch on the second day of the conference, in addition to a $500 travel award (does not include registration). Interested applicants may apply for a travel fellowship; selected applicants will be notified by April 25, 2023. Questions regarding travel fellowships should be directed to the BSMCS organizing committee (bsmcs@bu.edu).

Submissions for travel fellowships are not open yet!

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Venue & Area Information

BSMCS’25 will be held between the Rajen Kilachand Center for Integrated Life Sciences & Engineering (CILSE) and WBUR’s CitySpace venue, both of which are located in the vibrant hub that is the Charles River Campus of Boston University. CILSE is home to state-of-the-art laboratories spanning disciplines such as biology, chemistry, and engineering. CitySpace is a LEED Gold Certified venue that has sustainability central to every feature and is home to WBUR’s Live Journalism. Both venues are across the street from Boston public transit (MBTA) and situated in close proximity to several parking garages for easy building access. The official addresses of the venues are:

Rajen Kilachand Center for Integrated Life Sciences & Engineering 610 Commonwealth Avenue, Rm. 101 Boston, MA 02215	WBUR CitySpace 890 Commonwealth Ave Boston, MA 02215

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Commuting to BSMCS

BSMCS locations are all easily accessible from the Green Line B, C, and D trains via Kenmore station. Several Boston University parking lots as well as street parking options are available for those choosing to drive.

Public Transportation: 

• Metro/Train: Visit BU’s list of MBTA commuting options
• Flights: Boston is served by Boston Logan International Airport
• Biking: Boston’s bike share system (Blue Bikes) offers six convenient stations installed around the Charles River Campus
• Taxi/Car Service: Visit the Boston Police Department to view a list of authorized taxi cab associations in Boston
• For more information about the local bus or subway services, visit the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority

Driving:

• Directions: Driving directions to Boston University Charles River Campus
• Parking: Overview of available guest/visitor parking lots

Hotels: There are plenty of options for accommodations within the Boston area. Below are options of varying distance from symposium venue as well as commute time for multiple modes of transportation (including walking-Boston is a very walkable city!).

Hotel	via MBTA (train or bus)	via Walking	via Uber/Lyft
Courtyard Boston Brookline	~20 min (Green Line C to Kenmore)	~32 min to CILSE ~20 min to CitySpace	~9 min to CILSE ~7 min to CitySpace
The Arcadian	~19 min (Green Line C to Kenmore)	~24 min to CILSE ~11 min to CitySpace	~6 min to CILSE ~3 min to CitySpace
Hyatt Regency Boston/Cambridge	~25 min (18 min walk, 5 min Green Line B to Blandford St.) to CILSE	~22 min to CILSE ~25 min to CitySpace	~8 min to CILSE ~21 min to CitySpace
Hotel Commonwealth	~6 min bus (57 to Commonwealth Ave @ Buick St.) or ~10 min train (Green Line B to Amory St.) to CitySpace	~5-10 min to CILSE ~25 min to CitySpace	~3 min to CILSE ~7 min to CitySpace
The Verb	~18 min train (10 min walk, 8 min Green Line B to Amory St.) to CitySpace	~5-10 min to CILSE ~26 min to CitySpace	~5 min to CILSE ~8 min to CitySpace
Residence Inn	~17 min train (10 min walk, 7 min train Green Line B to Amory) to CitySpace	~5-10 min to CILSE ~23 min to CitySpace	~5 min to CILSE ~7 min to CitySpace
Boston Park Plaza	~17 min train (Green Line B to Blandford St.) or ~20 min train (Green Line C or D to Kenmore) to CILSE ~20 min train (Green Line B to Amory St.) to CitySpace	~41 min to CILSE ~1 hr to CitySpace	~15 min to CILSE ~14 min to CitySpace
AC Hotel Cleveland Circle	~30 min train (5 min walk, 20 min train Green Line C to Kenmore; 5 min walk, 15 min train Green Line D to Kenmore; 8 min walk, 20 min train Green Line B to Blandford St.) to CILSE ~30 min train (8 min walk, 20 min train Green Line B to Amory St.) to CitySpace	~1 hr to CILSE ~1 hr to CitySpace	~15 min to CILSE ~12 min to CitySpace