Communication disorders professor selected for Pathways program

By Kristina Kenney
University News Service
February 28, 2013

Texas State University Department of Communication Disorders Assistant Professor Farzan Irani recently attended the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association's 2013 inaugural Pathways program in Rockville, Md.

The program, funded by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, was held Jan. 31-Feb. 2 with the goal of mentoring early career researchers in the field of communication disorders by pairing them with a mentor who has an established record of extramural funding.

Irani was selected as one of 16 participants from across the country to attend the three-day conference and become a member of the program’s online community where he can stay in touch with and get feedback from his assigned mentor. This opportunity also allows Irani to network with other early career researchers for future research collaborations.

The role of the Pathways program is to mentor early-career clinical scientists in developing strong foundations for independent research careers. Pathways assists participants with developing a five-year research career plan, acculturating to a research career, building a publication record and learning about funding mechanisms appropriate to this career stage. The program is intended to be an initial step to enhance the training, retention and funding success of clinical scientists in CSD, with the ultimate goal of advancing the evidence base of the discipline.

For more information, please contact Farzan Irani at fi10@txstate.edu.