Texas Woman’s faculty Christopher Bolinger wins national research award

Texas Woman’s University communication sciences and disorders faculty member Christopher Bolinger, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, was selected as one of 10 recipients for a national research award given by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.

The association presents junior university faculty members with these awards to support their mentored academic and research endeavors in the field of communication disorders. Recipients work with mentors to meet specific career milestones over an 18-month period. The award provides financial assistance to ensure recipients can complete these milestones.

Bolinger, an assistant professor who joined the TWU faculty in January 2017, plans to use this award to further his skills in clinical practice research and evidence-based teaching. His area of expertise focuses on dysphagia, a swallowing disorder.

“With this award, I plan to perform research and publish manuscripts that add to the dysphagia knowledge base while assisting in the development of inter-professional education programs,” Bolinger said.

Academically, Bolinger strives to use more technology in the courses he teaches, both in the classroom as well as online. As a new instructor, Bolinger is mentored by TWU associate professor Laura Green, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, who will support him throughout the award cycle.

Bolinger earned his bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees from Texas Tech University. Prior to coming to TWU, he worked as a speech-language pathologist in an acute-care medical center where he gained expertise in neonatal, pediatric, adult and geriatric care.

TWU’s department of communication sciences and disorders offers degree programs focused on speech-language pathology and deaf education. The university is home to a unique collaborative program that creates a guaranteed pipeline of speech therapists to fill positions in public schools across Texas.