Maressa Kennedy

Maressa Kennedy is a PhD student in Speech, Language & Hearing Sciences under the mentorship of Meghan Darling-White in the Communication Participation and Adaptive Listening Support (P.A.L.S.) Lab.

She graduated from Northern Arizona University with a Bachelor of Science with Honors in Biomedical Sciences and a minor in Psychology. During her undergraduate studies, she conducted extensive research on the biomechanics of infant dysphagia in an animal model. This sparked her broader interest in communicative disorders and how they affect speech across the lifespan. She is currently interested in understanding the underlying physiological mechanisms of speech impairment in diverse populations, with a particular focus on the respiratory system. Her research interests focus on advancing the understanding of speech and swallowing disorders to support the development of more individualized interventions.