Recognition for our outstanding master’s student scholars: Meet Emily Morphis
By: Margaret Savoie
Emily Morphis
Emily Morphis, a Communication Sciences & Disorders (CSD) master’s student, won first place in the Division of Neuroscience at the Mississippi Academy of Sciences annual conference.
Morphis presented a poster entitled, “Speech Fluency Changes Following Deep Brain Stimulation of the Subthalamic Nucleus in Parkinson’s Disease: A Meta-Analysis.” Morphis has continued this meta-analysis as her thesis.
“Deep brain stimulation is a procedure sometimes offered to patients in the later stages of Parkinson’s disease,” explained Morphis. “The procedure has been shown to improve fluency of movement/reduce tremors, but preliminary research also showed that it worsens speech fluency. After running the meta-analysis, we can say that deep brain stimulation has a medium or moderately negative effect on speech fluency in this population.”
The American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA) does not address neurogenic/acquired stuttering in its research base. This is what sparked Morphis’ interest to dive deeper into this area.
“My hope is that this meta-analysis will provide concrete evidence justifying the need for further research into neurogenic/acquired stuttering in order to provide better resources [for] speech-language pathologists and their patients who may have this diagnosis,” said Morphis.
Students in the CSD program are not required to present at conferences but it is highly encouraged. Student engagement in research is also supported through events such as the Three-Minute Thesis (3MT®) competition, at which Morphis won first place in the category for master’s student competitors.
Dr. Myriam Kornisch
“It has been a pleasure working with Emily; she was actively involved in the development of her thesis project, and her continued work in my lab suggests to me that she truly values research and enjoys the process,” said Dr. Myriam Kornisch, Assistant Professor of CSD.
Morphis started her academic career at the University of Mississippi and received her bachelor’s degree in CSD.
“I applied to several graduate program[s], but once I learned that I had been offered a graduate assistantship in the neurogenic communicative disorders lab with Dr. Kornisch, I knew that I wanted to stay at UM for my graduate degree as well,” said Morphis.
The CSD program is clinically-based but there are many opportunities for students to explore research.
“We are all very proud of Emily’s accomplishments and we anticipate attracting more students who are interested in the various research opportunities we offer at the department level,” said Kornisch.
Morphis wants prospective students to know more about the CSD program.
“If someone is looking for a well-rounded experience of diverse clinical practice opportunities in addition to research opportunities and faculty support, it would be difficult to find a better program than the CSD program at the University of Mississippi.”
Kornisch reiterated Morphis’ sentiment, “The CSD department includes faculty and staff members with a wide range of research interests and specialties.” She continued, “Our students have the opportunity to learn from and work with experts in topics from child language development to adult neurogenic disorders.”
Spring/Summer 2022 Articles