Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences

• Spoken discourse in aphasia, especially its clinical utility, and the scientific rigor with which we use it; co-founder of FOQUSAphasia (www.foqusaphasia.com)
• Gesture and its relationship with language and communication in persons with brain injury, specifically aphasia and moderate and severe traumatic brain injury
• Neuroimaging (MRI) and neuropsychological characterization of language and cognition in typical aging and after brain injury (e.g. stroke, traumatic brain injury), with a specialty in aphasia
• Inner speech in aphasia, and its relationship to psychosocial outcomes, relearning language, and the daily experience of living with aphasia

Brielle C. Stark, PhD {she/her/hers}, is an Assistant Professor in the Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences Department, core faculty in the Program in Neuroscience faculty, affiliated faculty with Cognitive Science, and adjunct in Linguistics at Indiana University. Dr. Stark completed her doctoral research in Clinical Neuroscience at the University of Cambridge (UK) as a Gates Cambridge Trust Scholar. She completed her postdoctoral fellowship at the Center for the Study of Aphasia Recovery. She is a proud alumna of Bryn Mawr College. She was honored with the 2021 IU Faculty Excellence in Mentoring Award from the Center for Women & Technology and the 2021 IU Trustees Teaching Award. She is also a trained Peer Reviewer for IU’s Faculty Academy on Excellence in Teaching. In 2021, she was named one of four Distinguished Aphasia Scholars USA, a national award given by the Tavistock Trust UK. Brie was awarded the Outstanding Junior Faculty Award for 2022-2023 from Indiana University Bloomington. As of July 2023, Dr. Stark is the PhD Coordinator / Director of Graduate Studies for the Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences at Indiana University.

• AphasiaBank: A Shared Database for the Study of Aphasic Communication. R01DC008524. National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. Co-I Stark, PI Brian MacWhinney. (IU’s subcontract: ~$500,000, funding period: 09/1/2022 - 08/31/2027). The goal of this project is to virtually assess gesture and discourse in adults with aphasia and adults without brain injury, focusing on test-retest reliability and improved protocol for evaluating gesture virtually
• Switzer Merit Fellowship. 90SFGE0030-01-00. National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research. PI Stark. Funding period: 9/1/2021-8/31/2022, support: $70,000. “Characterizing inner speech in aphasia.” We proposed measuring, for the first time, a more holistic inner experience in persons with aphasia, as well as investigating the role of inner speech in predicting anomia recovery in persons with aphasia

• Distinguished Aphasia Scholar USA (one of four nationally), The Tavistock Trust UK, 2021
• IU Trustees Teaching Award, 2021

• IU Faculty Excellence in Mentoring Award, Center for Women & Technology, 2021

• ​American Speech-Language-Hearing Foundation New Investigator Grant, 2019-2020