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Valeriy Shafiro, PhD

Professor
Department of Communication Disorders and Sciences, College of Health Sciences
Education

PhD, Speech and Hearing Sciences, City University of New York, NY
BA, Psychology, New York University, NY
Diploma with honors in General Nursing, Petropavlovsk - Kamchatsky Medical College

Contact Info:

600 S. Paulina St.
1015 AAC
Chicago, IL 60612
Phone: (312) 942-3298
valeriy_shafiro@rush.edu
Links:
Biography

Valeriy Shafiro, PhD, conducts research in hearing and speech perception that focuses on finding new ways to diagnose auditory deficits and improve communication abilities in young and older adults.  His initial background in nursing and psychology, followed by doctoral work in speech and hearing, has enabled him to combine the knowledge of medical interventions and theoretical principles that underlie their use in auditory rehabilitation.  Shafiro has developed computerized testing and training programs to evaluate and improve environmental sound perception in users of cochlear implants.  He has also investigated speech perception under adverse listening conditions in older adults with and without hearing loss, especially in relationship to their auditory and cognitive abilities.  The long-term objective of his research program is to develop low-cost, easily and widely accessible computerized training applications to improve everyday listening and communication abilities for people with hearing loss. His teaching responsibilities include anatomy and physiology, acoustics and psychoacoustics, acoustic phonetics and speech perception courses in the Doctor of Audiology program, in which he also directs students’ individual research projects.

Honors and Activities
American Speech Language Hearing Association – Advancing Academic Research Careers Award (AARC), 2008
 
NIH-NIDCD, National Research Service Award (F31), 2003
 
City University of New York, Letter of Achievement in Cognitive Science, 2003
 
Publications

Publications in PubMed

Grants

Current research support

American Speech Language Hearing Foundation Shafiro, V. (PI)  1/1/2017– 12/31/18
“A Randomized Controlled Trial to Evaluate the Benefits of an Internet-Based Auditory Training Program for Cochlear Implant Patients.”
Clinical Research Grant: The primary goal of this project is to evaluate the efficacy of Internet-based environmental sound and speech training for people who rely on cochlear implants in daily life..
 

Completed research support

NIH-NIDCD, National Research Service Award (F-31) Shafiro, V. (PI) 1/1/03 – 12/1/03
“Perception of sources of environmental sounds.”
This work investigated the perception of a large number of familiar environmental sounds under varying spectral resolution by normal hearing adults. It provided a basis for developing a comprehensive environmental sound test for cochlear implant patients.
 
Deafness Research Foundation Shafiro, V. (PI) 7/1/07– 6/30/09
“Perception of environmental sounds and speech in patients with cochlear implants.”
This project investigated the relationship between perception of speech and environmental sounds in cochlear implant patients.
 
American Speech Language Hearing Foundation Shafiro, V. (PI)  1/1/09 – 12/31/09
“Effects of training on the perception of environmental sounds and speech in patients with cochlear implants.”
New Century Scholar Research Grant: to examine the effect of environmental sound training on the perception of speech and environmental sounds in cochlear implant patients.  This project provided pilot data for the subsequent R03 award.
 
NIH-NIDCD R03 DC008676 Shafiro, V. (PI) 4/15/09 -3/31/12
“Perception of environmental sounds and speech by patients with cochlear implants.”  
This project determined 1) the effect of training on the perception of speech and environmental sounds in cochlear implant patients and 2) the role of cognitive and basic auditory abilities in accounting for variance in perception and training effects.  
 
Captia Foundation Shafiro, V. (PI) 1/1/12 – 12/31/12
“Environmental sound and speech perception in relation to language development in children with cochlear implants”
This project examined how perception of environmental sounds relates to speech perception and language development in children with cochlear implants and developed a short test of environmental sound perception and cognition suitable for clinical use.
 
National Organization for Hearing Research Shafiro, V. (Co-investigator; PI: Sheft) 1/1/09 – 12/31/09
“Relationship between ability to discriminate stochastic patterns of frequency modulation and speech perception in hearing-Impaired and elderly listeners.” 
This project investigated the ability of young normal-hearing, normal-hearing elderly, and hearing-impaired listeners to discriminate stochastic patterns of FM. The results provided a basis for development of clinically feasible psychoacoustic measures to indicate the extent of speech-processing deficits associated with hearing loss and aging, and aid in the early diagnosis of cochlear hearing loss.
 
NIH-NIA, Rush Alzheimer Disease Core Center – Pilot Grant,  Shafiro, V. (Co-Investigator; PI: Sheft)  7/1/12 – 6/31/13
“Hearing, speech and episodic memory in older African-American and White adults.”
This study examined the extent of variance in cognitive tests accounted for by hearing and speech abilities for both African-American and White older adults.  Results provide a basis for improving the accuracy of clinical cognitive measures by providing necessary correction for hearing and speech perception-production deficits and refining models of cognitive performance.