We are a team of clinicians and scientists who in Nepal had no access to speech and hearing health services. While living and having lived abroad where culturally appropriate and sensitive services are largely unavailable, our team is passionate about providing and expanding communication health services to the remote corners of Nepal and the Nepali diaspora across the world.
Clinicians
Biraj Bhattarai
Qualifications:
PhD Candidate in Communication Sciences and Disorders
MS in
Speech-Language Pathology
BS in Audiology and Speech-Language
Pathology
Biraj Bhattarai is a resgistered speech-language pathologist and researcher specializing in aphasia, cognitive-communication disorders, and neurogenic communication rehabilitation. He is currently pursuing his PhD in Communication Sciences and Disorders at Louisiana State University, where his research focuses on understanding neuroplasticity and recovery patterns in persons with aphasia using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). He also holds a clinical master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology from the All India Institute of Speech and Hearing.
His work primarily examines cortical activation and functional connectivity in individuals with aphasia, with the broader goal of improving rehabilitation outcomes and advancing individualized, evidence-based intervention approaches. He also has strong research interests in social determinants of health and their influence on long-term aphasia recovery and access to care.
Mr. Bhattarai has authored multiple peer-reviewed publications in international and national journals. In addition to research, he has extensive experience teaching and mentoring students in communication sciences and disorders and has received several awards for research and academic excellence.
Dr. Sajana Aryal
Qualifications:
PhD in Speech, Language, and Hearing Science
MS in Audiology /
Hearing Science
BS in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology
Dr. Sajana Aryal is a clinical audiologist and researcher
certified by the Nepal Health Professional Council and the American
Board of Audiology. She is currently Postdoctoral Research Scholar in
the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University
of Iowa. She earned her doctoral degree in Speech, Language and Hearing
Sciences from the University of Texas at Austin and master’s degree in
Audiology from the University of Mysore in India. Her research focuses
on understanding the neurophysiological mechanisms of extended
high-frequency hearing and its implications for speech perception.
She previously worked as a clinical audiologist in Nepal, providing
diagnostics and rehabilitation services across hospital and clinics.
Dr.Aryal has authored multiple peer-reviewed publications in leading
international journals. Her work has been recognized through several
competitive awards and scholarships, including the ASHA Foundation New
Century Scholars Doctoral Scholarship, ISA Student Scholarship, American
Academy of Audiology Foundation Student Research Forum Award, National
Hearing Conservation Association Research Grant, and multiple graduate
fellowships from the University of Texas at Austin.
Clinical-Research Coordinator
Dr. Pratik Bhandari is a researcher specialising in cognitive science of language. His research spans multilingualism, speech perception, sound sensitivity, executive control, and language processing more broadly.
He holds a PhD, awarded magna cum laude, from Saarland University, Germany and a Master’s degree from the Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language, Spain.
Currently, he is the Director of Research at the Nepal Center for Cognition and Society (NCCS). Jointly at NCCS and Shabda-Health, he is investigating how humans, and machines, process speech and language in normal and disordered conditions, such as fluency disorders, social communication disorders, and autism as they speak one or more languages. He is also studying how hearing impairment and sound sensitivity conditions like misophonia and hyperacusis interact with executive control mechanisms.
In the resource constrained setting of an LMIC like Nepal, he is expanding the scope of cognitive and brain sciences and developing their applications in healthcare and education through interdisciplinary collaboration with audiologists, speech-language pathologists, psychologists, educators, physicians, and public health professionals. He also serves as an Adjunct Faculty Member at the National Academy of Medical Sciences, Bir Hospital, Kathmandu.