Dr. Emily Tobey
The Foundation for Callier Center and Communication Disorders and various donors established the chair in July 1991 to honor the memory of Nelle C. Johnston, who for more than 40 years devoted her life and her many talents to assisting children with hearing problems and to establishing, guiding and aiding Callier Center in the fields of communication disorders.
“It’s an honor to hold the Nelle C. Johnston chair. She was a strong advocate for providing a sound education for young children experiencing hearing difficulties.”
Dr. Emily Tobey made some of the most important contributions concerning the longitudinal effects of cochlear implantation during her decades-long focus on speech production and oral language development in young people. Her work, much of which is done at the UT Dallas Callier Center, has been funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) or other agencies since 1975.
Her research has included exploring imaging techniques to study brain function and how it correlates to changes in adults’ performance post-cochlear implantation. This work helps specialists determine underlying processes in the speech perception and production of adults who had normal hearing, lost hearing through deafness and regained auditory input with a cochlear implant.
The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association awarded Tobey its prestigious Honors of the Association in 2011, citing her study of speech production by cochlear implant users, her groundbreaking studies in oral rehabilitation and brain imaging, and her many academic leadership roles.
Tobey has published peer-reviewed manuscripts with more than 155 professionals around the world. She now works on research efforts not only at UT Dallas, but also with Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, UT Southwestern Medical Center and many other institutions. She received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in speech-language pathology from New Mexico State University and Louisiana State University Medical Center. She obtained her doctorate in speech science at the City University of New York.