Thea Knowles

Dr. Thea Knowles is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communicative Sciences and Disorders at Michigan State University, where she directs the Clinical Applications of Speech Acoustics Lab. She is a certified speech-language pathologist specializing in motor speech disorders, particularly Parkinson's disease speech disorders.

She earned a Bachelor of Arts from McGill University (Montreal, Canada), and both a Master of Clinical Science in Speech-Language Pathology and a PhD in Health & Rehabilitation Sciences from Western University (London, Canada).

Dr. Knowles' research centers on acoustic-phonetic analysis of dysarthria, investigating how acoustic signal variations influence speech intelligibility and listener effort. Her work spans three key areas: (1) acoustic distinctiveness in speech intelligibility; (2) effects of variable conditions (e.g., speech strategies, contexts, face masks) on communication; and (3) technology applications for speech treatment and measurement, including speech amplification devices and automated tools.

As director of the Clinical Applications of Speech Acoustics Lab, Dr. Knowles mentors students in research on speech acoustics and dysarthria. The text does not specify any grants.

The lab focuses on acoustic analysis of speech disorders and developing technology-based interventions to improve speech communication.