Anna Girardi

Dr. Anna Girardi serves as a Lecturer in Speech Pathology and Practice Education Coordinator at the University of Southern Queensland's School of Health and Medical Sciences since 2022. She concurrently holds roles as Program Coordinator for the Associate Degree of Allied Health (2022-2025) and coordinates Practice Education. A Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, she teaches across multiple courses including HEA1100 Introduction to Allied Health, SPY2200 Communication and Swallowing Across the Lifespan, and HMS2101 Introduction to Digital Health.

Her educational background includes a BA(Psych) from Griffith University (2006), PGDipPsych from Bond University (2008), MSpchPath from the University of Queensland (2011), and PhD from the University of Queensland (2016). Her doctoral research investigated pediatric swallowing complications from button battery and chemical ingestion injuries.

Girardi's research program focuses on dysphagia management across diverse populations, particularly examining AI applications in swallowing diagnostics and dysphagia in psychiatric patients. Her work bridges clinical practice and technological innovation, with recent publications analyzing acoustic sensing for healthcare and AI interpretation of videofluoroscopic swallow studies. She maintains active clinical practice in aged care, acute, and rehabilitation settings while advancing button battery safety advocacy through national media appearances.

Her research outputs demonstrate consistent growth in AI-integrated speech pathology, with 2023-2025 publications showing increasing focus on compassionate care curriculum design and mental health intersections. Key trends include the development of machine learning tools for dysphagia assessment and expanding investigation into swallowing disorders within mental health contexts.

• Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA)
• Research Training Program Stipend Scholarship (Australian Government, 2013)

As a research supervisor, Girardi mentors students in Allied Health and Rehabilitation Science, Paediatrics, and Speech Pathology. Her grant portfolio includes the UniSQ Early Career Researcher Seed Grant (2024), Ipswich Hospital Foundation Grant for dysphagia in psychiatric inpatients (2024), Centre for Health Research Small Grants for AI analysis in neurological disorders (2023) and forensic mental health dysphagia studies (2024). She actively collaborates with the Centre for Health Research and Institute for Resilient Regions.

Girardi leads the MIND Project (Mental Illness, Ingestion Injury, and Nature and Clinical Progression of Dysphagia) and contributes to the Dysphagia Research Society. Her clinical-academic role integrates hospital practice with university teaching, maintaining direct patient care while developing next-generation speech pathology professionals through evidence-based curriculum design.