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BRAIN Lab Founder & Co-Director
Cathy Off, Ph.D.

Hello!

I am a Professor and Chair in the School of Speech, Language, Hearing, & Occupational Sciences in the College of Health at the University of Montana and I co-direct the Behavioral Research for Aphasia & Intensive Neurorehabilitation (BRAIN) Lab.

 

I have affiliations with the Montana Department of Public Health & Human Services Stroke Work Group, the Academy of Neurologic Communication Disorders and Sciences (ANCDS), the British Aphasiology Society (BAS), and the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). I am also a active member of Aphasia Access.

​Before taking my tenure-track position at the University of Montana, I worked as a lecturer at California State University - Northridge, where I began to clinically explore the implementation of an intensive comprehensive aphasia program (ICAP).  Montana. The BRAIN Lab's research focuses on integrating principles of neuroplasticity into post-acute stroke and aphasia rehabilitation inteventions. As a lab, we are also dedicated to improving stroke and aphasia rehabilitation in the rural Mountain West, with a focus on both patient and family care partner outcomes and graduate student clinician training, in the context of the World Health Organization International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (WHO-ICF) model and patient-centered care.

I completed my PhD at the University of Washington in the Department of Speech & Hearing Sciences under the mentorship of Dr. Margaret Rogers and Dr. Kristie Spencer. I completed my MS in Speech-Language Pathology at the University of Wyoming under the mentorship of Dr. Christie Thompson. I completed by BA in Linguistics with a concentration in Cognitive Science at the University of California-Berkeley. You can find out more about my background at my University of Montana website: https://www.umt.edu/people/Off

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BRAIN Lab Co-Director
Jenna Griffin Musick, Ph.D.

Hello!

I am an Assistant Professor in the School of Speech, Language, Hearing, & Occupational Sciences at the University of Montana, where I co-direct the Behavioral Research for Aphasia & Intensive Neurorehabilitation (BRAIN) Lab and the Big Sky Aphasia Program (BSAP) alongside my colleague and mentor, Dr. Cathy Off. I also serve as Associate Director for Research at the Neural Injury Center (NIC) at the University of Montana.

 

My research asks how evidence-based aphasia rehabilitation can be optimized and delivered equitably to stroke survivors. I am a co-founder of ICAP World, an international research consortium of 60+ investigators across 11 countries, and of the Mountain West Research Collaborative. I serve as a National Aphasia Association Montana Aphasia Ambassador, and am actively engaged in Aphasia Access. I hold ASHA certification (CCC-SLP) and am a Certified Brain Injury Specialist (CBIS).

 

I am a proud three-time graduate of the University of Montana (BA, MS, PhD) and a first-generation college student from Eastern Montana. Before returning to academia, I worked clinically in Montana hospitals with individuals recovering from stroke, traumatic brain injury, and neurodegenerative disease. This experience continues to shape my commitment to rural aphasia care research. In my free time, I enjoy gardening, traveling, and spending time with my family. If you want more information about me, please visit: https://www.umt.edu/speech-language-hearing-occupational-sciences/about-us/default.php?ID=4263#ID=4…

Meet the BRAIN Lab Team

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CHLOE BRYSON

Doctoral Student

Chloe is a 2nd year doctoral student in Speech, Language, & Hearing Sciences at the University of Montana. Chloe's areas of research broadly include stroke and aphasia - she is currently developing her doctoral research topic area. 

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Masters of Science Graduate Student Researchers

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Lexi Bartell

MS Thesis 2025-2027

Lexi is a second year Master of Science student in Speech-Language Pathology at the University of Montana whose research focuses on understanding patient satisfaction of the ICAP service delivery model through a photo-elicitation research approach. 

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Undergraduate Student Researchers & High School Researchers

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Allison Maar

Volunteer (2025-2026)

Sr. Capstone Project

2025-2027

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Cadence Hatten

Sr. Capstone 2026-2027

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Alumni: BRAIN Lab Student Researchers 

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Doctoral Student Researchers

Jenna Griffin-Musick (2017-2024)

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MS Student Researchers

Bethany Wegner (2024-2026)

McKinlee Mihelish (2024-2026)

Adele Derendinger (2023-2025)

Helena Riley (2023-2025)

Kortney Sims (2021-2023)

Ellen Geary (2021-2023)

Natasha Harwood (2021-2023)

Dawson Jakober (2021-2023)

Amanda Sallay (2020-2022)

Mackenzie Brown (2020-2022)

Kaylee Walter (2018-2020)

Harley Kincheloe (2019-2020)

Kathy Molesh (2017-2019)

Anya Leyhe (2017-2019)

Maggie Colstad (2015-2017)

Victoria Hinther (2015-2017)

Jenna Griffin (2012-2014)

Megan Eandi (2011-2013)

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Undergraduate Student Researchers

Ashlynn Everette (2026)

Haley Guenette (2025-2026)

Emily Abbott (2025)

Tyra Kucinski (2024-2026)

Mia Waters (2025-2026)

Isabelle Faschour (2022-2023)

Dove Hoffman (2022-2023)

Kaelyn Kaftan (2021-2022)

Rylee Kremer (2021-2022)

Madison Larson (2019-2020)

Dawson Jakober (2019-2020)

Harley Kincheloe (2018-2019)

Alyssa Kozlowski (2018-2019)

Zoa Phillips (2018-2019)

Abigail LeClair (2018-2019)

...more to come...

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High School Student Researchers

Ella Stone (2025-2026)

Amelie Etter (2023-2025)

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Affiliate Volunteers

Thomas Jensen (2025-2026)

Charlotte Isern (2025-2026)

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