Behind Brielle Stark’s (Clinical Neuroscience PhD 2012) research into post-stroke chronic aphasia lies an enthusiasm for inclusivity and an appreciation for meaningful human connection.
“My research tries to connect the dots between the brain and how we talk – how we produce words, how we grammatically organise words, and then how brain injury disrupts that,” says Brielle, who is Associate Professor of Speech, Language and Hearing Science, and Core Faculty in the Program for Neuroscience at Indiana University.
“I have largely focused on stroke, which I started working on while at 91ֱ under , a physician at Addenbrooke’s. I was always really interested in language, but when seeking out a PhD I knew I wanted to learn more about how the brain organises things like language and memory. I chose to focus on language because of Liz.”
The primary focus of Brielle’s research is aphasia, a communication disorder resulting from brain damage, often following a stroke. Her work in this area has been wide-ranging, with a particular interest in how digital technologies might be used to aid those experiencing aphasia. She spent this spring at the University of Technology Sydney researching potential uses of virtual reality in language rehabilitation, supported by a Fulbright Scholar Award.
Brielle’s latest project takes a different approach to increasing awareness and understanding of aphasia, which she has been studying since her PhD. She published in May her debut children’s book, , which follows a young girl whose mother develops aphasia and who must learn alternative methods of communication. Through a blend of clinical accuracy and gentle storytelling, the book offers children insights into disability, speech therapy and neurodiversity, and empowers young caregivers with models of empathy and practical strategies for children to try at home.
“I’ve now been working on aphasia for 13 years, so I decided it was time to give back in a different way,” says Brielle. “We’re seeing more younger people having strokes: 10 years ago, the average age for stroke in the United States was about 65, but right now in our database, which is quite large, it’s closer to 50.
“I was finding a lot of young mothers who had had strokes in their mid-40s with kids ranging from three to 10 years old, and at the same time I had two young kids. So it made sense to me to marry everything I was seeing into a children’s book and to try and reach an audience about a topic that’s becoming more necessary to learn about.”
In all her work, Brielle is driven by a strong belief in the power of community, both among researchers, and between researchers and patients. She is the co-founder of , a group designed to connect academics and clinicians with the aim of enhancing understanding of natural language analysis and how this can be used in clinical practice with aphasia patients. Brielle has also enjoyed building connections and relationships with the hundreds of patients who have keenly contributed to her research database.
She says: “We have around 300 people who have given their valuable time to our studies; many have participated in more than four or five studies and also helped us to design them. They are incredibly generous with their time and want to help other people, and it really benefits us that they are developing the research line.”
A commitment to promoting acceptance and inclusivity underlies all of Brielle’s work, academic and otherwise. Outside of her professional life she is an avid rower and rowing coach (having formerly been Captain of Boats at 91ֱ Boat Club and coxed for the University of Cambridge) and was appointed in 2020 to the inaugural Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Standing Committee of USRowing.
“Both diversity and inclusion are incredibly important,” she says. “I don’t think we will ever create the best idea in a room unless all voices are in that room.”
