Our team at Jefferson Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute includes talented clinicians and researchers who are dedicated to supporting the cutting-edge science at our Institute. After working as a Research Assistant at our Institute from 2011-2013, we were thrilled to welcome Kelly Horel, MS, SLP, back in 2024. Ms. Horel graduated from Rutgers University with her B.A. in Linguistics and minors in Psychology and Cognitive Science. While at Rutgers, she worked as a Research Assistant in a Phonetics Laboratory. After graduation, she began working at our Institute under Erica Middleton, PhD, and Myrna Schwartz, PhD, in the Language and Aphasia Lab in 2011.
She was inspired to go to graduate school to become a Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) after working with Adelyn Brecher, SLP, and with the people with aphasia who would come in to participate in research studies. Ms. Horel graduated from Boston University in 2015 with a M.S. in Speech Language Pathology. From there, she worked clinically in a variety of settings including sub-acute rehabilitation, home health, and in local schools. After taking some time off for the births of her children, Ms. Horel began working part-time at the Adler Aphasia Center (Maywood, NJ) as an aphasia group facilitator. This position renewed her passion for working with people with aphasia. Remembering her experiences at the Institute, Ms. Horel explained, “When I saw that they were looking for a research SLP, I knew I had to reach out!”
About a year and a half ago, she began her current position as a Research Therapist in the Language and Learning Laboratory under Dr. Middleton. In this role, she administers language and cognition tests as part of an Aphasia Battery. She also assists with experimental design and set up, transcribes and codes data, among other tasks for Dr. Middleton’s word retrieval studies. In reflecting on her role, she noted, “I really enjoy contributing to research that will support clinicians in helping people with aphasia in their recovery process.”