His research, titled “The Gene VRK2 is Implicated in Genome-Wide Analyses of Stuttering, Language, and Rhythm Traits,” focused on findings from genetic analyses of stuttering involving the VRK2 gene. The project served as a continuation of previous research conducted by Dr. Pruett and his team, using earlier findings to investigate further how genetic variants may influence speech and language traits. 

“We conducted a large-scale genome-wide association study of stuttering, and one of the top genetic associations indicated a gene called VRK2,” said Dr. Pruett. “VRK2 was also a top association for independent genome-wide association studies of language and musical rhythm. We thought this was interesting because there are overlapping clinical associations between these traits. For example: both children and adults who stutter show greater variability on rhythm-based tasks and providing an external rhythm such as a metronome can temporarily increase speech fluency.” 

For Dr. Pruett, his research is more than an academic pursuit. As someone who stutters himself, he said his personal experiences have shaped his interest in understanding the condition and its underlying causes. 

“I stutter, and I’ve always had questions about stuttering, and that has motivated my research in the field,” said Pruett. “We’ve known that stuttering tends to run in families, and the heritability of the trait is fairly high, but we’ve had a difficult time understanding the exact genetic components that are responsible for that heritability.”  

Stuttering remains a relatively understudied area of research despite its impact on many individuals. “Stuttering is something that is a little bit of a niche area of research within genetics. It doesn’t get a whole lot of attentioncomparatively,” said Pruett. 

With the goal of further exploring the connection between speech, language and rhythm traits, the research primarily relied on data from genome-wide association studies. 

“Our main data sources were genome-wide association studies that were performed on stuttering, musical rhythm, resting state functional connectivity of classical language areas, and then Alzheimer’s related language decline. Then we did a variety of analyses to look and see how those genetic variants lined up for those traits,” said Pruett.  

This year marked his second time presenting at the conference, after previously attending in March 2022. As the only Florida State University (FSU) representative presenting this year, he said the experience highlighted the kind of research being conducted at the university. 

“I previously presented at this conference in March of 2022,” said Dr. Pruett. “It was good to represent Florida State and to show some of the work that we’re doing. And hopefully in the upcoming years, with the growth of FSU Health and the IPRD (Institute for Pediatric Rare Disease), this might be something that more FSU professors and students attend in the future.” 

As research surrounding the VRK2 gene continues to develop, Dr. Pruett believes the findings offer a promising step toward better understanding the sensory motor processes involved in speech, language, and rhythm. While the research is still in its early stages, the connections identified between these traits may help researchers further investigate the biological mechanisms behind stuttering and eventually contribute to future clinical interventions, though he emphasized that the findings are still far from being fully validated. 

“We are far away from validating those claims, but it opens doors for future novel interventions in that space,” said Dr. Pruett. “As FSU Health continues to grow, I feel like this is the space that I see myself in, providing a bridge between the basic science and the clinical world.” 

For Dr. Pruett, the pursuit of answers about stuttering is both professional and personal. As research into the VRK2 gene and related speech and language traits continues, he hopes to contribute to a deeper understanding of the condition while helping build connections between scientific discovery and clinical care. Through this work, he aims to advance knowledge in a field that has historically received limited attention and inspire future research that could benefit individuals who stutter. 

The Office of Faculty Development and Advancement provides faculty with a sabbatical, to support research recognition, professional advancement, and academic growth. Among faculty awarded one-semester sabbaticals was Dr. Sana Tibi, whose research specializes in Arabic literacy. Her sabbatical focused primarily on improving Arabic literacy research and understanding how reading comprehension is developed in Arabic-speaking populations. She spent her time in England, presenting research across different universities, helping to expand her scholarly network.  

“The advantages of a sabbatical in England were twofold”, said Dr. Tibi. “It provided opportunities to engage directly with leading scholars in the field of literacy. Second, it offered multiple venues to present my own research, creating meaningful opportunities for international dissemination.” 

Throughout her career, her research contributions and advancements have been extensive, supported by numerous grants and awards, and expanded through publications, projects, and collaborations. Her work has included developing more effective reading comprehension assessment tools for Arabic-speaking populations. She feels that Arabic research can be overlooked at times, despite being one of the most widely used languages in the world.  

Her sense of purpose has remained central throughout her career and continues to guide her work today. 

“My motivation is deeply intrinsic and layered. At its core is a strong desire to make a meaningful impact, both scholarly and human”, said Dr. Tibi. “I became acutely aware of how underrepresented Arabic literacy was in mainstream reading research, and I felt obligated to help build a rigorous research base.” 

During her time spent in England, she was invited by the Child Development and Learning Center in the College of Education at Oxford University to present a talk on Arabic literacy and orthography. This presentation ultimately led to her contribution of a chapter on Arabic orthography in an edited volume currently in progress. She was also able to present her work at Bangor University and work closely with professors at Lancaster University. These discussions and exchanges expanded her understanding of reading comprehension and sparked new possibilities for adapting an existing multilingual literacy assessment tool. 

“These exchanges were valuable in sharpening distinctions between universal components of reading comprehension and those that are language-specific”, said Dr. Tibi.  

Her research has positioned her at the forefront of advancements in Arabic literacy, as she shapes assessments and developments within the field. However, her objectives when starting her research have since shifted as she moves forward in her work. 

“Early in my career, my primary goal was to establish myself as a rigorous researcher and educator in language and literacy development,” said Dr. Tibi. “To me, the shift has been from establishing a presence in the field to helping advance the field itself through my research, collaborations, and mentorship.” 

The support Dr. Tibi received early in her education also played a formative role in her research and motivates her to continue this important and influential work. 

“During my early childhood, my teachers and parents consistently reinforced the value of education, curiosity, and perseverance. That early encouragement shaped both my confidence and my work ethic,” said Dr. Tibi.  

Dr. Sana Tibi’s sabbatical work has created large advancements in Arabic literacy, yet she is cognizant of the work that still needs to be done.  

“These experiences collectively reinforced that my position in the field was not accidental and that continuing this work mattered”, said Dr. Tibi. “What keeps me pushing forward is the knowledge that there is still much to be done.”

 

The Dean of the College, Michelle Kazmer, said, “The annual Honors and Awards Recognition Ceremony is a special occasion where we come together to celebrate the distinctions, leadership, and academic excellence of our amazing students and outstanding faculty.”    

Students and faculty from all three schools within the college — the School of Communication, the School of Communication Science and Disorders, and the School of Information — are honored through a variety of awards that recognize achievements in academics, research, teaching, mentorship, and community involvement. The ceremony highlights not only students’ academic excellence but also the faculty’s commitment to supporting them. 

“We have some of the finest students attending FSU, and we’re very proud to shine the spotlight on their outstanding achievements,” said Kelly Farquharson, Master of Ceremonies for the event and Professor in the School of Communication Science and Disorders. “Our faculty are truly outstanding, constantly inspiring and empowering students through their passion, expertise, and dedication to excellence.” 

The ceremony is a reflection of the college’s dedication to fostering innovation, collaboration, and student success across all its programs. 

 This year, more than 50 students and faculty members were recognized for their commitment to education, research, leadership, and innovation within their respective fields. Honorees represented a wide range of accomplishments. From academic excellence and impactful research to leadership within student organizations and mentorship in the classroom, each honoree contributed to the continued growth and success of the CCI community. 

“These events are always really exciting and really humbling because we hear about the amazing things that students and faculty accomplish,” said Kazmer.  

The annual ceremony not only celebrates individual achievement but also serves as a reminder of the collaborative and supportive environment cultivated within the CCI. As students and faculty continue to excel in their fields, the Honors and Awards Ceremony remains an opportunity to recognize the dedication and passion that define our community. 

Lewis and Marengo will join a team of researchers in the Gulf of America to document their expedition and findings.

“An opportunity like this is a dream! Growing up in Southern California, I hold marine conservation very near and dear to my heart,” Lewis said. “I am very honored to be working on something so timely and important, which has the capacity to make real change for the health of Florida waters and its inhabitants.”

Lewis graduated from FSU in December of 2025 and has maintained her passion for journalism and filmmaking through various endeavors. She has worked as a multimedia journalist for Planet Forward, a managing editor for the Florida Student News Watch, an intern for the Smithsonian Institution, an intern for the FSU English Department, and a staff writer for the FSView & Florida Flambeau.

When looking ahead to what she’s most excited for on the trip, Lewis pointed out the opportunity to capture the expedition and learn alongside the research team. Aside from the lead scientist, Dr. Dean Grubbs, the team is made up of students looking to gain experience in this area of filmmaking.

“I find it very special that in a lot of ways, we are a group of young people experiencing an amazing opportunity to propel our dreams forward simultaneously,” Lewis said, “and I am so excited to capture all of what that means!”

Lewis highlighted the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill as one of the most catastrophic environmental disasters to date in the United States and identified the purpose this research can have.

“Research like this helps support protections for the Gulf and other waters like it because if we can still see the lasting ramifications of an event that occurred over 15 years ago, surely we should have protections in place to avoid another disaster,” Lewis said.

For Marengo, the opportunity is particularly exciting because it connects to an experience from his childhood.

“I watched a lot of Shark Week on the Discovery Channel as a kid, and now I’m actually working with marine biologists on a shark research expedition,” Marengo said. “I feel like I’m going on a quest or adventure on the high seas.”

When thinking about the biggest potential challenges, Marengo pointed out the idea that the production team is just himself and Lewis.

“We’re both capable filmmakers, but there are a lot of factors that aren’t in our control,” Marengo said. “Being in a wet, salty, unpredictable environment for a prolonged period of time means protecting our equipment is crucial.”

In this quest, Marengo understands the importance of the story itself, especially given the recent oil spills in the Gulf of America during March 2026. The spill spread more than 373 miles across the ocean and seeped into seven nature reserves.

Marengo detailed that he hopes to emphasize the relatability between the audience and scientists.

“I hope that audiences realize that scientists, despite their knowledge and expertise, are ordinary people like everyone else,” Marengo said. “Showcasing relatability is crucial. An audience is less likely to listen to someone they feel they can’t feel some sort of connection with. We hope to therefore emphasize the importance of this research through the scientists working on the project.”

Three FSU College of Communication and Information (CCI) students—Elias Latimer, an Information Technology (IT) student, Manavi Kotwani, an Information, Communication, and Technology (ICT) student, and Courtney Stokes, an IT student—presented their projects at the showcase.

Elias Latimer merged what he learned at his internship with what he presented at the conference. Latimer’s topic was creating Retrieval-Augmented Generation Artificial Intelligence (AI) agents for departments within FSU using the Salesforce platform. He expressed that he was able to gain hands-on experience in technologies and applications that are not only industry standards but also in high demand.

“The Salesforce DevOps team, which I am interning with, combines system administration and software development. This means I am learning not only best practices for software development but also system development,” said Latimer. “This experience has been integral to my understanding of designing solutions for real use cases rather than just course projects. Understanding user requirements and needs and then building to meet those expectations has been especially formative.”

Latimer also remarked that seeing the passion of others through their projects, along with the supportive messages from leadership, created a very positive and motivating experience. This tied into the event’s vision of driving innovation and collaboration.

“This event is a great opportunity to showcase your experience, connect with others, and learn about different teams within IT. It is similar to a conference, with guest speakers, messages from leadership, and individual presentations. It is worth taking the time to meet new people and explore topics you may not have encountered before,” said Latimer.

Manavi Kotwani presented on FSU’s virtual assistant “Ruby” and how it has been upgraded from a simple chatbot to a more advanced AI system using Salesforce’s Agentforce platform. After more upgrades, the assistant gained more understanding of what users are asking and helps complete tasks instead of providing only basic answers.

Kotwani said, “My biggest takeaway from this event was realizing how important it is to design technology that’s not just smart, but also easy and helpful for people to use. It also showed me how important it is to communicate ideas clearly, especially when you’re talking about something technical.”

The event also allowed students to gather experience in interdisciplinary topics. Kotwani explained how, as a Marketing and ICT student, her topic connected with her interest in how AI can improve user experience and make digital platforms more personal and efficient.

“This was a valuable experience for me. It helped me bring together both my creative and technical skills, and it made me even more excited about working with AI in the future,” said Kotwani.

Latimer and Kotwani both expressed gratitude to CCI for gaining real-world experience through their programs.

“FSU, especially CCI, has been a huge support system for me. I’ve had access to great resources, hands-on projects, and opportunities like this presentation that let me apply what I’m learning. It’s not just about classes, it’s about real experience, which has helped me grow a lot,” said Kotwani.

Latimer echoed the same sentiment, saying, “CCI has also been a great facilitator by acting as a bridge between the IT concepts learned in class and their real-world application in a career setting.”

The ITS RISE Together Showcase allowed attendees to apply their technical knowledge in real-world contexts and was a great opportunity to help shape the future of innovation at FSU.

See more photos from the event by clicking the link here!

The goal of the event is to foster dialogue; the mini-conference served as a platform for sharing ideas and strengthening connections across all levels of the program. Attendees had the opportunity to engage with a wide range of research while building relationships with peers in their field.

Among the attendees was SCSD undergraduate program coordinator and NSSLHA faculty advisor Dr. Kimberlee Crass, who emphasized the impact of the event.

“What stood out most was the strong sense of collaboration, not only between faculty and students, but also across undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral levels,” Dr. Crass said. “It was exciting to see students at different stages of their academic journeys working together, supporting one another, and contributing meaningfully to shared research efforts.”

She also explained how the event aligned with NSSLHA’s mission of promoting student engagement and professional development, noting that the environment encouraged mentorship and shared learning experiences.

“The event really embodied the mission of the NSSLHA by creating a space where students could actively engage in scholarly work and professional dialogue,” Dr. Crass said. “Students were not only presenting their research, but also developing skills in communication, critical thinking, and collaboration.”

She noted that the overall quality and professionalism of the projects were particularly impressive. She believes that each presentation reflected a strong commitment to research and demonstrated the effort put forth by participants across the board. Looking ahead, Dr. Crass believes the mini-conference will continue to influence the SCSD community by encouraging future collaboration.

“By bringing students and faculty from different levels, it encourages ongoing mentorship and opens the door for new research partnerships,” Dr. Crass said. “Events like this help build connections early on, which can lead to more interdisciplinary and collaborative projects in the future.”

When evaluating the overall value of the conference, she believes that it’s key to building a sense of community within the program.

“Events like the Research Rounds Mini-Conference highlight not only the academic strengths of our students and faculty, but also the collaborative spirit that makes our program so special,” Dr. Crass said. “It’s inspiring to see everyone come together to share ideas, support one another, and celebrate the work being done across all levels.”

Liu presented her paper titled “Information priming for resilience: strengthening belief systems in the age of deepfakes.” Her research looks into how information priming can support human cognition and behavior when people are exposed to multimodal deepfakes in a time when artificial intelligence (AI) makes misinformation increasingly difficult to identify.

“Presenting at iConference was a very meaningful experience for me,” Liu said. “As this work is part of my dissertation, having the opportunity to share it with an international academic audience was both encouraging and motivating.”

The study, under her major professor, Dr. Shuyuan Metcalfe, aims to better understand how individuals can be helped in navigating through misleading digital content.

“As generative AI becomes more widespread, misinformation is increasingly difficult to identify,” Liu said. “My research takes a different approach by focusing on how people perceive and respond to false information.”

One thing that stood out to Liu during the conference was the number of researchers from other iSchools who approached her to discuss the experimental design of the study.

“They were particularly interested in how I structured my experimental groups and how the design could evolve alongside rapidly changing technologies,” Liu said. “These conversations gave me new ideas for refining my approach to studying deepfake-related behaviors and helped me think more carefully about how to design experiments that remain relevant over time.”

The experiment used a mixed design, applying priming as a between-subjects factor across text, image, and multimedia content with embedded ground truth. Participants were placed in control, conceptual priming, or perceptual priming groups. Perceptions and detection performance data were collected in both objective and subjective manners.

Liu described her experience of presenting at the conference as encouraging.

“It helped me see the potential of this research direction more clearly and strengthened my confidence in continuing my academic work,” Liu said.

Beyond her own presentation, Liu participated in workshops and attended sessions led by fellow scholars, including researchers within FSU’s iSchool. Drs. Marcia Mardis and Denise Gomez conducted a workshop, while Dr. Sein Oh, a graduate of the iSchool at FSU who now works with Louisiana State University, held a poster session presentation.

“Even while attending a conference in Scotland, it was meaningful to connect with scholars from my own academic community,” Liu said. “It made me feel both proud and supported.”

The published study can be accessed here: publicera.kb.se/ir/article/view/64198

Pang said, “The experience was incredibly rewarding, as it allowed me to share our work, receive valuable feedback, and connect with others who are passionate about advancing equitable and trustworthy health technologies.”

KCHC, hosted by the University of Kentucky Department of Communication, has hosted health communication researchers, practitioners, and students for over 30 years, inviting them to share research and disseminate knowledge on a variety of health-related topics, including distinct health communication research agendas, individual health behavior risk reduction, interactive health communication and informatics, and public and private media advocacy.

Through this year’s theme, “Health as a Human Right: The Role of Health Communication,” KCHC acted as a significant venue for practitioners and researchers alike to host paper, poster, panel, and workshop sessions with subjects from equitable and dignified access to basic healthcare, to providing ample health communication education and employment opportunities, as well as promoting the value of science in advancing disease treatment and prevention.

“This theme highlighted that it is not enough to simply develop advanced technologies — we also need to ensure that people can trust, understand, and effectively use them. I realized that health communication plays a key role in bridging the gap between technological innovation and real-world impact,” said Pang.

Pang’s perspective largely centered on the intersection of health as a human right and her own research, highlighting her eagerness to expand the critical role of health communication technologies and how diverse users interact with them in her future projects. Since her past research focuses on health informatics, AI-driven tool development, and personalized health intervention support, Pang shared fresh insights on accessibility, comprehension, and equity in AI use and health communication. Specifically, she emphasized how integrating health communication findings into health informatics can contribute to technologies that are more user-centered, inclusive, and ethically grounded, supporting vulnerable populations with complex health needs.

“Attending KCHC reinforced the idea that developing effective health technologies is not only a technical challenge but also a communication challenge. As a researcher in health informatics, I aim to integrate communication principles into the design and evaluation of generative AI–based health tools, particularly for older adults with multiple chronic conditions,” Pang said.

Looking at Pang’s research, she and her team collected large-scale Reddit data to analyze user experiences, perceptions, and concerns when using AI to seek health information to investigate individual AI engagement testimonies. Their discoveries highlight a variety of factors to consider, from benefits such as increased accessibility and personalized support to risks including potential misinformation and tentative trustworthiness.

“KCHC strengthened my commitment to interdisciplinary research and encouraged me to actively seek collaborations with scholars in health communication as I continue to develop my research program,” Pang said.

Pang’s presentation drew extensive attention at the conference, inviting scholars across the nation to engage with and discuss AI-driven health communication and its impact on patient health. She stressed how audience engagement and scholastic discussion generated invaluable feedback to further refine their research and sharpen its impact in health communication. Specifically, she shared how KCHC facilitated an incredibly vibrant community of researchers, and it was through her interactions with them that she broadened her understanding of current health communication trends and challenges, inspiring her to continue pursuing research in this field.

The SAIS conference is an opportunity for researchers to come together to share their work and advance the field of information systems. The FSU delegation presented four papers covering generative AI, privacy, human-computer interaction, and machine learning.

Dr. Sengupta, whose research focuses on human-AI interaction, had multiple co-authored papers at the conference, despite not being able to make the conference due to flight delays. One study, “GenAI Mediated Creation: Activity System in Multi-Dimensional Information Practice,” brought Sengupta and Liu together to examine how teams collaboratively use generative AI in creative projects. Liu attended the conference virtually, participating in discussions on digital literacy and responsible AI use.

“This is an incredible honor for us,” Sengupta said. “SAIS is a well-rounded community in the information sciences space, and the opportunity to share our work with this community and to discuss possible extensions and expansions with others working in the same space is very valuable, for which we are grateful.”

Additionally, Sengupta co-authored another study presented at the conference, “Analyzing Generative-AI Mediated Creation Using Activity Theory and Epistemic Network Analysis.” The research introduced a network-based approach to better understand how team dynamics, roles, and collective actions shape the way generative AI is used.

Hussain also presented at the conference with the study, “When Competitive Advantage Wins: A Privacy Calculus Perspective of Generative AI Use Among University Students.” Co-authored with Dr. Shuyuan Mary Ho and Sumra Anis from FSU, the study examines how university students weigh privacy concerns when using generative AI tools like ChatGPT and why they continue to use them despite awareness of potential privacy risks.

“This research highlights that students are not ignoring privacy concerns but rather balancing them with the practical benefits of AI tools,” Hussain said. “Understanding this balance will be important as AI becomes more integrated into education and everyday work.”

The iSchool’s Machine Learning Lab also made an impact at the conference as the co-authored paper, “Comparison of Authentic Media and Synthetic Media in Computer Vision Training,” won the conference’s Best Themed Paper Award.

“It was a great surprise,” doctoral student and co-author of the paper Odirile Moja said. “I actually defended the dissertation the morning that it was presented. The award speaks to the sort of importance this type of research has.”

The study explored how AI-generated, or synthetic, images can be used with or instead of real-world data to train computer vision models, with a focus on search-and-rescue operations. By simulating drowning victims in ocean environments, the research identified that there is not as much real-world data on those scenarios. This led to the findings that synthetic images could effectively train models to perform well in actual scenarios.

“Any paper being successful is always a sort of signal indicator that you should look further into it,” Moja said. “I’m deeply focused on the use of synthetic data, particularly in the domain of object detection, but there are different types of synthetic data that you can create.”

Building on this focus, he emphasized the growing significance of synthetic data in training AI models.

“I think that it’s going to become even more important in the coming years where we have such an abundance of models and only so much data to train them on,” Moja said. “So the use of synthetic data and quality synthetic data production techniques are going to become only even more important as the years go on.”

Together, Sengupta, Liu, Hussain, and Moja showcased FSU’s innovative AI research, addressed real-world challenges, and discussed responsible approaches in information systems.

Motivated by personal reasons, Brennan’s research titled “Aspects of Life Impacted by SCSDs in Early Elementary Students” focused on how speech-sound disorders impact every area of childhood, specializing in morphological awareness processing, and social-emotional wellbeing and development. 

“I wanted to help students and children feel more confident in themselves. Growing up, my family members had some speech sound disorders, and I saw how that impacted their confidence,” Brennan said. “It impacted the efficacy of the treatment that they were receiving, and I realized that this was more of my passion. I think that research is the first block of social change.” 

Her research examined children’s phonological awareness, using the Clinical Evaluation of Learning Fundamentals children’s phonological processing skills, using the Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing (CTOPP), and how their speech affects their emotions, using Speech Participation and Activity Assessment of Children (SPAA-C). It looked at how these skills and feelings change as children progress through early grade levels. 

Her results found that children showed slight improvement in morphological and phonological skills from kindergarten levels to first grade, with a narrowing gap between those with differing speech-sound capabilities weaker and stronger speech-sound awareness. However, this progress levels off or slightly declines by second grade compared to peers without speech-sound disorders. At the same time, as children get older, they report more negative feelings about their speech, suggesting increasing emotional awareness or social impact.  

Beyond developmental science, Da’Mya Bray’s research was rooted in history and community collaboration. Her project, “Sounding Out Sistrunk: A Historical Listening & Archival Collaboration with OTOWN Preserving Community Memory as a Legacy of Place”, explored findings about Sistrunk, an African-American community based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. 

Bray highlights, “Being able to engage with my community and talk to different community leaders and residents was such a rewarding experience because I was able to get their firsthand accounts and learn about what it was like living in Sistrunk during the 40s, 50s, or the 60s, learn about their experience and how it all came to be.” 

By choosing a history-based topic, Bray was led by what stories, traditions, and lived experience defined the identity of the Sistrunk community to produce her findings: Sistrunk’s identity is deeply rooted in family, community collaboration, and shared history, with many individuals contributing to its development. Additionally, her project found that preserving and sharing these stories strengthens community pride and awareness, especially for future generations. 

Bray added, “Professor Christell Roach and community leader Dr. Mistoria Brown were two individuals who played a huge role in guiding me throughout my research. Both made a huge impact throughout the process.”

Bray’s research mentor, Professor Christell Roach, explains her approach to guiding student researchers, saying, “I think my role is just to be there with the finished project. I go by the idea that anything’s possible, so trial and error. I encourage the discomfort, because that’s where you start to find things. I’m going to be like the bumpers in the bowling alley along the way, and that’s kind of innate to the research process.” 

Whether through examining early language development or exploring community histories, these students’ work highlights the College of Communication and Information’s belief that research should extend beyond the classroom.