Leora R. Cherney
- Shirley Ryan AbilityLab Scientific Chair, Think + Speak Lab
- Director - Center for Aphasia Research and Treatment
- Professor, Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, and Communication Sciences & Disorders
- Coleman Foundation Chair
Leora R. Cherney, PhD, CCC-SLP is Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Northwestern University. She is also the Scientific Chair of Think and Speak at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab (SRAlab) and the director of SRAlab’s Center for Aphasia Research and Treatment.
She has more than 40 years of experience working with patients with aphasia and other neurologic communication disorders, and is board-certified in neurologic communication disorders by the Academy of Neurologic Communication Disorders and Sciences (ANCDS).
Dr. Cherney has a continuous record as PI on federal, private, and industry-sponsored research grants. Her current research interests focus on treatment approaches for aphasia where she has explored factors to enhance treatment outcomes for behavioral, pharmacological, and neuromodulatory interventions.
Clinically, she founded and currently directs Shirley Ryan AbilityLab’s specialized Intensive Comprehensive Aphasia program. She also is responsible for the weekly aphasia community conversation groups, book clubs, and most recently, an aphasia choir.
Dr Cherney has received numerous prestigious awards including Honors of the Association from the American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA) and the ANCDS. She is also a fellow of the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine (ACRM) and recipient of ACRM’s Women in Rehabilitation Science Award. She has co-authored five books and has over 100 publications.
