Imani Gilbert
Imani R. Gilbert, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders. She is an educator, researcher, and speech-language pathologist with clinical and research interests in cleft and craniofacial speech.
Dr. Gilbert earned her Ph.D. in Rehabilitation Sciences from East Carolina University. Her scholarship focuses on the preparation of future speech-language pathologists, with particular interests in graduate education, clinical training in specialized areas of practice, and teaching approaches that help students connect foundational knowledge to clinical application. Her research in cleft and craniofacial care has also examined how graduate programs prepare future clinicians to serve individuals with cleft and craniofacial conditions.
Courses
Publications
Gilbert IR, Alighieri C, Mandulak KC, Briley P, Wright HH, & Perry JL. (2026). Craniofacial education in accredited graduate SLP programs: National patterns in coursework and clinical training. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology. https://doi.org/10.1044/2026_AJSLP-26-00108
Kang H, Xing F, Gilbert IR, Kim J, Kostolansky A, Sutton B, Woo J, & Perry JL. (2026). Multi-atlas–based segmentation of pediatric vocal tract anatomy in dynamic magnetic resonance imaging. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research. https://doi.org/10.1044/2026_JSLHR-25-00495
Sitzman TJ, Chee-Williams JL, Snodgrass TD, Gilbert IR, Tollefson TT, Singh DJ, & Perry JL. (2025). Creating a superiorly based pharyngeal flap: Is prominence of C1 superior enough, and will adenoid pad be in the way? Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery–Global Open, 13(6), e6797. https://doi.org/10.1097/GOX.0000000000006797
Tahmasebifard N, Snodgrass T, Gilbert IR, Sitzman TJ, Williams JL, O'Brien K, & Perry JL. (2025). The influence of age and sex on the height of velopharyngeal closure. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 68(12), 5771–5781. https://doi.org/10.1044/2025_JSLHR-25-00386
Xing F, Jin R, Gilbert IR, El Fakhri G, Perry J, Sutton B, & Woo J. (2023). Quantifying velopharyngeal motion variation in speech sound production using an audio-informed dynamic MRI atlas. Proceedings of SPIE, 12464, 124642M. https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2654082
Haenssler AE, Mann R, Gilbert IR, Snodgrass T, Mann S, Kampfshulte A, & Perry JL. (2023). Anatomical and physiological changes following primary palatoplasty using “the buccal flap approach.” The Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Journal, 62(2). https://doi.org/10.1177/10556656231215141
Perry JL, Gilbert IR, Xing F, Jin R, Kuehn DP, Shosted RK, Woo J, Liang ZP, & Sutton BP. (2023). Preliminary development of an MRI atlas for application to cleft care: Findings and future recommendations. The Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Journal, 61(11), 1912-1918. https://doi.org/10.1177/10556656231183385
Perry JL, Snodgrass TD, Gilbert IR, Sutton BP, Baylis AL, Weidner EM, Tse RW, Ishman S, & Sitzman TJ. (2022). Establishing a clinical protocol for velopharyngeal MRI and interpreting imaging findings. The Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Journal,61(5),748-758. https://doi.org/10.1177/1055665622114118
Jin R, Shosted RK, Xing F, Gilbert IR, Perry JL, Woo J, Liang ZP, & Sutton BP. (2022). Enhancing linguistic research through 2-mm isotropic 3D dynamic speech MRI optimized by sparse temporal sampling and low-rank reconstruction. Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, 89(2), 652–664. https://doi.org/10.1002/mrm.29486
Xing F, Jin R, Gilbert IR, Perry JL, Sutton BP, Liu X, El Fakhri G, Shosted RK, & Woo J. (2021). 4D magnetic resonance imaging atlas construction using temporally aligned audio waveforms in speech. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 150(5), 3500–3508. https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0007064
Grants
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association AARC Award (2026)