Southeastern professor receives international award

 

Thursday, May 24, 2018 Nina Simmons-Mackie
by: Tonya Lowentritt 

(Photo credit: Nicole Campbell, Tavistock Trust for Aphasia)

INTERNATIONAL ACCOLADES - Southeastern Louisiana University Professor of Health & Human Sciences and Scholar in Residence Nina Simmons-Mackie, right, was honored recently as the first American to receive the Robin Tavistock Award from the Tavistock Trust for Aphasia in Britain. She was recognized for her significant contribution to the field of aphasia, a complex communication difficulty caused by stroke, tumor or injury to the language areas of the brain. Presenting her the award is Henrietta, Duchess of Bedford.


     HAMMOND – Southeastern Louisiana University Professor of Health & Human Sciences and Scholar in Residence Nina Simmons-Mackie was honored recently as the first American to receive the Robin Tavistock Award from the Tavistock Trust for Aphasia in Britain.
     The award is named after the 14th Duke of Bedford who founded the TTA after suffering a brain hemorrhage in 1988 that left him with aphasia, a complex communication difficulty caused by stroke, tumor or injury to the language areas of the brain.
     The award is presented annually to a group or individual who is inspirational and has made a significant contribution to the field of aphasia.
     “Nina is known for her quiet yet authoritative leadership, her strategic research and a gift for being able to go directly to the heart of a problem and apply her unerring wisdom. This is coupled with warmth and kindness, as well as a keen sense of humor,” said Nicole Campbell of the TTA. “It is for her outstanding contribution to the world of aphasia that Professor Nina Simmons-Mackie is being honored and is the first ever recipient of the Robin Tavistock Award from the United States.”
     Simmons-Mackie has served in Southeastern’s communication sciences and disorders program since 1995, where she teaches graduate level courses in adult aphasia, discourse and conversation, and neuropathologies of communication, as well as conducting independent research.
     She has worked in clinical services at Tulane School of Medicine Speech Pathology Department, the Louisiana Rehabilitation Institute and Touro Infirmary in New Orleans. She has also played an important role in a number of organizations, such as the National Aphasia Association, the Academy of Neurologic Communication Disorders and Sciences, and Aphasia Access, an organization that she helped create.
     Simmons-Mackie’s previous awards include being named to the VA Speech Language Pathology Hall of Fame, the Charity Hospital Outstanding Professional Award, the Outstanding Volunteer Award and Leadership Award from the American Heart Association, and the Audrey Holland Speak Up Award.
     A resident of Abita Springs, she has received degrees from LSU and Tulane University.




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