Ph.D. Alumna: Yao Du

Curriculum Vitae: CV

Website: 

https://keck.usc.edu/faculty-search/yao-du/

Contact info: yaodu@usc.edu

Keywords: speech-language pathology, educational and assistive technology, voice assistant and games, telehealth

Graduated with a Ph.D. in Informatics in 2020, I am currently a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Speech-Language Pathology at the Caruso Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at the Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California.  Using both qualitative and quantitative research methods, my research seeks to bridge the gap between speech language pathology and human computer interaction through the design and evaluation of mobile and voice technology for teletherapy. I also provides consulting for digital health startup companies to develop digital diagnostic and assistive technology tools for children and adults with disability.

Prior to joining UCI, I am a certified speech-language pathologist who has worked with pediatric and geriatric clients in homes, schools, private practice, and hospitals. While at UCI investigated the design and evaluation of web, mobile, and voice interfaces for both monolingual and bilingual Mandarin-English speaking children. I have published in medical informatics, game design, and assistive technology conferences.

             CURRENT PROJECTS

  • Alexa Voice Game Study: currently recruiting children age 4+ for remote user testing (via Zoom) to examine the feasibility of using Alexa voice games for speech-language intervention

  • Web-based Bilingual Language Assessment: currently analyzing bilingual Mandarin-English language assessment videos via a web-based interface. Looking for monolingual English-speaking speech language pathology clinicians to administer bilingual assessment via zoom and this web interface. 

  • Mobile App Review and Evaluation: currently writing manuscripts to understand multistakeholder perspectives from clinicians, parents, and app designers/developers who create and implement mobile apps for pediatric speech therapy. 

  • Teletherapy via Mobile Apps for Speech Sound Intervention: currently designing a pilot study using app-based intervention for articulation via teletherapy. 

Publication List

Du, Y., Choe S., Vega J., Liu Y., Trujillo, A. (2022). Listening to Stakeholders Involved in Speech-Language Therapy for Children with Communication Disorders (CwCD): A Content Analysis of iOS App Store Reviews. Journal of Medical Internet Research (JMIR) Pediatrics and Parenting, 5(1):e28661. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/28661

Du, Y. (2021). When Minority Unites Together, We Become the Majority. In Aurora Corialis Publishing. Becoming an Exceptional SLP Leader: 16 Speech-Language Pathologists Do Much More Than Talk (pp. 82-92). Mai Ling Chan, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.amazon.com/dp/0578999420

Du, Y., Zhang, K. J., Ramabadran, S. V., Riambon, A., and Liu, Y. (2021). “Alexa, What is That Sound?” A Video Analysis of Child-Agent Communication From Two Amazon Alexa Games. In Interaction Design and Children (IDC ’21), June 24–30, 2021, Athens, Greece. ACM, New York, NY, USA, 8 pages. https://doi.org/10.1145/3459990.3465195. 

Du, Y., Grace, T. D., Jagannath, K., & Salen-Tekinbas, K. (2021). Connected Play in Virtual Worlds: Communication and Control Mechanisms in Virtual Worlds for Children and Adolescents. Multimodal Technologies and Interaction, 5(5), 27. https://doi.org/10.3390/mti5050027

Du, Y. (2020). Designing and Evaluating Young Children’s Interaction During an Alexa Trivia Game (Doctoral Dissertation, University of California, Irvine, CA, United States). Retrieved from https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7806m2dr

Du, Y., Sheng, L., & Tekinbas, K. S. (2020, June). ” Try your best” parent behaviors during administration of an online language assessment tool for bilingual Mandarin-English children. In Proceedings of the Interaction Design and Children Conference (pp. 409-420). https://doi.org/10.1145/3392063.3394441

Du, Y., & Tekinbas, K. S. (2020). Bridging the gap in mobile interaction design for children with disabilities: Perspectives from a pediatric speech language pathologist. International Journal of Child-Computer Interaction, 23, 100152. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijcci.2019.100152

Du, Y., Abbas, H., Taraman, S., Segar, S., & Bischoff, N. (2019). In-Home Speech and Language Screening for Young Children: A Proof-of-Concept Study Using Interactive Mobile Storytime. AMIA Summits on Translational Science Proceedings, 2019, 722-731.

Du, Y., Boyd, L., & Ibrahim, S. (2018, October). From Behavioral and Communication Intervention to Interaction Design: User Perspectives from Clinicians. In Proceedings of the 20th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility, 198-202. https://doi.org/10.1145/3234695.3241480

Du, Y. (2018). Unpacking play in the clinical context: Mobile app use and design between children with disabilities and their speech language pathologists. In Proceedings of Meaningful Play 2018, ETC Press, 114-131.