Yina Quique, Ph.D

I am a clinician-scientist committed to improving rehabilitation outcomes and healthcare services for stroke survivors with aphasia. I am especially interested in developing culturally-sensitive and language-specific interventions for Spanish speakers with aphasia.

Outside of my work life, I enjoy coffee dates with my husband. I also love spending time with my niece and nephew.

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My research path

I was trained as a Speech-Language Pathologist in Colombia, where I practiced for more than seven years. During that time, it gradually became evident that aphasia assessments and treatments were not designed for Spanish-speaking individuals and that a direct translation from English resources did not fully meet the needs of my patients. Moreover, over 85% of published aphasia treatment research has focused on English, leaving a need to advance aphasia research and evidence-based service delivery in other languages and cultures. To address this disparity, my research program has focused on:

  1. developing culturally- and linguistically-specific aphasia interventions.

  2. improving the efficacy and accessibility of aphasia treatments.

I completed my doctoral studies in Communication Science and Disorders at the University of Pittsburgh with an emphasis on aphasia rehabilitation. I also worked as a postdoctoral fellow at Northwestern University and the Shirley Ryan Ability lab, strengthening my aphasia rehabilitation training and combining it with practical training in healthcare services and outcomes research.

I then expanded my work to global health. As a Fogarty Global Health Fellow, I am working on identifying barriers and facilitators of best-practice aphasia rehabilitation in Peru and Colombia. This experience has also allowed me to foster international collaborations between educational, research, and healthcare institutions.

In 2025, I will join the Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences at the University of New Mexico (UNM). I am excited about the opportunity to be a Latina in a Hispanic-serving institution in a minority-majority state. At UNM, I will continue developing culturally- and linguistically-specific interventions for minorities with aphasia and improving the efficacy and accessibility of aphasia treatments.