Faculty and Staff
Janis Oram, PhD, S-LP(C)
Professor and Associate Dean (Research)
Biography: Dr. Janis Oram is a Professor in Communication Sciences and Disorders and Associate Dean (Research) in the Faculty of Health Sciences. She is also a Principal Investigator in the National Centre for Audiology, member of the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±Ô¤²â Institute for Neuroscience, and Scientist in the Children's Health Research Institute. She completed a PhD in Speech-Language Pathology and a CIHR Fellowship in Medical Imaging at the University of Toronto. She is a speech-language pathologist by training (McGill University), having practiced for nine years at Sickkids in Toronto prior to joining °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±Ô¤²â in 2005.
Arlene Fleischhauer, RN
Lab Manager
Biography: As Project Coordinator and Manager, Arlene's role is to manage and coordinate all activities for several research projects, including those related to improving implementation of best practices in speech-language service delivery for young children. She develops and maintains project plans, and supports the design, implementation, and evaluation of research project components. Her role also serves as the primary contact for the research projects, and to manage participant recruitment and booking, administration, communication, data management, and logistical functions required.
Chams Cherid, BSc, MSc
Research Associate (Clinical Trial Lead)
Biography: Chams is a research professional with broad and extensive experience in multiple research areas and holder of four degrees across McGill and Concordia Universities, including a post-graduate diploma in Clinical Research. Under the supervision of Drs. Oram Cardy and Binns, his role involves supporting and operationalising new and innovative research as well as designing and running experiments. He plays a lead role in the implementation and coordination of data collection and analysis, evaluation of clinical trial results, and preparation of reports and other written material for presentations and submissions to various stakeholders. He is one of the primary contacts for a multisite pragmatic randomized control trial to evaluate the effectiveness and implementation of the More Than Words® program delivered by speech-language pathologists in real-world community settings.
BJ Cunningham, PhD, SLP(C)
Assistant Professor
Biography: Dr. BJ Cunningham graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (Psychology) degree from the University of Waterloo in 2001 and a Master of Science (Speech-Language Pathology) degree from °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±Ô¤²â in 2006. As a speech-language pathologist in Ontario’s Preschool Speech and Language Program, BJ worked with preschoolers with various communication impairments and their families for 7 years before pursuing PhD studies. In 2017 BJ completed her PhD in the School of Rehabilitation Science at McMaster University. Supervised by Dr. Peter Rosenbaum, BJ’s thesis work explored participation-based outcomes for preschoolers with communication impairments. Much of this work involved exploring how preschoolers’ communicative participation skills developed, and how they changed as a result of their involvement in Ontario’s Preschool Speech and Language Program. In her current role, she is developing new tools and methods to improve outcome measurement in the PSLP and in the field of speech-language pathology.
Olivia Daub, PhD
Assistant Professor
Biography: Dr. Daub completed a combined MClSc in Speech-Language Pathology and a PhD in Health Rehabilitation Sciences under the co-supervision of Dr. Oram Cardy and Dr. Marlene Bagatto. She previously completed her BA in Psychology at the University of Waterloo, and her MSc in HRS (Speech and Language Science) at °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±Ô¤²â. Dr. Daub's dissertation evaluated spoken language outcome monitoring for young children who are deaf/hard of hearing and contributed a new procedure for Early Hearing Detection and Intervention programs. After completing a postdoctoral fellowship with Dr. Ian Graham at the University of Ottawa Centre for Implementation Research, Dr. Daub joined the faculty of °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±Ô¤²â's School of Communication Sciences and Disorders.
Amanda Binns, PhD, CCC-SLP
Adjunct Research Professor
Biography: Dr. Binns formerly completed a MITACS Postdoctoral Fellowship co-supervised by Drs. Janis Oram Cardy and Trish Tucker. She leads research into the effectiveness of parent-implemented interventions for young autistic children in partnership with The Hanen Centre, and develops evidence-informed practice guidelines for speech-language pathologists working with autistic children. Dr. Binns is a registered SLP with over 15 years of clinical experience servicing autistic clients. Her PhD in Health and Rehabilitation Science completed at °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±Ô¤²â with Dr. Oram Cardy evaluated the effectiveness of SLP-delivered autism interventions and examined key supports built into interventions that act as mechanisms for positive change so that services can be optimized to fit client, family, and system needs. Dr. Binns is currently employed as a Clinician Team Investigator at the Bloorview Research Institute in Toronto.
Nichole Scheerer, PhD
Adjunct Research Professor
Biography: Dr. Nikki Scheerer is a former °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±Ô¤²â BrainSCAN fellow co-supervised by Drs. Ryan Stevenson, David Purcell, and Janis Oram Cardy. She studies the impact of sensory-motor control of speech on social communication and development in children with and without autism spectrum disorder. Nikki received her PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience from Wilfrid Laurier University and previously completed a postdoctoral fellowship with Dr. Grace Iarocci at Simon Frasier University. She currently holds a position as Assistant Professor in Psychology at Wilfred Laurier University.
