Stay up to date on upcoming events, deadlines, news, and more by signing up for our newsletters!

Quick Profile: Tara McAllister, PhD, CCC-SLP

• Current Roles: Associate Professor; Director, Doctoral Program, Communicative Sciences & Disorders at NYU Steinhardt
• Research Focus: Biofeedback-based treatment for speech sound disorders; development of technologies such as the staRt app
• Entrepreneurial Venture: Co-Founder & Faculty PI at Sonority Labs, a startup that develops speech visualization software that delivers real‑time, evidence‑based biofeedback and is especially effective in targeting the English /r/ sound — a persistent articulation challenge with high clinical demand.

Tara McAllister, PhD, CCC-SLP is an associate professor in the Department of Communicative Sciences and Disorders at NYU Steinhardt, and serves as director of the doctoral program. As the lead of the Biofeedback Intervention Technology for Speech (BITS) Lab at NYU, she conducts studies on acoustic and ultrasound biofeedback to treat persistent speech sound disorders. Her research explores why some children overcome developmental speech errors while others continue to struggle, aiming to tailor interventions based on articulatory and perceptual factors.

In 2014, her team launched staRt, an iOS app delivering accessible biofeedback technology to support speech training beyond the lab setting.

Realizing the commercial potential of BITS Lab innovations, McAllister co‑founded Sonority Labs. The venture develops speech visualization software that delivers real‑time, evidence‑based biofeedback and is especially effective in targeting the English /r/ sound — a persistent articulation challenge with high clinical demand.