Stephen Camarata, Ph.D., professor of Hearing and Speech Sciences, has been honored by Autism Speaks, a national autism advocacy and research organization, for dedicated service.
Camarata was recognized at a luncheon in October at the Princeton Club in Manhattan for years of service leading fellowship review panels for the organization, said Ed Clayton, senior director of Strategic Funding and Grants Administration at Autism Speaks.
“He’s been an invaluable source of support and a great partner for Autism Speaks,” Clayton said.
Camarata, who is also associate professor of Special Education, is a longtime researcher and expert in speech and language disorders in children at the Vanderbilt Bill Wilkerson Center.
His areas of interest include autism, Down Syndrome, phonological disorder and language disorder. He has spent 25 years at Vanderbilt.
“It’s really humbling, because there’s a lot of great research going on in autism,” Camarata said of the honor. “I’m just really happy to serve the autism community in this way.”
Camarata has been a permanent member and chair of the National Institutes of Health study section on Developmental Disabilities and Child Psychopathology, and recently published a book, “Late-Talking Children: A Symptom or a Stage?”
“We are very proud of the contributions that Dr. Camarata has made to our understanding of language and intervention for children with autism,” said Anne Marie Tharpe, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences and associate director of the Vanderbilt Bill Wilkerson Center.
“Because of his translational work, he has been a wonderful resource for families of children with autism as well as clinicians who work with these children daily.”
Adding to the accolades is Ron Eavey, M.D., Guy M. Maness Professor and chair of Otolaryngology and director of the Vanderbilt Bill Wilkerson Center.
“Dr. Camarata so richly deserves this prestigious recognition,” he said. “He is a world-accomplished leader and an exceptionally valued member of our Vanderbilt Bill Wilkerson Center.”
