About

Hello! I’m Denise, a Ph.D. Candidate at the Swallowing Research Laboratory of the University of Hong Kong.

My research interest

Throughout the years as a young academic and clinician, I have developed a strong interest in the field of swallowing and dysphagia. My current research focuses on the effects of swallowing exercises on the neurophysiology of healthy adults. Using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), I am investigating the potential use of these exercises in delaying and/or reversing neural changes that contribute to age-related swallowing changes.

My background and experience

I obtained my Bachelor’s degree in Speech Pathology from the University of the Philippines Manila in 2017. After graduation, I became an instructor at the same university doing undergraduate classroom teaching and clinical supervision for two years. I also had my own private practice catering to home-based clients during this time. I then transitioned to the hospital setting as a medical SLP seeing both in and out-patients across varied age groups before pursuing my postgraduate studies full-time in 2020.