As chair, Amlani will lead efforts to expand the department’s educational, research, and clinical impact.
The University of Oklahoma (OU) College of Allied Health has named Amyn M. Amlani, PhD, as professor and chair of its Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders. Amlani, an audiologist and widely published researcher and audiology educator, brings extensive academic and professional experience to the role.
Amlani is a familiar name to readers of The Hearing Review, having contributed to the publication’s coverage of hearing aid adoption, OTC and direct-to-consumer hearing aids, AI and machine learning for hearing devices, and the hearing aid tax credit, among other topics. He most recently served as professor of audiology and hearing science, and chair of hearing science, in the Department of Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences at the University of North Texas. He is also the immediate past president of the Academy of Doctors of Audiology and previously served as a director-at-large for the academy, as well as a member of the American Board of Audiology.
In his new role at OU, which he began on June 1, Amlani will lead a department that prepares students for careers in audiology and speech-language pathology—two disciplines central to the diagnosis and management of hearing loss, communication disorders, and related conditions.
According to the university, as chair, Amlani will lead efforts to expand the department’s educational, research and clinical impact. His priorities include strengthening the John W. Keys Speech and Hearing Center, advancing student training and accreditation excellence across audiology and speech-language pathology, supporting faculty scholarship, and establishing the Audiology Research in Implementation and Access (ARIA) Lab as a nationally visible research enterprise to improve hearing and communication healthcare access across Oklahoma and beyond.
He will support and promote the department’s research laboratories, including the Communication Sciences and Disorders Simulation Laboratory, sponsored by The Inasumuch Foundation; the Communication and Aphasia Research Laboratory; the Communication and Aural Rehabilitation Research Laboratory; the Speech Motor Control Laboratory; and the Tinnitus and Sound Sensitivity Laboratory.
Amlani’s research background spans hearing aid outcomes, market adoption, consumer behavior in hearing healthcare, and the economics of audiology practice—areas of growing relevance as the field navigates expanded access models, over-the-counter hearing aids, and the integration of emerging technologies into clinical care.
“The Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders has a strong tradition of excellence in education, clinical care and research, and I am honored to join the OU College of Allied Health,” Amlani says in a release. “I look forward to working alongside our faculty, staff, students, and community partners to expand access to hearing and communication healthcare, strengthen opportunities for student success, and advance innovative research that improves lives.”
