Keynotes

Catriona M. Steele is a clinician scientist working in the area of swallowing and swallowing disorders. She has a background as a medical speech-language pathologist, and is Director of the Swallowing Rehabilitation Research Laboratory at the KITE Research Institute, the research arm of the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute – University Health Network. Dr. Steele is a Professor in the Department of Speech-Language Pathology at the University of Toronto and holds a Canada Research Chair in Swallowing and Food Oral Processing. Professor Steele holds research funding from the National Institutes of Health (USA) as well as several active industry partnerships. Her current research focuses on the measurement of swallowing physiology from videofluoroscopy in different participant groups and across different swallowing tasks using the ASPEKT Method (Analysis of Swallowing Physiology: Events, Kinematics and Timing).

Catriona was a founding member of the Board of Directors for the International Dysphagia Diet Standardisation Initiative and served on their board from 2012-2023. Catriona served as the 2024-2025 President of the Dysphagia Research Society and was inducted as a Fellow of the ESSD in 2024.