Pascal van Lieshout is a Professor and former Chair of the Department of Speech-Language Pathology at the University of Toronto and director of the Oral Dynamics Lab. He is also a former Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Fluency Disorders. He has an MA in Speech-Language Pathology and an MA in Linguistics from the University of Nijmegen, The Netherlands. He received his PhD in 1995 from the same university. In 1998 he joined the department of Speech-Language Pathology where he teaches fundamentals of speech science and is the founder and director of the Oral Dynamics Lab (ODL), a unique facility to conduct research on oral motor control in speech and swallowing. He has (co)supervised research students at the undergraduate, master’s and doctoral level from a variety of disciplines (speech-language pathology, rehabilitation science, engineering, psychology & linguistics).
Dr. Van Lieshout’s expertise is in oral motor control, particularly the interface between higher-order functions and speech motor processes. His research includes typical speakers, individuals who stutter, and those with neurogenic speech disorders such as Parkinson’s disease and verbal apraxia. More recently, through collaboration with Dr. Aravind Namasivayam, he has been involved in research on Pediatric Speech Sound Disorders. His theoretical focus is Dynamical Systems theory, especially Coordination Dynamics, as applied to normal and disordered speech production. He has used methodologies including EMA, EMG, 3D video, and acoustic analysis. Most recently, he co-developed MASK, a MEG-based system for tracking oral articulator movement alongside brain activity. (IEEE Trans Biomed Eng. 2016 Aug;63(8):1709-17).
Research Foci:
Understanding the nature of speech motor control systems
Identifying key parameters of speech motor control in individuals with speech problems
Developing innovative approaches to study speech motor control in typical and atypical populations
Kochetov, A. (PI),Dutta, I., Durvasula,S., Akinbo, S., Van Lieshout, P. & Shaw, J. Segmental complexity in speech production. Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) – Insight Grants, 2025, 358,986 CAD
Cheyne, D. (PI), Anastasopoulou, I., Van Lieshout, P., & Johnson, B. Travel funds top up. Waterloo Foundation (UK), Motor Impairments grant, 2023, 6000 US
Cheyne D, (PI), Van Lieshout P, Ballard K, Proctor M, Harrison E, Civier O, Mollei F, Wilson P, Anastasopoulou I. Neural origins of a developmental motor disorder: A neuroimaging study of children with Childhood Apraxia of Speech (Developmental Verbal Apraxia). Waterloo Foundation (UK) Motor Impairments Grants. 2022-2023, 111,275 US
