Dr. Colby is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Speech-Language Pathology at the University of Toronto. She completed her PhD in Communication Sciences & Disorders at McGill University, where she studied top-down effects on speech perception in older adulthood. During her postdoctoral training at the University of Iowa, she worked with cochlear implant users to examine lexical competition and listening effort in response to degraded speech. She is interested in how listeners flexibly adapt their language processing in the face of increased challenge resulting from sensory or cognitive changes (i.e., hearing loss, aging, and cognitive decline). Her research focuses on the cognitive mechanisms that support spoken word recognition across the lifespan, individual differences in perception, and listening effort.
Dr. Colby’s research investigates speech perception across the adult lifespan. She focuses on how sensory and cognitive factors interact to influence speech perception in older adults and listeners with hearing loss. She examines the real-time dynamics of spoken word recognition, listening effort, and how language processing impacts listeners’ psychosocial outcomes.
Using eye-tracking, pupillometry, and perception experiments, her lab examines how speech perception varies across listeners. With the goal of understanding the relationship between hearing loss and cognitive decline, her work examines the interactions among hearing, cognition, and language processing, as well as their downstream effects on social engagement and well-being.
Dr. Colby’s teaching focuses on speech and hearing science. She currently teaches Applied Audiology (SLP1514) and Speech Physiology & Acoustics (SLP1522). She can supervise graduate students through the Rehabilitation Sciences Institute (RSI) at the University of Toronto.
Active Research Funding:
Colby, S. (MPI). The real-time dynamics of language processing across the lifespan. National Institutes of Health – National Institute of Aging. MPI: McMurray, B. 2023-2026.
