How One Research Award Helped Launch a Career in Stuttering Research
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When Ryan Millager, PhD, CCC-SLP, received the National Stuttering Association’s (NSA) Graduate Student Research Award (GSRA) in 2022, he was just over two years into his PhD program at Vanderbilt University. His research focused on young children who stutter and their interactions with their parents, and he originally had modest expectations for the project.
“I originally planned for the GSRA to cover a small pilot study,” Dr. Millager said. “But that pilot study was a huge success and turned into my dissertation project.”
That turning point shaped everything that followed. The GSRA funding supported both his data collection and travel to present his findings at conferences. Those opportunities opened doors beyond the research itself. In 2024, Dr. Millager used award funds to travel to Seattle for a conference experience that would shift his career trajectory.
“The conversations I had with other researchers there inspired me to start my job search early,” Dr. Millager said, “which led directly to me getting a dream job this year!”
Since completing the project, Dr. Millager has defended his dissertation and accepted a position as an Assistant Professor at Rush University, where he will begin this December. He has presented his GSRA-related research at conferences in Austin, Seattle, Nashville, and Oxford, UK, with additional presentations planned in Washington, DC, and Chicago. Journal publications are also in progress.
At Rush, Dr. Millager will continue building on the research the GSRA helped launch. His role will include expanding studies that increase support for children who stutter and their parents, teaching master’s students training to become speech-language pathologists, and developing clinical services to support people who stutter in the Chicago area.
His work remains grounded in community impact. His research aims to strengthen support systems for children who stutter and their families, and his clinical teaching emphasizes the importance of listening to and centering the lived experiences of people who stutter.
Dr. Millager’s journey shows how one investment in graduate research can grow into something far larger than a single study. It can shape a dissertation, launch a career, build services, strengthen the field, and, most importantly, expand meaningful support for people who stutter and their families.
“Thank you to the NSA for directly funding my research,” Dr. Millager said. “I am particularly proud to have my dissertation funded by the NSA, an organization that first taught me about stuttering allyship.”