Clinical Excellence in Audiology Award

Dr. William Shapiro has worked as a clinical audiologist for over 45 years and is the Lester S. Miller, Jr and Kathleen V. Miller Clinical Assistant Professor of Hearing Health at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine. He currently serves as co-director of the NYU Cochlear Implant Center, as well as the director of audiology at NYU Langone Health.

Dr. Shapiro’s accomplishments throughout the years, in both research and clinical contributions, have resulted in the development of best clinical practices in cochlear and auditory brainstem implants. His work has led to the expansion of cochlear implant candidacy criteria, allowing access to more individuals with hearing loss.

In addition to research and clinical practice, Dr. Shapiro has devoted his career to sharing his expertise with both professionals and the community alike. He was a founding faculty member of the highly recognized Institute of Cochlear Implant Training (ICIT). He has served on numerous advisory and clinical boards for hearing technology manufacturers and audiology organizations. Additionally, he has been an advocate for audiology in the wider community, regularly appearing in different media outlets to raise awareness of hearing health.

The American Academy of Audiology is pleased to recognize Dr. Shapiro as the recipient of this year’s Clinical Excellence Award.

Dr. Gosalia is an example of what a private practice audiologist should be. He shows a love for what he does, cares for his patients, and is always willing to help fellow audiologists. He provides best practice care for his patients and it is well documented in reviews of both him and his office. You can also see how active he is with his use of advocacy, awareness, student precepting, and business management throughout his CV.

He gives back to the Academy by volunteering on committees, presenting at various conventions, and his published works. He works to educate patients on audiology and raises awareness of our profession in the community through mainstream media interviews and articles.

He created the AudBoss Summit to help private practice audiologists learn the ins and outs of business management. He builds relationships wherever he goes. He is involved in many nonprofit organizations such as Face Forward International and the Association of Los Angeles Physicians of Indian Origin (ALAPIO), and continues to participate in advocacy events.

Overall, Dr Gosalia is an example of what best clinical practices should be, not only providing the best care to patients but also giving back to the profession.

The American Academy of Audiology is pleased to recognize Dr. Gosalia as a more than deserving recipient for the 2024 Clinical Excellence Award.

Kelly Baroch, AuD, is the 2023 recipient of the Clinical Excellence in Audiology Award. She has worked as a clinical audiologist at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital for 23 years where she serves as the inpatient infant hearing program coordinator and audiology inpatient and perioperative coordinator.

In addition to these roles, Dr. Baroch served as a member of the national NICHQ committee that studied and recommended quality care practices for early hearing detection and intervention (EHDI) programs. Her leadership in this area provided her with the opportunities to serve as consultant for numerous children’s hospitals nationwide in developing and implementing clinical environments that meet the needs of EHDI programs to improve testing success and reduce unnecessary follow up appointments. 

While Dr. Baroch’s clinical accomplishments impact clinics across the country, her colleagues are proud to highlight that she is singlehandedly responsible for developing the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital NICU/CICU audiology program. Her success in developing this program has provided her with the opportunity to be an invited lecturer to schools, hospitals, and professional conferences where she has the opportunity to educate audiologists, students, and those outside of our profession to help raise the standard of care for critically ill pediatric patients. 

Dr. Baroch’s work has improved our knowledge base the field of audiology, helped countless infants receive better hearing health care, and most importantly provided counseling and support to parents of these infants in times when it was needed the most.

Richard Roberts is a distinguished clinician whose expertise in vestibular assessment and management has resulted in improved quality of life for countless individuals. He regularly presents at professional conferences and has published numerous chapters and peer-reviewed articles on aspects of vestibular sciences.

He co-authored the clinical practice guidelines regarding positional vertigo, stemming from work on an expert panel with the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Foundation.

In addition to his current administrative role, he has influenced the careers of hundreds of AuD students through his academic abilities in teaching vestibular courses, mentorship of student research projects, and preceptorship of students in their respected Balance Disorders Clinic.

Prior to Vanderbilt, he was director of clinical research at American Institute of Balance and, more recently, co-owner/director of Alabama Hearing and Balance Associates. In 2015, Audigy Group recognized his clinic with the Outstanding Practice Achievement Award. Dr. Roberts has served on the Academy Board of Directors, has been program chair for Academy’s annual conference, and has been a trustee on the Academy’s Foundation Board.

Robert DiSogra, AuD, has dedicated the majority of his career to promoting an understanding of the pharmacologic effects on hearing and balance among audiologists around the world. While teaching at Rutgers University over 25 years ago he questioned why his patients had clinical complaints of hearing loss, yet their test data showed no evidence of peripheral loss. He then went beyond his clinical practice to initiate an unprecedented review of evidence that identified the influences of pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals on hearing loss and tinnitus.

In a series of publications for audiologists over the past 20 plus years, Dr. DiSogra distinguished his audiology career by identifying over 400 adverse auditory/vestibular side effects related to more than 2000 drugs. He later developed and taught the pharmacology/ototoxicity distance-learning course while pursuing his own degree at Salus University.

By 2019, 25 AuD programs were offering a dedicated pharmacology course, in part, because of this pharmacological connection to hearing and balance disorders. He is a sought-after presenter at state and national audiology association meetings.

Dr. DiSogra has left a legacy for our field. He recently served on the Academy’s Pharmacology Task Force, which explored the requirements for prescriptive privileges for audiologists.  

Audiologists who have used his publications, or have been his students, or attended any of his presentations, have certainly benefited from Dr. DiSogra’s expertise in the field.