DoctorKristin Gozdzikowska

Dr Kristin Gozdzikowska is a speech-language therapist and Pūkenga Matua | Senior Lecturer in Te Kura Mahi ā-Hirikapo | School of Psychology, Speech and Hearing. Her research focuses on technology-enabled approaches to assessment and rehabilitation for adults with acquired neurogenic communication and swallowing disorders. She has a specific interest in traumatic brain injury (TBI), co-designed rehabilitation technology, and health workforce development. Brain injury can change thinking and communication in ways that are not always visible to others. Her work aims to support meaningful, real-world participation in work, study, and community life.

Her clinical and research background spans cognitive-communication and swallowing disorders after acquired brain injury, including instrumental biofeedback (high-resolution manometry, ultrasound) at the UC Rose Centre for Stroke Recovery and Research. She co-led the design of a virtual reality tool for cognitive fatigue after TBI with the Laura Fergusson Brain Injury Trust, managed national mental health and addiction workforce projects funded by Te Whatu Ora at Whāraurau, and contributed to research on speech and quality-of-life outcomes following total laryngectomy. She works in close partnership with people with lived experience, clinicians and health service providers.