Melanie Fried-Oken, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, is a research speech-language pathologist who provides expertise about assistive technology for people with acquired disabilities who cannot use speech or writing to communicate. She is a leading international clinician and researcher in the field of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC).

Dr. Fried-Oken has led a number of federal grants to research communication technology for people with:

• Locked-in syndrome
• Primary progressive aphasia
• Alzheimer's disease
• Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
• Other neurodegenerative diseases 

She leads a translational research team, the Consortium for Accessible Multimodal Brain-Body Interfaces (CAMBI), that develops and evaluates brain-computer interfaces and other AAC technologies. 

Dr. Fried-Oken’s greatest passion is to identify gaps in current AAC practices for people with complex communication needs and to develop ways to help people participate to their greatest potential.