Professor David Copland

Professor

School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences
Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences

Co-Director, STARS Education & Rese

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences
d.copland@uq.edu.au
+61 7 336 55224

Overview

Professor David Copland is a Speech Pathologist conducting research in the areas of aphasia, language neuroscience, psycholinguistics, and neuroimaging of normal and disordered language. He is Director of the Queensland Aphasia Research Centre (https://shrs.uq.edu.au/qarc), Co-Director of the STARS Education Research Alliance (https://metronorth.health.qld.gov.au/stars/education-research-alliance), Co-Director of the NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in Aphasia Rehabilitation and Recovery (https://www.latrobe.edu.au/research/centres/health/aphasia) and Deputy Chair of the Research and Postgraduate Studies Committee of the UQ School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences.

Research Interests

  • Post-stroke aphasia
    Treatment of word retrieval post-stroke Implementation of comprehensive high dose aphasia treatment Neural mechanisms underpinning aphasia treatment Neurobiological and behavioural predictors of aphasia recovery Cognition and aphasia
  • Pharmacological and behavioural modulation of language and word learning
    Behavioural and neuroimaging studies of dopamine Influence of sleep and exercise on word learning Dopaminergic modulation of new word learning

Research Impacts

Co-developer of Comprehensive High Dose Aphasia Treatment (CHAT) program delivered at STARS Hospital and Director of the Queensland Aphasia Research Centre

Qualifications

  • Doctor of Philosophy, The University of Queensland
  • Bachelor of Speech Pathology (HONS), The University of Queensland

Publications

  • Brownsett, Sonia L. E., Carey, Leeanne M., Copland, David, Walsh, Alistair and Sihvonen, Aleksi J. (2024). Structural brain networks correlating with poststroke cognition. Human Brain Mapping, 45 (5) e26665. doi: 10.1002/hbm.26665

  • Harvey, Sam, Stone, Marissa, Zingelman, Sally, Copland, David A, Kilkenny, Monique F, Godecke, Erin, Cadilhac, Dominique A, Kim, Joosup, Olaiya, Muideen T, Rose, Miranda L, Breitenstein, Caterina, Shrubsole, Kirstine, O'Halloran, Robyn, Hill, Annie J, Hersh, Deborah, Mainstone, Kathryn, Mainstone, Penelope, Unsworth, Carolyn A, Brogan, Emily, Short, Kylie J, Burns, Clare L, Baker, Caroline and Wallace, Sarah J (2024). Comprehensive quality assessment for aphasia rehabilitation after stroke: protocol for a multicentre, mixed-methods study. BMJ Open, 14 (3), e080532. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2023-080532

  • Pourzinal, Dana, Yang, Jihyun, McMahon, Katie L., Copland, David A., Mitchell, Leander, O'Sullivan, John D., Byrne, Gerard J. and Dissanayaka, Nadeeka N. (2024). Hippocampal resting‐state connectivity is associated with posterior‐cortical cognitive impairment in Parkinson's disease. Brain and Behavior, 14 (3) e3454. doi: 10.1002/brb3.3454

View all Publications

Supervision

  • Doctor Philosophy

  • Doctor Philosophy

  • Doctor Philosophy

View all Supervision

Available Projects

  • The aim of this NHMRC funded research and UQ funded PhD scholarship is to determine whether brain activity and structure observed after stroke predict subsequent aphasia (language impairment) recovery and response to treatment. Participants will be tested on a clinically language battery and scanned at 1, 3 and 6 months post-onset, with half the participants receiving treatment at 1 month. Imaging will be used to identify language-related brain activity, white matter tract integrity, and lesion-symptom mapping. Background in one or more of the following is required. Speech Pathology, Clinical Linguistics, Psychology, NeuroImaging, Cognitive Science, Cognitive Neuroscience

  • The University of Queensland is establishing the Queensland Aphasia Rehabilitation Centre (QARC), the first specialist aphasia research and rehabilitation centre in Australia. In partnership with Queensland Health, the QARC will deliver state-of-the-art services to people with aphasia and their families. Using a hybrid effectiveness-implementation design, this UQ funded PhD project will evaluate the clinical effectiveness of the UQ LIFT (Language Impairment and Function Therapy) program on impact on communicative function, mental health and quality of life within a real-world clinical setting. Qualitative methods will be employed to (1) describe the contextual factors which influence treatment fidelity and clinician and patient participation in the intervention; and (2) identify barriers and facilitators to implementation. This project would suit candidates with a background in speech pathology. Chief investigators: Dr Sarah Wallace and Professor David Copland

  • The University of Queensland is establishing the Queensland Aphasia Rehabilitation Centre (QARC), the first specialist aphasia research and rehabilitation centre in Australia. In partnership with Queensland Health, the QARC will deliver state-of-the-art services to people with aphasia and their families. This UQ funded PhD project will involve a health economics investigation that will determine the cost-effectiveness of a comprehensive aphasia treatment program (UQ LIFT- Language Impairment and Function Therapy) implemented in a tertiary health facility. Resources and costs will be considered in relation to improvement on relevant communication scales and quality adjusted life years. This project would suit candidates with a background in speech pathology or health economics / public health. Chief investigator: Professor David Copland and Dr Sarah Wallace

View all Available Projects

Publications

Book Chapter

  • Copland, David A. and Angwin, Anthony J. (2019). Subcortical contributions to language. The Oxford handbook of neurolinguistics. (pp. 850-876) edited by Greig I. de Zubicaray and Niels O. Schiller. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190672027.013.33

  • Copland, David and Angwin, Anthony (2014). Cognitive plasticity in Parkinson's disease. Plasticity of cognition in neurologic disorders. (pp. 85-106) edited by Joseph I. Tracy, Benjamin M. Hampstead and K. Sathian. New York: Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/med/9780199965243.003.0004

  • McNeil, Malcolm and Copland, David (2011). Aphasia theory, models, and classification. Aphasia and related neurogenic language disorders. (pp. 27-47) edited by Leonard L. Lapointe. New York , NY, United States: Theime Medical Publishers.

Journal Article

Conference Publication

Other Outputs

Grants (Administered at UQ)

PhD and MPhil Supervision

Current Supervision

Completed Supervision

Possible Research Projects

Note for students: The possible research projects listed on this page may not be comprehensive or up to date. Always feel free to contact the staff for more information, and also with your own research ideas.

  • The aim of this NHMRC funded research and UQ funded PhD scholarship is to determine whether brain activity and structure observed after stroke predict subsequent aphasia (language impairment) recovery and response to treatment. Participants will be tested on a clinically language battery and scanned at 1, 3 and 6 months post-onset, with half the participants receiving treatment at 1 month. Imaging will be used to identify language-related brain activity, white matter tract integrity, and lesion-symptom mapping. Background in one or more of the following is required. Speech Pathology, Clinical Linguistics, Psychology, NeuroImaging, Cognitive Science, Cognitive Neuroscience

  • The University of Queensland is establishing the Queensland Aphasia Rehabilitation Centre (QARC), the first specialist aphasia research and rehabilitation centre in Australia. In partnership with Queensland Health, the QARC will deliver state-of-the-art services to people with aphasia and their families. Using a hybrid effectiveness-implementation design, this UQ funded PhD project will evaluate the clinical effectiveness of the UQ LIFT (Language Impairment and Function Therapy) program on impact on communicative function, mental health and quality of life within a real-world clinical setting. Qualitative methods will be employed to (1) describe the contextual factors which influence treatment fidelity and clinician and patient participation in the intervention; and (2) identify barriers and facilitators to implementation. This project would suit candidates with a background in speech pathology. Chief investigators: Dr Sarah Wallace and Professor David Copland

  • The University of Queensland is establishing the Queensland Aphasia Rehabilitation Centre (QARC), the first specialist aphasia research and rehabilitation centre in Australia. In partnership with Queensland Health, the QARC will deliver state-of-the-art services to people with aphasia and their families. This UQ funded PhD project will involve a health economics investigation that will determine the cost-effectiveness of a comprehensive aphasia treatment program (UQ LIFT- Language Impairment and Function Therapy) implemented in a tertiary health facility. Resources and costs will be considered in relation to improvement on relevant communication scales and quality adjusted life years. This project would suit candidates with a background in speech pathology or health economics / public health. Chief investigator: Professor David Copland and Dr Sarah Wallace