Dylan Chan, MD, PhD, FAAP
Director, Children's Communication Center
Associate Professor, Pediatric Otolaryngology
Dr. Chan is an Associate Professor in Pediatric Otolaryngology at UCSF. He completed medical school at Weill-Cornell Medical College, a PhD in cochlear physiology at the Rockefeller University, residency at Stanford, and fellowship in pediatric otolaryngology at Seattle Children's Hospital. His clinical and research interests are focused on hearing in children. His goals are to improve the awareness, identification, and community of care for deaf and hard-of-hearing children, and to develop fundamental new treatments for hearing impairment. The Children's Communication Center was established to address the first of these goals; for the second, Dr. Chan runs a basic-science laboratory where he investigates how defects in Connexin 26, the most common genetic cause of deafness, lead to hearing impairment, and how gene therapy might restore hearing. He is the AAP Northern California Chapter Champion for Early Hearing Detection and Intervention. Dr. Chan is proficient in Spanish.
Anna K. Meyer, MD, FAAP, FACS
Professor, Pediatric Otolaryngology
Dr. Meyer is a Professor in Pediatric Otolaryngology at UCSF. She completed medical school at the University of California, San Francisco, residency at the University of Michigan, and fellowship in pediatric otolaryngology at Lurie Children's Hospital in Chicago. Her clinical interests are focused on hearing, language and communication development in children and improved quality of rehabilitation and care for these children. Her goals are to increase access to quality health care and appropriate education and therapies for children with hearing loss. She collaborates in the care of children seen in the Children's Communication Center to help achieve these goals.
Jason P. Carr, Au.D., F-AAA, CCC-A
Audiologist
Jason P. Carr, is a Senior Pediatric Audiologist with UCSF Health. He strives to provide excellent patient care to everybody he meets and hopes to build trust with his pediatric patients. Dr. Carr is involved with two specialty multidisciplinary clinics; Hearing and Communication Clinic, as well as, Microtia Clinic. He works with children birth through 21 years and specializes in Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR) evaluations, diagnostic hearing evaluations, hearing aid fittings and services, and osseo-integrated devices.
Dr. Carr received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Communicative Disorders from San Jose State University and went off to complete is Doctor of Audiology degree at the University of Colorado at Boulder. He was fortunate enough to return to California to finish his schooling as a resident in the UCSF Audiology Department. Originally hailing from Wisconsin, he was raised with two brothers with developmental delays, which he attributes to his dedication to his special needs patients. Dr. Carr has extensive experience working with children with special needs, including but not limited to; fragile-x syndrome, autism spectrum disorder, and Down syndrome. Dr. Carr is a fellow of the American Academy of Audiology and a member of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. He enjoys teaching current externs in the clinic and working with his colleagues in the Audiology and Otolaryngology departments.
KarLeung Cornell Cheung, Au.D., CCC-A, FAAA
Audiologist
Dr. Cheung is a lead audiologist in Audiology at UCSF. He received his graduate degree in Audiology from Wichita State University in 2003 and went on to receive his Doctorate from Salus University in 2006. Following the completion of his AuD, Dr. Cheung took a position as a pediatric audiologist and program coordinator at University of Virginia Health System for five years and then joined the Children’s National Health System in Washington, DC for four years as a newborn hearing screening coordinator before joining UCSF in 2015. He aims to provide patient-centered care in the prevention, identification, diagnosis, and evidence-based treatment of hearing and other auditory disorders for pediatric patients. His goal is to minimize the negative impact of these disorders to improve outcomes and quality of life.
Dr. Cheung is board certified in Audiology. He is also a fellow of the American Academy of Audiology (AAA) and a member of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). He was an off-site clinical supervisor for University of Kansas and Kansas State University, and a lecturer at Galllaudet University. He is actively involved in mentoring and training students, and serving at the ASHA committee on supervision training. Dr. Cheung is proficient in Cantonese and Mandarin.
Melissa Ho, Au.D.
Audiologist
Melissa Ho is a senior pediatric audiologist who provides a broad range of diagnostic and rehabilitative services for children with hearing loss. She has a special interest in multidisciplinary hearing healthcare, relationship-centered communication, student education, and community outreach. Her greatest reward comes from partnering with families to improve their child’s educational, social, developmental, and quality of life outcomes. As a San Francisco Bay Area native, she considers it a privilege to focus her efforts helping those in her home community.
Ho received her doctor of audiology (Au.D.) degree from San Diego State University and the University of California San Diego and her bachelor’s degree from the University of California Berkeley. She is a member of the American Auditory Society and a fellow of the American Academy of Audiology.
Sabina Yungert, Au.D.
Audiologist
Sabina Yungert is a pediatric audiologist who provides a broad range of diagnostic and rehabilitative services for children with hearing loss that are developmentally appropriate. In addition she performs Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR) & Auditory Steady State Response (ASSR) evaluations under general anesthesia and during natural sleep. She is highly skilled in working with children with other developmental delays, including, but not limited to Down syndrome and Autism. She has a strong commitment to building relationships with her patients and their families, in addition to all those involved in the care of the patient.
Dr. Yungert received her doctor of audiology (Au.D.) degree from University of the Pacific in San Francisco and her bachelor’s degree in Communication Science and Disorders from the University of Redlands. She was born and raised in San Francisco and it has been a professional goal of hers to work at UCSF. It is an honor to give back to the community she grew up in, as she understands firsthand the strength of community involvement as she experienced growing with her sibling with Down syndrome.
Kayla Kolhede, MA, CCC-SLP, LSLS Cert. AVT
Speech-Language Pathologist
Kayla Kolhede, MA, CCC-SLP, LSLS Cert. AVT is a Speech-Language Pathologist in the Pediatric Division of the Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery. She specializes in the evaluation and treatment of children with hearing loss and is a member of the Children’s Hearing and Communication Clinic Team. Her clinical interests include the development of listening and spoken language skills for children who use hearing aids and cochlear implants.
Ms. Kolhede joined the UCSF team in 2021 after working at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, Stanford. She completed her undergraduate degree in Linguistics at UCLA where she worked as a research assistant in the UCLA Language Acquisition Lab. Ms. Kolhede earned her master’s degree from San Jose State University and completed her clinical fellowship at Weingarten Children’s Center in Redwood City, CA. She gained additional clinical experience with listening and spoken language development as a therapist with the BabyTalk Teleintervention team and Listen To Me! Conference. She received her Listening and Spoken Language Specialist/Auditory Verbal Therapist certification from the AG Bell Academy in 2019.
Chiara Scarpelli, MS, CCC-SLP
Speech-Language Pathologist
Chiara Scarpelli, MS, CCC-SLP is a Speech-Language Pathologist in the Pediatric Division of the Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery. She specializes in the evaluation and treatment of children who are Deaf/Hard of Hearing and is a member of the Children’s Hearing and Communication Clinic team.
Ms. Scarpelli completed her undergraduate degree in Speech and Hearing Science at The George Washington University in Washington, DC. She continued her studies by earning her master’s degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders from Teachers College, Columbia University in New York City. Prior to joining our team, Ms. Scarpelli gained valuable research and clinical experience working at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia, before returning to New York City to provide services in the public school system.
Ms. Scarpelli is a member of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). She is a published author in the Seminars in Speech and Language Journal and has also remained active in research.
Silvia Bellfort-Salinas, MSW, LCSW
Clinical Social Worker
Silvia Bellfort-Salinas is a licensed clinical social worker who specializes in caring for the pediatric D/HH patients at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital San Francisco. Silvia takes an interactive approach to assisting patients and their families as they address the emotions and stress associated with hearing loss. Her goal is to provide support while helping patients and their families gain a sense of control over their circumstances.Silvia earned a dual degree in political science and social welfare at the University of California Berkeley followed by a master's degree in clinical social work from University of Southern California. Silvia joined the multidisciplinary Hearing and Communication D/HH clinic in 2014.
Leslie Manjarrez, MA
Teacher of the Deaf/Health Educator
Leslie holds a Deaf and Hard of Hearing Specialist Credential(Education Specialist) with an additional authorization in BCLAD; ASL-English. She has over 10 years of experience in Deaf education which spans infant to adult within a variety of environments including in-person, in-home, school classrooms, and virtual online instruction. Leslie graduated from the University of California San Diego with a B.S. in Ecology, Behavior and Evolution and an M.A. in Education Studies: Teaching, and Learning (Bilingual Education-ASL). In addition, she holds a Deaf and Hard of Hearing Infants, Toddlers, and Families(ITF); Collaboration and Leadership Certificate from Gallaudet University. Most recently Leslie has completed the Child Life Practicum at UCSF which focused on in-patient pediatric clinical care. Leslie is trilingual; English, Spanish and American Sign Language and brings a unique perspective that lends to providing holistic support for Deaf and Hard of Hearing children of all ages.
Jenny Stephans, BS, CRC
Program Coordinator/Clinical Research Supervisor
Jenny is a Program Coordinator and Clinical Research Supervisor for the Children’s Communication Center of Pediatric Otolaryngology at UCSF. Jenny completed her undergraduate degree with a major in Biochemistry and a minor in the Business Foundations at The University of Texas at Austin. Her clinical and research interests are focused on multidisciplinary hearing healthcare in pediatrics, disparities in hearing health outcomes, and language development in children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing. Her goals are to improve support and awareness for children that are Deaf or Hard of Hearing and facilitate community outreach by creating patient & family community support programs in partnership with community organizations.
Kendyl Naugle, BA, CRC
Clinical Research Coordinator/Patient Navigator
Kendyl is a Clinical Research Coordinator for the Children’s Communication Center of Pediatric Otolaryngology at UCSF and a patient navigator for the Audiology Clinic at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland. She graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in Integrative Biology and minors in Early Childhood Development and Global Public Health. She firmly believes in the integration of physical, mental, and emotional health and finds great joy in supporting patients at the intersection of these. Kendyl's greatest hope is that, by conducting research on hearing health disparities and addressing social determinants of health, we can improve access to quality care for all patients.
David Perez, BA, CRC
Clinical Research Coordinator
David Perez is a Clinical Research Coordinator for the Children’s Communication Center of Pediatric Otolaryngology at UCSF. He graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in Integrative Biology where his interest in the pediatric population flourished while caring for infants and toddlers at a daycare. As he worked with kids, he became fascinated by their ability to express themselves at such a young age, especially through baby sign language. David is eager to now be part of a team that supports the communication of children with hearing differences and promotes a high standard of care for this community.