Katharine Fitzharris, Au.D., M.S., Ph.D., joined the Nova Southeastern University faculty in July of 2017. She is currently an Associate Professor. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Speech and Hearing Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and her Doctor of Audiology from the University of Louisville. Dr. Fitzharris completed her clinical externship year at the San Diego VA Medical Center. After earning her Au.D., she completed the first Polytrauma/Traumatic Brain Injury Advanced Clinical Research Fellowship at the VA Boston Healthcare System. She then moved to Dallas, Texas where she earned a Master of Science in Applied Cognition and Neuroscience and, under the mentorship of Drs. Jackie Clark, James Jerger, and Ross Roeser, a Doctor of Philosophy in Communication Sciences and Disorders from The University of Texas at Dallas. Dr. Fitzharris also received a Certificate in Animal Audiology from the University of Cincinnati.
Dr. Fitzharris is a Fellow of the American Academy of Audiology and holds a Certificate of Clinical Competence in Audiology from the American Speech-Language Hearing Association. She has served on numerous volunteer committees for the American Academy of Audiology. She also serves as a reviewer for Plural Publishing and several journals; she was the previous Processing Editor for the International Journal of Audiology.
As a part of the NSU faculty, Dr. Fitzharris’ responsibilities include clinical precepting, teaching, service, and conducting research. Her clinical specialty areas are in auditory processing, auditory electrophysiology, adult diagnostics, and amplification. She has taught Anatomy and Physiology of the Auditory/Vestibular Mechanisms, Diagnostics II Lab, Electrophysiology I and II, Introduction to Auditory Processing Evaluation and Treatment, Neuroaudiology II, and Research Methods I and II.
Dr. Fitzharris is on the NSU IRB, the CHCS Research Committee, IPE Day Research Committee, and various department committees. She has served as a grant reviewer for college, university, and AAA submissions.
Her research interests include auditory cognitive neuroscience, behavioral and physiological measures of listening effort, electrophysiology, and the evaluation and treatment of auditory processing disorders. Dr. Fitzharris has received several grant awards from NSU for her work. She has over 90 publications and presentations to date.
Outside of the university, Dr. Fitzharris is a Special Olympics Healthy Athletes Healthy Hearing Clinical Director. She volunteers at the summer and fall Special Olympics state games for Healthy Athletes, as well as at local hearing screenings. Further, she volunteers her time at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts.