This semester, Dr. Zilong Xie, an expert in hearing science, will join FSU’s faculty as an assistant professor for the School of Communication Science & Disorders. 

Dr. Xie began his academic journey in China where he studied psychology as an undergraduate and while earning his master’s degree. During this time, he discovered that he held a particular interest in the psychology of hearing; he shared with CCI the reasoning behind this interest stating, “There is a great need for this area of expertise, but not many people knew or worked in this field in my home country.”  

Dr. Xie’s desire to dive deeper into the study of hearing led him to join the sound brain lab at the University of Texas at Austin, where he earned his Ph.D. He then sought the opportunity to work more directly with those impacted by hearing loss at the University of Maryland, College Park. In 2020, Dr. Xie began his first faculty job in audiology at the University of Kansas Medical Center, and he is now excited to continue his career working as an assistant professor for Florida State’s SCSD.   

Dr. Xie discussed with CCI his focus as he begins his time at FSU, explaining, “My primary interest is understanding how aging and hearing loss affect our ability to understand speech.” He hopes to share this passion for the study of hearing with his students; he shared, “The study of hearing, which is my research area, is not very big in our school at this moment. I hope to motivate our students to get excited about the science of hearing or to pursue a career in hearing science.” 

Please join us in welcoming Dr. Xie to Tallahassee and to our campus!